Specificity and Payment Breakdown for a Proposal (ADU)

[Bruce P.]

Hi BP community,

So my friend is building an ADU in their backyard in the Los Angeles (specifically Westlake Village / Moorpark area). A couple of questions came up.

1) What is a typical payment structure that is fair to both the contractor and the client? Some bids seem to break things down in chunks of 20-30% (roughly 4 to 5 payments over the course of the project) and some seem to want 50% pretty much upfront. I guess I'm looking how to structure things to reduce risk yet still be fair to both.

2) The other question - I notice some bids are rather "loose" in their description of materials being used. I assume my friend should dig into the details and ensure the proposal has specific materials (e.g., "freon free air conditioner" as opposed to "air conditioner") before agreeing to work with the contractor? Just wondering how much time they should spend - I imagine some materials such as insulation are fairly standard whereas other things like countertops might require more homework in terms of selection and taste.