I installed a pool in my Las Vegas home for my dad. We started in Jan and were supposed to finish by April but then covid hit and many of the supply manufacturers closed and supplies were not available. The pool ended up getting completed by the end of July. I ended up going with Pentair pool equipment after doing research online. I also went with the salt water pool option as well as the pebbletec paster and the SunTrek pool solar system. As Kenkoko mentioned, the payments should be separated into distinct milestones. I also had to get HOA approval which required getting 3 of the neighbors to sign the request. My dad, who is a total perfectionist, was there making sure that sloppy/shotty work was corrected. We also ended up redoing the rear landscaping at the same time. One BIG piece of advice with landscaping, don't let the landscaper pick your plants, trees, and other greenery because my company tried to install some crappy stuff and my dad refused to let them. He ended up going to the local nursery and picking out everything by himself and had the landscaping company pick everything up and installing it.