Should there be an industry standard?
What are the most important points to address in the contract.
Is there anything that you intentionally leave out of the contract?
Can remodeling contractors between homeowners and contractors be universal, or must they be different from state to state?
Every state has different requirements. Contracts should be reviewed by a qualified attorney. Every contract will be slightly different depending on scope, environment of work, involved parties, regulations, personal comfort level and trust, etc. There’s no real way to standardize something like that.
I only leave out the things that don’t pertain to the project 
A contract is both a agreement and a form of communcation. Good communication is good, lack of communication is bad.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) provides many excellent Owner/Contractor construction documents that are fair and reasonable towards both parties. This is an excellent place to start and will, at the very least, give you some insight as to what should be contained in your contract documents. You can find out more about AIA documents at:
http://www.aia.org/contractdocs/aias076742
I hope this helps.
As a contractor, I would suggest that you review the following items to make sure that if for some reason you have any issues with your contractor you are protected:
Warranty: on labor as well as materials
Permits: make sure you have them and they cover the entire scope of work. Make sure the contract provides for the contractor to pull them as needed.
Insurance and Licensing: Make sure both are outlined on the contract.
Cancellation Clause: Make sure you will not be severely penalized for cancelling a contract if you are disatisfied with the work and unable to resolve the issues with the contractor. Most contracts provide for 33% of the cost of the job as liquidated damages for cancellation.
References: Make sure the contract states that references will be provided in writing upon acceptance of the proposal and prior to signing the contract. CALL THE REFERENCES and listen to your instincts (this may be his mother your talking to).
Payment Schedule: Depending on the size and term of the scope of work provide for 50% of it to be due upon completion that is a substanital enough amount that if you are disatisfied you may be able to have another contractor come in and finish the work without incurring extra expense.
Good Luck! There are plenty of good guys like us out there. Call Sky’s The Limit Contracting if you need any work 757-708-0399.
In California you must provide certain items in your contract. One would be a 3 day right to cancel, a lien notice, a payment schedule, information about the CSLB and how to contact them, scope of work, start and finish dates. Information about change orders and how they work. I would always make sure my contractors use contracts with this information in them. If they do not use a contract at least 3 pages long it is most likely a red flag. My contract is 4-5 pages long for all residential. It goes up to around 10-15 for commercial projects.
We started using Construction Contract Writer software since it meets state specific contract requirements for each state. You go through a detailed questionnaire for each project, or can create a standard template. It also tells you whether the terms are more homeowner or more contractor biased with each choice.
For our state, residential contracts must include certain verbiage according to state statues. I no longer worry about a contract not covering unforeseen issues, although we do run it by a lawyer occasionally for larger projects.
