How to Hire a Construction Contractor in Fort Lauderdale: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Hire a Construction Contractor in Fort Lauderdale: A Step-by-Step Guide

Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation logged more than 5,000 unlicensed contractor complaints in a single recent year. After a hurricane, that number spikes because demand pulls in out-of-state crews who don’t hold Florida licenses. Fort Lauderdale homeowners get caught in the surge, hand over deposits, and discover months later that their “contractor” was never licensed to pull a permit in Broward County. This guide walks you through the hiring process step by step, with the license verification step most people skip placed exactly where it belongs: before you sign anything.

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Quick Answer

To hire a construction contractor in Fort Lauderdale, verify the contractor’s Florida DBPR license status is “active” before signing, confirm they carry general liability and workers’ compensation insurance with a certificate naming you, and insist on a written scope of work with a fixed price, a payment schedule tied to completed milestones, and a permit plan in writing. The contractor who won’t do all four becomes a lien risk on your home.

Table of Contents

• Step 1: Pull the License Number and Run a Florida DBPR Check
• Step 2: Request Three Insurance Documents Before Any Contract
• Step 3: Read the Scope of Work Like a Contract, Not a Brochure
• Step 4: Price the Bid Against Broward County Reality, Not Fantasy
• Step 5: Structure the Payment Schedule So You Never Overpay
• Step 6: Confirm the Permit Plan in Writing Before Work Starts
• Common Mistakes to Avoid
• When to Call a Professional
• Frequently Asked Questions
• The Bottom Line

Step 1: Pull the License Number and Run a Florida DBPR Check

Every legitimate contractor in Fort Lauderdale carries a Florida DBPR license number. It’s on their business card, their truck, their website, their estimate. The contractors who don’t carry one are why the state fields thousands of complaints a year. Running the check takes five minutes and it’s the single most important move you’ll make in this entire process.

How to run the verification

1. Go to the Florida DBPR website and open the “Verify a License” portal.
2. Select “Construction Industry” from the licensing category menu.
3. Enter the contractor’s name or license number, then click search.
4. Open the license record and look at the license status field.
5. Check the expiration date, any complaint history, and whether the license is active in Broward County.

What “active” vs. “delinquent” actually means for your project

An “active” license means the contractor has met Florida’s continuing-education requirements for the current renewal cycle and is in good standing with the state. A “delinquent” license means the contractor missed a renewal deadline, owes fees, or has an unresolved complaint. A delinquent contractor can’t legally pull a permit in Fort Lauderdale. If work starts anyway, the city’s Building Department can issue a stop-work order on your job, which means your project sits half-finished while you sort out someone else’s problem. We’ve seen this exact scenario play out in neighborhoods from Victoria Park to Coral Ridge, and it always costs the homeowner time and money.

Also check the “Complaint History” tab on the DBPR record. A single complaint from years ago isn’t automatically disqualifying, but a pattern of unresolved complaints is a red flag. The DBPR won’t tell you everything, but it will tell you enough to avoid the worst actors.

Step 2: Request Three Insurance Documents Before Any Contract

After the license check, insurance is the next gate. A contractor without proper insurance exposes you to two risks: paying out of pocket if their crew damages your home, and getting sued if a worker is injured on your property. Fort Lauderdale has plenty of older homes where a worker can step through a rotted soffit or hit a corroded pipe, and workers’ compensation claims in those situations can name the homeowner if the contractor doesn’t carry coverage.

Three documents to request:

• Certificate of General Liability Insurance: This shows the contractor carries liability coverage for property damage and third-party injury. Ask for the policy limit, and confirm the policy is active through the expected project end date.
• Workers’ Compensation Certificate: Florida law requires most construction contractors with employees to carry workers’ comp. This protects you from being named in an injury claim if a worker falls off a ladder or gets hurt during demo.
• Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming you as an additional insured: This is the document that matters most. It means the insurance company will notify you if the policy is canceled mid-project and gives you direct standing if a claim arises. A verbal promise of “we’re fully insured” is worthless. A COI with your name on it is enforceable.

