A vendor who controls the contract also controls the bottom line. That's an accepted fact in nearly all industries. Buy a set of tires or a kitchen appliance or take your car to the dealer for service and you'll be handed a document to sign (a contract). Vendors know that contracts offer protection. What's true for a tire company or an appliance retailer is just as true for a construction contractor. You need the same protection. And the best way to get that protection is with an enforceable contract. Most experienced construction contractors (and every lawyer) will agree: Work under a contract that protects your interests.

Don't get caught with a defective contract. If a job goes bad, you need a contract that's as good as gold. If there's a defect anywhere in the agreement, an attorney for the other side is sure to find that flaw and hammer away relentlessly.


Obviously, you've got a major advantage when:

• The contract complies completely with state law, and
• The printed contract looks highly professional, and
• Contract revisions are quick and easy (if required), and
• You can deliver a contract almost instantly by email, and
• You deliver contracts in a format that can't be easily changed.

• An undercapitalized owner,
• An inexperienced designer,
• An aggressive building inspector,
• Demanding specifications,
• Short deadlines.

Jobs like those include obvious risk. By the time you've walked the job site, studied the plans and bid the work, you probably recognize other risk that should be considered. It's a shame if what you know about risk in the job (the owner, the plans, the work) isn't written into the contract.