What are the warning signs when hiring a contractor in Florida?

Key facts

• FTC guidance says a written estimate should describe the work, materials, completion date and price.

  Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

• FTC guidance warns about pressure for an immediate decision and requests to pay everything up front or only in cash.

  Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

• DBPR lists requests for large, upfront cash payments among unlicensed activity warning signs.

  Source: DBPR consumer payment warnings, read 14 October 2026.

• Section 489.126(2)(a) sets permit-application and work-start deadlines after a qualifying initial payment, with stated exceptions.

  Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

• DBPR describes its disciplinary action as administrative and says it cannot represent you in civil matters.

  Source: DBPR complaint routes, read 14 October 2026.

What should a written quote include before I pay anything?

Ask for a written quote identifying the work, materials, completion date and total price, then request a contract with the contractor's address and estimated start date; the FTC recommends these details so you can compare the offer with what was promised.

Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

A useful warning-sign review starts with the document you would actually accept. Place a mark beside each unresolved promise. For a bathroom project, for example, distinguish removing fixtures, installing replacements and repairing disturbed finishes. Ask which business is responsible for each part. Treat an unanswered question as unfinished preparation rather than evidence about someone's intentions.

Use a responsibility list when a job crosses trades. A person discussing cabinets may also mention moving a sink or adding lighting. Ask whether those operations appear in the offer and who would undertake them. Do not assume that an attractive description of the finished room includes every task needed to get there.

These are suggested document questions, not findings about your property. Start with the result you want, then ask the bidder to describe its proposed work. Keep the most recent version alongside earlier versions so you can identify what changed. A new total should not silently replace a different description of the job.

For work in several rooms, ask for boundaries by location. Write down which rooms remain usable, who moves belongings and how access will be arranged. If the proposal relies on something you must supply, ask when the contractor needs it. This makes a scheduling discussion specific enough to compare across offers.

Try a document exercise suited to the service you are considering. For painting, circle the named surfaces and ask whether preparation, trim and moving furniture are included. For flooring, underline the rooms and ask about removal, transitions at doorways and the handling of a problem discovered underneath. For cabinetry, mark which dimensions and finish selections remain undecided. These examples are questions to ask, not technical specifications or statements about what a trade must include.

For a recurring service, identify the unit of work you are buying. A garden-maintenance visit might be described by areas and tasks; an indoor cleaning visit might be described by rooms and exclusions. Ask whether an initial visit differs from later visits, and how an extra task is authorized. Keep the service description attached to the proposed schedule rather than relying on a general promise to take care of everything.

Where several businesses contribute to one renovation, make a handoff list. Who leaves the space ready for the next operation? Who communicates a delay? Who answers if a task falls between two proposals? Give each business the relevant boundary question and request its own answer. You are clarifying the offers, not assigning responsibility that the businesses have not accepted.

Use a simple decision column beside every question: answered, waiting or intentionally excluded. An intentionally excluded task needs a separate plan if it is part of the result you want. A waiting item should remain visible when you compare totals. Do not quietly treat either category as included just because another bidder described a more complete package.

At the end of this exercise, read the proposed agreement as if someone else would have to understand it without hearing the sales conversation. Could that person identify the rooms, materials, service frequency and agreed handoffs? Return any remaining ambiguity to the bidder while you still have time to choose a different arrangement.

The FTC’s contract checklist includes “a written statement of your right to cancel the contract within three business days, if you signed it in your home or at a location other than the seller’s permanent place of business”.

Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

How big a deposit is normal under Florida law?

Read F.S. 489.126(2)(a) as a timing rule for specified residential work, not a recommended deposit: its trigger is an initial payment above the threshold quoted below, with permit and commencement requirements subject to the exceptions in the same passage.

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

F.S. 489.126(2)(a), read 14 October 2026, states:

“A contractor who receives, as initial payment, money totaling more than 10 percent of the contract price for repair, restoration, improvement, or construction to residential real property must:”

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

“1. Apply for permits necessary to do work within 30 days after the date payment is made, except where the work does not require a permit under the applicable codes and ordinances, and”

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

“2. Start the work within 90 days after the date all necessary permits for work, if any, are issued,”

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

“unless the contractor has just cause for failing to apply for the necessary permits, starting the work, or refunding the payment, or unless the person who made the payment agreed, in writing, to a longer period to apply for the necessary permits or start the work or to longer periods for both.”

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

The quoted subsection does not establish a customary deposit or a universal maximum. This is statutory information, not legal advice. Application to a particular agreement depends on the work and circumstances; ask a Florida attorney about a dispute or an asserted statutory deadline.

Source: Florida residential payment statute, read 14 October 2026.

Before deciding on a deposit, ask for a payment schedule describing what each payment is for. Put the proposed material order, permit application and beginning of site work on separate lines. A promise to purchase supplies does not tell you when anyone intends to arrive at your home. Ask for that missing answer directly.

Compare the schedule with your own responsibilities. If you must select a finish or provide access before work begins, record that dependency. Ask how the contractor will communicate a delay and whether any proposed revision changes the agreement. Preserve both the original date and the revised proposal instead of overwriting the history.

What are warning signs in how a contractor asks to be paid?

