You have an invitation to bid and need to know whether you can work with the builder. Check its identity and talk to trades about specific completed jobs. Before reserving the crew, review site readiness, change approval, and payment.
Use these questions to screen the builder. They do not provide a credit rating or guarantee payment.
Start GC vetting with the business that signs and pays
Ask which company will sign the contract and which project it covers. Match them to the proposed subcontract and invoice instructions. Record the person authorized to sign and the contact handling accounts payable.
For an NC general contractor, use the board’s official license search. Check the company that will sign. Ask the board about license status or scope questions. NC’s classifications and limitations distinguish authorized work and project value.
An active license does not tell you how the builder pays, whether it has financing, whether the site is ready, or whether the contract is fair.
Ask the builder to explain any mismatch between the name you know, the license holder, and the company signing. Resolve it before sending private onboarding records or accepting work. If the explanation is unclear, ask an attorney to review which company is contracting with you.
The NC board’s contractor FAQ says a license is valid only for the specific licensed entity. Match that entity to the proposed agreement.
Ask other trades about completed jobs and payment
Request references from companies that did similar work for the company that will sign your contract. Ask permission to contact them. Speak to the person who handled the work or invoices rather than relying on a general recommendation.
Use concrete questions:
- What package did your company perform, and when?
- What invoice requirements were agreed before starting?
- Did payment arrive according to those terms?
- If an invoice was disputed, what was disputed and how was it resolved?
- Who authorized extra work?
- How often did you return, and why?
- Would you accept a similar package under the same terms?
Record the project and dates behind an answer. “Pays slowly” needs context. Separate an unsupported allegation from a first-hand account of a specific invoice. Do not circulate private financial details or turn a single dispute into a broad public claim.
Ask a supplier contact only for information they are permitted to share. Do not pressure a representative to reveal another customer’s account balance. If the amount you could be owed calls for a formal credit check, ask your adviser how to arrange one.
Check invoice requirements before discussing more work
Request the written payment process with the proposed agreement. Identify the invoice recipient, submission channel, purchase-order requirements, approval steps, cutoff dates, and expected payment timing.
Bayfair’s accounts-payable page requires a purchase order for project-related payment requests. Check rules like this before starting. Ask the prospective builder what makes your own invoice complete and payable.
Ask how the builder handles a disputed invoice item and whether it pays the undisputed work. Find out who explains a rejection and which records show an approved change. Have the builder explain its process.
The NC board’s homeowner contract guidance calls for a written payment schedule and recorded changes. Request equally clear project records when discussing your subcontract terms.
In NC, G.S. 22C-2 addresses payment rights and specified upstream-payment conditions. Ask a construction attorney to review the actual language and applicable law. Do not rely on a promise that payment will follow another party’s check.
Compare payment dates with the dates you must pay your costs. If you cannot cover the gap, address it before award. Promised future work does not fix payment terms you cannot carry.
Ask how the site becomes ready
Use a real package to discuss scheduling. Ask what must be complete before you mobilize, who verifies it, and how much notice you receive. Check access, materials, work that must be finished first, required approvals, and coordination with other trades.
These are proposed questions, not technical acceptance criteria:
Scroll to read all columns.
| Topic | Ask the builder |
|---|---|
| Work area | Who confirms it is accessible and available for your package? |
| Materials | What will be delivered, where, and by whom? |
| Prior work | Who checks the conditions your scope depends on? |
| Scheduling | Who can confirm a start or move it? |
| Interference | Who resolves conflicting trade access? |
| Return visits | What stages and punch visits are included? |
| Delay | What happens if the agreed conditions are missing? |
For inspection or assembly questions governed by rules, consult the responsible project authority and approved documents. Do not let a sales conversation become an instruction to cover or alter work without the required review.
Confirm who can approve extra work and schedule changes
Ask who controls field instructions, added scope, price approval, and schedule changes. Write down the roles. Ask how field instructions reach your office and how approval is recorded.
Discuss what your crew should do if the homeowner or another trade requests extra work. Keep the response within the subcontract and builder’s agreed process. Do not assume everyone on site can approve a change for the builder.
Take a sample situation to the conversation. For example, a supplied item differs from the bid documents. Ask who decides whether to install, replace, or reprice it. Do not invent the answer for the builder.
Use how to bid a job as a subcontractor to write the scope and assumptions. Ask the attorney about contract clauses that conflict with the process described verbally.
Decide which gaps to resolve and when to decline
Base your decision on what you still cannot confirm about the company. A missing document may be fixable. If the builder will not identify the contracting company or explain payment, you may be unable to accept the job.
Pause for review if the builder asks you to misstate credentials, start before authorization, hide the actual crew arrangement, or accept unclear scope. Ask for the issue to be resolved in writing. Decline if the required answer remains unavailable.
Keep your decision record short: item checked, source, date, answer, remaining question, and decision owner. Do not label an unverified concern “fraud” or “insolvency.” Describe what you inspected and what you still cannot confirm.
Assign a next step to each unanswered question. Send payment questions to the office contact and, where needed, your attorney. Send coverage questions to your insurance agent. Send work-area questions to the site coordinator.
Set a decision date. Do not reserve the crew while a question essential to accepting the job remains unanswered.
Try a first package before committing to more starts
If the builder passes your review, consider a first package with a clear scope that fits your company. Agree on scope, dates, payment, change authority, and closeout. Avoid committing the whole crew to unspecified future starts.
After completion, compare actual events with the agreement. Record the source of any payment or readiness problem. Discuss corrections before increasing commitments.
For account discovery, use finding subcontracting work. For preparing your own evidence, use the capability sheet guide. Both companies should check each other before committing to work.
Where Cercha fits
Cercha profiles, portfolios, endorsements, and direct messaging help you learn about another member and begin a conversation. Treat those as introduction evidence and confirm the business terms directly. Cercha starts in the Research Triangle, with an outside-market waitlist at the beta page.