Choosing a General Contractor in Los Angeles: 12 Questions

Short answer: choose a general contractor who is licensed for the whole scope of your project, insured in the company's name, run by a named project manager you can reach, and willing to give you a clear written scope and a written change process. In Los Angeles, add one more filter: real, recent experience with city permitting. The 12 questions below get you there in one meeting.

Before You Call: Check the License Yourself

Every legitimate contractor in California is licensed by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). The public lookup shows the license number, its status, the classifications the contractor holds, the bond, and whether workers' compensation is on file. A Class B General Building license covers projects involving two or more unrelated trades, which is what a remodel, addition, or custom home requires. Specialty classifications such as C-10 (Electrical), C-39 (Roofing), and C-53 (Swimming Pool) show which trades the company can perform with its own crews instead of subcontracting. Wild Oak Construction, for reference, holds Class B license #1146494 plus C-10, C-39, and C-53.

Questions 1 to 3: Licensing and Insurance

• 1. What is your CSLB license number, and does the name on it match the company on my contract? Mismatches between the license, the contract, and the insurance are the most common red flag.
• 2. Do you carry general liability and workers' compensation, and can you send certificates directly from your insurer? If a worker is hurt on your property and the contractor is uninsured, the claim can land on you.
• 3. Which trades will you perform with your own licensed crews, and which will you subcontract? Neither answer is wrong, but you should know who is actually doing the electrical, roofing, or pool work.

Questions 4 to 7: Team and Process

• 4. Who is my single point of contact, and who is on site every day? A named project manager with a phone number is worth more than a large brochure.
• 5. How do you handle design? Is the architect in-house, a regular partner, or someone I need to hire separately? This determines whether cost feedback happens during design or after.
• 6. How will you communicate progress? Weekly updates, photos, and a shared schedule are reasonable expectations, not luxuries.
• 7. What happens when you find something unexpected behind a wall? You want a defined process: stop, document, price, approve, then proceed.

Questions 8 to 10: Money and Paperwork

• 8. What exactly does the estimate include? A clear written scope, with materials and exclusions, is what lets you compare bids and understand what a change costs.
• 9. What is your payment schedule, and is it tied to completed milestones? California limits the down payment a contractor can request on a home improvement contract; large upfront deposits are a warning sign.
• 10. Who pulls the permits and schedules inspections? The answer should be the contractor, in the contractor's name, not you.

How Much Deposit Can a Contractor Ask For in California?

This one is set by law, not by negotiation. Under California Business and Professions Code section 7159, the down payment on a home improvement contract cannot exceed 10 percent of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is less. After that, payments must track work actually performed or materials actually delivered. A contractor who asks for a third or half of the job up front is either unfamiliar with the law or counting on you being unfamiliar with it. Either way, that is your answer.

Questions 11 and 12: References and Track Record

• 11. Can I see two or three completed projects similar to mine, ideally ones I can drive past in my area? Portfolio photos are useful; addresses and references are better.
• 12. What do your online reviews say, and how do you respond to the negative ones? Every established contractor has an unhappy client somewhere; how they handled it tells you how they will handle you.

Red Flags That Should End the Conversation

• A license number that does not check out, is inactive, or belongs to a different business name.
• Pressure to sign today or to pay a large deposit in cash.
• A quote given without visiting the property.
• Reluctance to pull permits, or a suggestion that you pull them as an owner-builder to save money.
• No physical office and no named person responsible for your project.

What a Good Estimate Looks Like

A professional estimate follows an on-site visit, is written, names the materials and finish level it assumes, states what is excluded, and explains how changes are priced. It should not be the cheapest number in the stack by a wide margin; a bid far below the others usually means something was left out, and you will pay for it later as a change order.

Why Design-Build Changes the Answers

If you hire a design-build contractor, several of these questions answer themselves: the architect and the builder are the same team, so cost feedback happens while the plans are being drawn, and there is one company accountable for both the design and the result. It is not the only way to build, but it removes the most common source of budget surprises, which is a finished design that nobody priced until it went out to bid.

Next Step

Bring these 12 questions to your first meeting and write down the answers. Then check the license, call the references, and compare estimates by what they include rather than by the total. Wild Oak Construction is a family-owned, licensed Class B general contractor in Sherman Oaks, licensed since 2015, and the owner is involved in every project. We are glad to walk through every one of these questions on a free on-site consultation, or you can request a quote directly.