Guide
How to compare contractor bids for a home project in Indiana
Compare contractor bids on one written scope, read the payment schedule, and know what Indiana's home improvement contract law requires before you sign.
5 minute read. Published October 12, 2026.
The short answer
Compare the scope, not the bottom line
Compare contractor bids by putting them against the same written scope, line by line, and only then looking at the price. In Indiana, get every bid in writing, pay no more than one third down, and never pay for the whole job before work begins.
Three bids for the same kitchen can differ by thousands of dollars and still all be honest. Usually they are not pricing the same job. One includes demolition and haul away, one assumes you will pick the tile, one leaves the permit to you. The bottom line only means something once those differences are out in the open.
That is why the work starts before anyone quotes. A scope written down once, and handed to every contractor in the same words, turns three proposals into three prices for one project.
Before you ask
Write the scope before anyone quotes
A good scope names the rooms, the work in each, who supplies which materials and what finished looks like. The Indiana Attorney General's consumer guidance asks for the same level of detail in the contract itself, down to colors, brands and patterns, so it is worth settling them now rather than at signing.
Then ask each contractor to price that scope and to say plainly what they have left out. A bid that quietly drops a line is the most common reason one number looks better than the others.
- The same written scope goes to every contractor
- Each bid states what is included and what is excluded
- Materials named by brand, color and pattern, or priced as a stated allowance
- Who pulls the permit and who pays for it
- Estimated start and finish dates, and what could move them
- Whether subcontractors or suppliers will do part of the work
Indiana law
What an Indiana home improvement contract has to say
Indiana's Home Improvement Contracts law, Indiana Code 24-5-11, covers most residential repair and improvement work priced over $150. It sets out what the written contract must contain, including the contractor's name and address, the address of the work, a reasonably detailed description of it, the price or how the price is worked out, and the estimated start and completion dates. Both sides sign it, and the consumer is entitled to a copy of the signed and dated contract.
The Attorney General's office adds a practical list for the homeowner: a contact person for problems, a payment schedule, and any warranty on labor or materials in writing, with a copy kept. Keep the contract, change orders, warranties and correspondence together for the life of the project.
Reading the numbers
Low bids, allowances and the payment schedule
The Attorney General's guidance is direct about price: be skeptical of an unusually low bid, because cheaper is not always better. When one number sits well below the others, go back to the scope. An allowance is the usual place to look. A $2,000 allowance for fixtures that will really cost $5,000 makes a bid look cheaper today and costs the difference later.
Then read the payment schedule as carefully as the price. The same guidance says not to pay more than one third of the total as a down payment, never to pay for the entire project before work begins, and to tie later payments to completion of specified amounts of work. Hold the final payment until you have written proof that subcontractors and suppliers have been paid.
Two checks finish the comparison. Look the contractor up with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division and the Better Business Bureau, and ask your city or county building department whether the job needs a permit and what licensing, bonding and insurance it requires. Work should not start before the permit is issued.
In practice
How ABODE handles bids for members
For ABODE members this is part of the membership. ABODE scopes, quotes, schedules and checks every home project and repair at no additional cost: we write the scope, source and vet the contractors, compare the bids and walk the site at each stage, so you have one point of contact from first quote to final punch list.
We do not mark up contractor pricing. The vendor invoices you at the vendor's price, which means there is no reason for us to prefer one bid over another except that it is the better job. Over 1,500 projects across every trade is a lot of quotes to have read.
Questions
Common questions
How many contractor bids should I get?
Three written bids on the same scope is a common habit and gives you enough to see which price is out of line. More than that rarely helps unless the first three disagree about what the job is.
Is the lowest bid usually the best one?
Not necessarily. The Indiana Attorney General's office advises caution with an unusually low bid. A low number often means something in the scope was left out, an allowance was set too low, or the schedule is optimistic.
How much should I pay up front?
The Attorney General's guidance is not to pay more than one third of the total as a down payment, never to pay for the whole project before work begins, and to tie later payments to completed stages of work.
Does Indiana require a written contract for home repairs?
Indiana's home improvement contract law applies to most residential repair and improvement work priced over $150 and sets out what the written contract has to contain. You are also entitled to a copy of the signed and dated contract.
Who checks whether the contractor needs a permit?
Ask your city or county building department whether the work needs a permit, and do not let the work start until it has been issued. The same office can tell you what licensing applies where you live.
Get started
Bring us the list
Send the list as it stands, however long and however disorganized. The first job is turning it into a plan with names and dates against it.
We will meet you at the house and walk it with you.
- We walk the house and take the list off you
- Each item gets a trade, a quote and a date
- You get told when it is done, not when it started
Request your walkthrough
Both Ned and Luke get an email and a text, and they follow up with you.