Treat cash-only demands, a large upfront request, pressure to sign today and a missing contract address as reasons to pause on a Florida project; the FTC flags cash-only or full-upfront payment and rushed decisions, while its contract checklist calls for the contractor's address.

Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

A large request deserves a specific explanation of what it funds. Do not turn the statutory threshold into a badge of acceptability: a payment below that trigger does not answer the practical questions about the work. Ask for the schedule and document the response before deciding whether the arrangement suits your project.

DBPR's 16 May 2025 bulletin lists "Requests for large, upfront cash payments" among its unlicensed-activity warning signs. Ask what makes the proposed advance necessary and how it relates to the tasks in your agreement before deciding whether to proceed.

Source: DBPR consumer payment warnings, read 14 October 2026.

If a salesperson says the offer disappears before you can read it, take the document away for review. Compare the words on the signature page with the estimate that attracted you. If pages are missing, ask for a complete copy. An explanation delivered hurriedly at the table should be put into the version you are asked to accept.

When the payee differs from the business on the agreement, ask why and request a written explanation identifying both. This is a practical recordkeeping step, not an allegation. Keep any invoice, payment instruction and receipt together so the destination and purpose of a payment can be understood later.

The table applies the FTC's payment and contract guidance to a homeowner's review; the questions do not establish that misconduct occurred.

Source: FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist, read 14 October 2026.

What should I do if the work stops?

Start a dated project record with your agreement, payment receipts, correspondence and photographs, then identify the right complaint route; checked 14 October 2026, DBPR handles regulated-profession complaints, FDACS accepts business complaints, and local building departments handle issues within their jurisdiction.

Source: DBPR complaint routes, read 14 October 2026.
Source: FDACS business complaints, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Broward building complaints, read 14 October 2026.

Write a timeline that separates what was promised from what you observed. Record the last day someone worked, which rooms or tasks remain unfinished and the explanation you received. Label an unknown date as unknown. Ask the contractor for a written response addressing the unfinished items and proposed next steps.

For a regulated construction or electrical trade, use DBPR's complaint page and select the relevant profession. DBPR describes its role as administrative; it cannot represent you in a civil recovery matter, and some contract or workmanship disputes fall outside its authority.

Source: DBPR complaint routes, read 14 October 2026.

The FDACS complaint directory offers a business-complaint route whether or not that department regulates the business. Describe the unresolved transaction and attach the relevant documents requested by the form.

Source: FDACS business complaints, read 14 October 2026.

For permit, inspection or site-condition concerns, start with the building department serving the property. Broward's complaint directory explains county building enforcement and its territorial limits; Palm Beach Contractor Regulations links permit searches and contractor reporting. Ask the office which route covers your address.

Source: Broward building complaints, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach contractor directory, read 14 October 2026.

Keep each agency's acknowledgment and any reference number in your project folder. A submission is a request for review, not a decision about the contract. Do not assume one agency's form substitutes for another process. For questions about withholding payment, terminating an agreement or making a statutory demand, take the documents to a Florida attorney.

How does InstaBids work, in one paragraph?

Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. Contractors who take part estimate from your photos and a written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated.

Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.

Contractors in your trade see the scope card, your photos and your 5-digit ZIP code.

Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.

Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Where can I look up public records myself?

Choose optional, dated public-record searches for work requiring a Florida contractor licence: DBPR provides name and licence-number searches, and Florida DFS offers an employer-based workers' compensation lookup; record the identity searched and the date yourself.

Source: DBPR public search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DFS coverage search, read 14 October 2026.

The DBPR licence search covers professions and businesses within that department's remit. Use the name and number the contracting party supplies. A search for one trade should not be treated as a register of everyone offering any kind of home service.

Source: DBPR public search, read 14 October 2026.

If the work combines several operations, ask the contractor to explain which category relates to each. DBPR's construction categories describe differing scopes. Bring the actual description of the proposed operation to the agency if a category's boundary is unclear.

Source: DBPR construction scopes, read 14 October 2026.

For workers' compensation, the DFS Proof of Coverage database uses employer information. DFS describes the results as selected information reported by carriers. Ask who employs the people doing your work rather than guessing from a salesperson's name.

Source: DFS coverage search, read 14 October 2026.

Keep records in a separate part of your project folder from the quote comparison. The records answer questions about entries shown by an agency on a particular day; the written agreement answers what this business has offered to do. If an identity does not match, ask for an explanation before combining the documents.

Next: Florida hiring checklist, How InstaBids works.

Home jobs in Broward and Palm Beach counties. InstaBids is new in your area, so finding contractors can take longer, and a request may get no bids.

Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Sources for the facts on this page

Read the official consumer guidance alongside the statutory passage, then follow the agency links for current forms; the sources below support Florida payment warnings and optional record searches, while the project worksheets above are editorial questions for your own agreement.

Sources checked: 14 October 2026.

• FTC written terms, payment warnings and cancellation checklist.
• DBPR consumer payment warnings.
• Florida residential payment statute.
• DBPR complaint routes.
• FDACS business complaints.
• Broward building complaints.
• Palm Beach contractor directory.
• DBPR public search.
• DBPR construction scopes.
• DFS coverage search.
• How InstaBids works, checked 14 October 2026.
• Pilot FAQ, checked 14 October 2026.

Parent: InstaBids home.