Listen to your gut, that little voice inside that says something is wrong. I would ask the question, what kind of permits need to be pulled? If he says anything to the fact that permits are not needed that is the first red flag. My philosophy is calling the city and asking them… that means you as the home owner should call the city. They will tell you if you need them or not. You don’t want the city coming out in the middle of your project and shutting down the job because your contractor didn’t pull the required permits. Another red flag to look for is if the contractor is insured. Be sure and ask the contractor if he has a general liability policy and how much is it worth?