Ask for the COI before you sign, not after. Any contractor who hesitates to provide these three documents has something to hide, and in Fort Lauderdale’s market, you have enough options that you don’t need to gamble.

Step 3: Read the Scope of Work Like a Contract, Not a Brochure

Most contractor disputes in Fort Lauderdale aren’t about price. They’re about scope. The homeowner thought “bathroom remodel” included tile installation and waterproofing. The contractor’s estimate listed “tile install” but not “waterproofing membrane,” so now there’s a change order for $2,800 to add Schluter edge trim and a proper waterproofing system. The contractor didn’t lie. The estimate just didn’t say enough.

A real written scope of work contains specific line items. A vague estimate contains phrases like “as needed,” “standard installation,” “or similar,” and “per plan.” Those phrases are not descriptions. They’re doors left open for price increases.

Line items to demand before you sign

• Exact material names and manufacturers, not “name brand” or “premium.” If the contract says Cambria countertops, it should say which Cambria product line. If it says Kohler fixtures, it should list the specific model numbers.
• Demolition and debris removal, including who hauls the dumpster and when it leaves the property.
• Permit application, permit fees, and inspection scheduling, stated as the contractor’s responsibility.
• Waterproofing method for any wet area, named specifically: Schluter membrane, RedGard, hot mop. “Waterproofed as required” is not specific enough.
• Electrical work, with a named licensed electrician or a statement that the contractor’s license covers the electrical scope.
• Paint, trim, and finish work, including the number of coats and the specific paint product line.
• Cleanup and final punch-list process, including who walks the job with you at the end and how fixes get scheduled.

A written price before work starts is only as good as the scope behind it. The scope is the document that holds the price in place. Without it, every construction phrase in the contract is a future change order waiting to happen.

Step 4: Price the Bid Against Broward County Reality, Not Fantasy

Fort Lauderdale is not a cheap construction market, and the low bid rarely reflects the actual cost of building here. Broward County sits in Florida’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone, which means the Florida Building Code requires impact-rated windows, specific roof fastening patterns, and structural tie-downs that don’t apply in most of the country. A contractor who prices your project with standard building practices from a national template is underpricing the materials that code requires.

Here’s how it plays out. You get three bids for a home renovation. Two come in around $85,000 to $110,000. One comes in at $62,000. The $62,000 bid didn’t include impact windows, which the code requires on any exterior opening replacement. The $62,000 bid didn’t include the upgraded roof deck fastening necessary for the new roof section. The $62,000 bid didn’t include the structural strapping for the wall removal you wanted. But the contract says “will meet all code requirements,” which is a promise that disappears when the building inspector shows up and calls out the missing pieces.

At that point, you have two choices: add change orders that push the price past the other bids, or accept work that won’t pass inspection. In our experience across Fort Lauderdale, from Wilton Manors to Imperial Point, the low bid is most often a rounding error on the code requirements, not a contractor with better overhead.

Questions every bid should answer

• Does this price include impact-rated windows, named by manufacturer, for every window being touched?
• Does the roof scope include the HVHZ fastening pattern and secondary water barrier required by the Florida Building Code?
• Does the price include the permit fees and inspection scheduling?
• Does it name the specific material brands or leave “or equal” language in play?

A bid that doesn’t answer these questions isn’t a bargain. It’s an incomplete scope with a number on top.

Step 5: Structure the Payment Schedule So You Never Overpay

Florida law governs construction contracts, and the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund applies to licensed contractors, but the payment schedule is still the place where homeowners get hurt most in Fort Lauderdale. The pattern is recognizable: large deposit up front, then progress payments that don’t match the work completed, then a final payment that’s due before the punch list is done. The contractor has your money and you have a half-finished project.

The rule to hold onto: never pay more than the value of the completed work in hand. If the contract says 40% down before day one, ask what work that 40% represents. In a typical remodel, a 10% to 20% deposit is enough to cover mobilization, material ordering, and the permit application. A contractor asking for more than that upfront is signaling that they need your money to pay for someone else’s job.

