Besides the ease to work with, you want to make sure that your major subs, like your plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are licensed to work in your county. If they aren't, have them obtain a license, or get another sub.

Licensing does two things for you: it ensures that they are qualified to do the work, and it allows you to look into their history further. While references are a great way to find good subs, there is more you can do to ensure that you aren't going to hire someone that is going to make you regret being an owner-builder. Call or visit the state regulatory agencies and make sure no complaints have been filed against the person holding the license, that there is no legal action pending against them that might keep them from working, and be sure to find out if the state licensing board has fined, revoked, suspended, or placed the license holder on probation. Most of this can be done online now, you can just go to yoursetate.gov web page. Once you are there, look under contractor's license, complaints or compliance issues or another violation list to see it listed.

If you find that there are no problems with the license or complaints, feel free to conduct the interview. The following is a list of suggested questions for an interview, however, you should change or adapt them to fit your personal needs.

 What is your state license number and specialty? Are you bonded?

 What references can you provide? (Need at least 3)

 What do you need from me to do a bid?

 How accurate do your cost estimations tend to be?

 What can I do to save money?

 Why should I hire you over another sub?
 What coordination is needed between this and other trades?

 What would I need to do to make your job easier?

 What are your scheduling requirements?

 How big of a crew would you put on a job like mine?

 Do you do the work personally?

 Can I see a sample of your previous work?

 What qualifications?

 How much school have you had?

 What apprenticeships have you done?

 What are the past companies you have worked for?

 How many years have you been doing this, or been in the business?

 How experienced are the other crew members you will use for my job?

 What is the longest it will take for you to complete the work if I hold up my end?

 Will you guarantee your price and schedule to me?

 Do you have Workmen's Comp?

 Do you have errors and omissions liability insurance?

 I want to break ground on _____ date, thus I expect I will need you on _____ date, does that work for you?

 Do you have any suggestions for my project?

 How can I contact you? Cell? Home? Address? Email?

Once you interview all of the subs you have chosen, you can get bids. Get at least 3 subs you can get bids from for each job. Sometimes 3 is plenty, other times the more the better. But, first, you need to make sure the bids you are getting are accurate, and can be compared to each other.