In California,  a licensed general contractor cannot take more than $1,000 as a deposit to start your project.  This is law mandated by the California License State Board.  You hear  of  so many horror stories of contractors running off with large sums of money leaving the poor homeowner with nothing but missing money all the time.

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Contingency - 20%+

If you read any decent remodeling guide, almost all advocate setting aside or obtaining funds of at least 20% of your estimated remodeling budget in addition to whatever you determine to be your budget.  Some actually advocate even more anywhere from 30-40%.

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