A payment schedule that protects you

1. Deposit at signing: 10% to 20%, tied to the permit application and material ordering. Ask to see the permit receipt before the next payment.
2. Demo and rough-in completion: 20% to 25%, paid when the rough framing, plumbing, and electrical inspections have passed.
3. Drywall and finishes start: 25%, paid when drywall is hung and the project is visibly halfway home.
4. Fixtures, tile, and cabinetry installation: 20% to 25%, paid when the visible finishes are in.
5. Final payment at punch-list completion: 10% to 15%, paid after the final walkthrough and after the permit is closed with the city.

Every payment should correspond to a completed, inspectable milestone. If the contractor asks for the next payment before the previous milestone is done, stop and revisit the schedule. Money is the only leverage you have, and once it’s in the contractor’s account, you don’t have it anymore.

Step 6: Confirm the Permit Plan in Writing Before Work Starts

Fort Lauderdale’s Building Department requires permits for most construction work beyond cosmetic surface changes. Structural changes, window replacements, roof work, electrical, plumbing, and any alteration to load-bearing walls all require a permit and an inspection. A contractor who offers to work without a permit is offering you a problem you’ll own when you try to sell the house and the unpermitted work shows up on the inspection.

Ask the contractor to write the permit plan into the contract. It should state that the contractor will apply for all necessary permits, pay the fees, schedule the inspections, be on site for those inspections, and close the permit with the city when the work is done. This is not a courtesy. It’s a legal responsibility of the licensed contractor, and it’s your protection against work that doesn’t meet code.

If the contractor suggests that “a permit isn’t really necessary for this scope,” find another contractor. In Fort Lauderdale, where hurricane code compliance is enforced, unpermitted work is a time bomb. It can surface as a red flag during a home sale, as a denied insurance claim after a storm, or as a city fine. The permit is the paper trail that proves the work was done to code, and it’s worth every dollar.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping the license check. “He seems like a good guy” is not a license status. Run the DBPR verification before you sign anything, not after the deposit clears.
• Accepting a verbal scope of work. If it’s not written, it doesn’t exist. A contractor who won’t put the scope in writing is planning to redefine the scope later.
• Taking the lowest bid without comparing scope. In Fort Lauderdale’s hurricane-code market, the low bid is usually the one that didn’t price impact windows, waterproofing, or permit fees.
• Paying a large deposit upfront. A 40% or 50% deposit before day one means the contractor is using your money to fund someone else’s job. Your deposit should match the work that’s actually about to happen.
• Not requesting a Certificate of Insurance naming you. A contractor’s word that they’re insured is not the same as a COI with your name on the certificate.
• Skipping the permit. Unpermitted work in Fort Lauderdale will catch up with you at resale, at insurance renewal, or at the next hurricane inspection.
• Signing a contract with open-ended allowances. “Allowance for fixtures: to be determined” means the final price will be whatever the contractor wants it to be. Name the materials and the line items before you sign.

When to Call a Professional

If you’re adding square footage, moving load-bearing walls, replacing windows under Fort Lauderdale’s impact-glass requirements, or touching plumbing and electrical inside existing walls, you need a licensed contractor, not a handyman. The code complexity in Broward County makes these scopes too risky to wing it. If you’ve received two bids that don’t match on scope, or if a contractor seems reluctant to share a license number, insurance documents, or a written scope of work, don’t move forward. Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale offers free estimates in Fort Lauderdale. Call (754) 354-7423 to get a written, line-item bid before any work begins. As part of the Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale home team since 2005, we’ve seen what happens when hiring goes wrong, and we built our process so it goes right.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Hiring a construction contractor in Fort Lauderdale comes down to four verifications: a Florida DBPR license check showing active status, three insurance documents including a COI naming you, a written scope of work with named materials, and a payment schedule tied to completed milestones. Skip the license check and the permit plan, and you’re exposed to unlicensed work, stop-work orders, and resale problems. Do all four, and the project stands a real chance of finishing on price and on scope. When you want a General Contractor in Fort Lauderdale who puts the price in writing before the first tool comes out, call (754) 354-7423 for a free estimate.

Written by Luca Romano, Owner at Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale since 2005.