"Robert Allison" wrote in message
All of these customers trusted me, and their method of hiring me was to
show me what they wanted done, get a price, and if it was within their
budget, we would discuss when I would start.

I will often give the person that referred them to me a call to feel
them out about the potential client. If I don't feel right about them,
they get a polite call explaining that I am too busy to take on anything
else right now and giving them a few people to call who may be interested
in doing their work.

Feel out the contractor and see if you feel you can work with him and
trust him. Trust is probably the most important element in a good
relationship with your contractor. That doesn't mean blind faith. It
means trust.

You sound like my kind of guy. If you sign a contract because you don't
trust the contractor, you are working with the wrong contractor. It will
tend to make your lawyer a wealthy person.