How to Choose a Contractor in New Jersey: 15 Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Ask for the New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor registration number and check it yourself on the Division of Consumer Affairs site. It takes ninety seconds. An unregistered residential contractor in NJ is not a bargain, they're a liability.

Ask for a Certificate of Insurance sent directly from the insurance agent, listing general liability and workers' compensation, with you named as certificate holder. A PDF forwarded by the contractor is not the same thing — policies get cancelled and forwarded PDFs don't update.

For structural work, additions, or new construction, ask who is pulling the permit. If the answer is 'you can pull it as the homeowner and save money,' walk away. That transfers code liability to you and usually signals a licensing problem.

Who is on site daily, and are they your employees or subcontractors? Neither answer is wrong, but a company that can't answer crisply doesn't have a system. Ask how many jobs they run at once — a two-person outfit juggling six projects will not be at yours.

What's the schedule, in writing, with milestones? Ask specifically what happens if a milestone slips. Real contractors have an answer because it happens on every job.

How do you handle change orders? The correct answer: written, priced, and signed before the work happens. If change orders get verbally agreed and reconciled at the end, you will have a bad month at the end.

A one-page estimate that says 'kitchen remodel — $68,000' tells you nothing and protects nobody. A real scope lists demolition, disposal, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC modifications, drywall, tile, cabinetry allowance, countertop allowance, fixtures allowance, paint, and cleanup, with what's included and explicitly what isn't.

Watch the allowances. A low bid is often a low bid because the tile allowance is $4/sf and the fixture allowance wouldn't cover a decent faucet. Ask what the allowance buys in real products — then compare bids at equal allowance levels.

If one bid is 30% under the others, something is missing. Find out what before you assume you found a deal. Usually it's permits, disposal, or the electrical upgrade the other two contractors priced honestly.

New Jersey home improvement contracts must be in writing for jobs over $500, must include start and end dates, and must include the contractor's registration number. That's law, not preference.

A reasonable deposit is 10–33% depending on material ordering, followed by progress payments tied to completed milestones, with a final payment held until punch list and final inspection. Never fund a job ahead of the work.

If someone wants 50%+ up front in cash, that's not a payment schedule, that's a loan to a stranger secured by nothing.

Ask for two references from jobs finished 12+ months ago, not last month. Anyone can be great in week two. You want to know whether the callbacks got handled after the check cleared.

Ask the reference one specific question: 'What went wrong, and how did they handle it?' Every job has something. The answer tells you everything about how the company behaves under pressure.

Read the one- and two-star reviews first and look for patterns. Isolated bad reviews are normal; a pattern of no-shows and unfinished punch lists is a forecast.

We hand over registration and insurance documentation before the first payment, work off a written line-item scope with named allowances, and price change orders in writing before we swing a hammer.

Permits and inspections are in our scope on every job, and we're happy to give you references from projects we finished two and three years ago.

GDL Solutions is a licensed and insured New Jersey general contractor working across Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Hudson, Morris and Union counties. One crew, one written scope, one point of contact — from foundation to final walkthrough. Call (646) 736-8756 or request a written estimate and we'll walk your project in person.