Honest help for homeowners hiring a contractor

Understand your contractor’s bid before you sign it

Renovation Truth is free videos, a free checklist, and professional bid reviews from a construction project manager with 30 years on the job — so you can spot the problems in a bid or contract before they cost you money.

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Proposal — Kitchen Remodel

Total, lump sum$86,500

Where’s the line-item breakdown?

Deposit due at signing50%

50% up front? 10–15% is the standard.

Scope: “remodel per discussion”—

Too vague — this is how budgets blow up

Warranty / lien waiversnot stated

A sub can lien YOUR house. Ask.

A real pattern we see every week. Names changed — problems real.

Revise & resubmit

What Renovation Truth is

Three ways we help you hire with confidence

Contractors read hundreds of contracts in a career. Most homeowners read one or two — with their life savings on the line. We close that gap.

Watch free videos

Plain-English walkthroughs of bids, contracts, change orders, and payment schedules — the business side of construction nobody teaches homeowners.

Free · on YouTube

Download the checklist

15 red flags to check your bid against — each with why it matters and the exact sentence to send your contractor. Print it and go line by line.

Free · by email

Get your bid reviewed

Send us your actual bid or contract. Get back a line-by-line written review: every red flag, a payment risk analysis, and the questions to ask.

Coming soon · join the waitlist

A sample of what you’ll learn

Three red flags hiding in most bids

Every red flag comes with the exact sentence to send your contractor. Not just what’s wrong — what to say.

RED FLAG 04

Front-loaded payments

If payments outrun completed work, you carry all the risk. A contractor 60% paid on a 30% built job has little reason to hurry back.

Say this“Payments will follow completed milestones, with final payment due at substantial completion.”

RED FLAG 06

No change order process

Most budget blowouts live here. “We’ll settle up at the end” always costs the homeowner more.

Say this“All changes require a written change order, signed by both parties, priced before work proceeds.”

RED FLAG 07

No lien waiver language

A subcontractor can put a lien on your house even if you paid the general contractor in full. Almost nobody warns homeowners about this.

Say this“Conditional and unconditional lien waivers required with each progress payment.”

Free download

15 red flags in a contractor’s bid

The full checklist — every flag, why it matters, and the exact phrase to ask for. Lay it next to your bid and go line by line.

All 15 flags rated: conversation, condition, or walk away
The exact contract language to request, copy-paste ready
Realistic payment schedule benchmarks by project type
The one decision rule: when to negotiate, when to walk

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On the channel

Watch: 7 red flags in a contractor’s bid

New videos on reading bids, contracts, and payment schedules — from someone who’s spent 30 years on the other side of the table.

First episode coming soon — subscribe to Renovation Truth on YouTube

Coming soon

Professional bid reviews

Send us your bid or contract. Get back a line-by-line written review from a 30-year construction PM: every red flag cited to the page it’s on, a payment schedule risk analysis, and the exact questions to send your contractor — before you sign.

Upload your bid (names and addresses stay private)
We review it against the full 15-flag standard
You get a written report and a clear verdict

Review clients can also book a one-on-one consultation to walk through the findings together.

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Waitlist members get founding pricing.

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