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Find Commercial Contractors
Commercial work can involve building, trade, zoning, fire, environmental, accessibility, occupancy, and business requirements that do not apply to a simple residential repair. Define the site and scope first, then verify every contractor and approval with the authority responsible for that address.
Platform inventory
Commercial trade inventory
Filter the existing trade directory by commercial-capable categories and services.01
Document the site, use, and complete scope
Start with the property address, current use, proposed use, ownership or lease responsibilities, and a written description of the work. A storefront alteration, restaurant build-out, office renovation, multi-family project, industrial repair, and change of occupancy may follow different review paths even when they involve the same trade. Record who controls landlord approvals and existing plans.
Ask each bidder to identify assumptions, exclusions, alternates, owner-supplied items, access limits, shutdown requirements, and work that depends on another trade. A price without a shared scope cannot be compared fairly. Keep drawings, revisions, proposals, permits, inspection records, warranties, lien documents, and change orders together under one project record.
02
Verify credentials for the work being offered
Use Michigan's official license lookup for occupations and businesses regulated by the state. Match the legal name, license type, number, and current status to the party that will contract and perform the regulated work. A company registration, directory profile, trade name, or insurance certificate is not a substitute for a required occupational license.
Ask for current insurance evidence and have the issuing agent explain the named insured, policy dates, and relevant coverage. Determine whether subcontractors will be used and who verifies them. Rebuild Detroit can organize provider information, but it does not continuously monitor licenses, authenticate every document, inspect completed work, or guarantee an outcome.
03
Confirm permits, reviews, and inspection ownership
For Detroit projects, BSEED provides current building, trade, zoning, permit, inspection, and compliance information. Outside Detroit, use the municipality or other enforcing agency for the project address. Ask which applications, plans, professional seals, approvals, and inspections apply before work begins, and identify the person responsible for each submission and correction.
A contractor's experience in one community does not establish the process in another. Do not rely on a bid phrase such as permits included without identifying which permits are included, whose name will appear on them, and who pays plan-review, inspection, or revision costs. Verify issued approvals directly with the authority rather than only reviewing a contractor-provided image.
04
Control scheduling, payment, safety, and closeout
Build the schedule around dependencies, inspections, long-lead materials, business operations, occupant safety, and required shutdowns. Tie payments to defined milestones and documentation rather than an informal percentage of elapsed time. Review change-order authority, dispute handling, cleanup, site security, damage responsibility, and conditions for substantial and final completion before signing.
At closeout, collect final approvals, inspection results, warranties, manuals, as-built information when required, releases, and a written list of incomplete items. For older buildings, ask whether work may disturb painted surfaces or other regulated materials. EPA lead-safe requirements can apply to paid renovation work in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.
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