First flip with a GC

[Drew Denham]

Hi all, 

I'm about to start my 9th flip in East Michigan but the first with a GC. I've done the handy man route and I've been successful but there is really no way to budget a house when you pay by the hour (so i'm not going the hourly way anymore). 

I've received two bids and think the numbers work so i'm asking the BP community of what I need to do to protect my investment:

Ask and call on references of the GC?  

I would have him sign some type of legal binding contract. @Brandon Turner I think you mentioned in a pod cast you have a general form the GC's sign for your investments. Can you potentially share? 

How granular does the bid have to be? When I say kitchen remodel does that include hardware? Sink? Faucet? 

How much down upfront? I'm a bit uneasy handing over $10,000 to someone i've never worked with before. 

I live 2.5 hours away from the home so would hiring some sort of PM to look over/manage the rehab be beneficial? 

Thanks all.