If you're like me my initial questions for a contractor are:

Can you do a quality job at a reasonable price?
Will you complete it in a timely manner?

But there are a couple of other items that should be considered. For instance, is the contractor licensed? What level is his / her license?

Are permits required for this kind of work?

If so, can and will the contractor pull the permits and have they figured the cost of the permits into the total price?
Or do they expect you to stand in line at the county government center to pull the permits. Either way, good idea to get that clarified.

By the way, it is very tempting to "overlook" the permits to minimize the tax consequences...don't do it! Even if you are doing the work yourself, this can have major consequences, especially when you go to sell the home that would make the increased property taxes look tame!

Perhaps more importantly, does the contractor carry liability insurance AND worksman comp? If so, will they have their insurance carrier email / fax you confirmation of the policy and the limits?

Why is worksman comp important? Well, if the contractor and / or one of the employees gets injured on the job (ie. a back injury), AND does not carry worksman comp...YOU may be liable to pay the claim!!!

Hope this helps and encourage your thoughts / comments. Joe