Property managers tell me their biggest fear isn't picking the wrong contractor — it's the surprise invoice halfway through the job. Here's the thing: most change orders are predictable. They're written into the estimate before you ever sign. After 26 years, these are the red flags I look for first.
Language red flags
- 'As needed' / 'as required' / 'if necessary' — undefined quantities you'll be billed for later.
- 'Pending inspection' / 'subject to field conditions' — a placeholder for a future supplement.
- 'Allowance' instead of a firm price — a budget line, not a commitment.
- 'TBD' or blank quantities on visible, measurable work.
- 'Excludes…' anything that's clearly part of the job (permits, disposal, code).
Structural red flags
- Big lump-sum lines with no breakdown — you can't tell what's inside them.
- A total that's well below the other bids for the same scope (the gap is coming back as change orders).
- No unit pricing, so there's no agreed rate when quantities change.
How to defuse them before you sign
Convert every allowance and 'as needed' into a firm quantity and unit price. Ask for a not-to-exceed on anything genuinely uncertain. And compare the bid's total against a complete scope — if it's low because it's vague, you've found your future change orders.
BidsScores scores every bid for change-order risk from exactly these signals, so the vague, cheap-looking bid gets flagged instead of chosen.