I signed with my chosen GC in February and waited for his schedule and the weather to clear, end of March, to start the addition work. If it was just interior work I could have been scheduled earlier but still around his existing clients.

This varies so widely that no one can answer this for you. However, I can offer some practical advice:

1) Don't select someone who can start immediately as that means they are not good enough to be in demand. There is a reason that you have to get in line for a good contractor.

2) Seek recommendations from friends you trust who are satisfied with their completed remodeling project.

3) Use resources like Angie's list and look for contractors who have been in business for quite a while and have lots of consistently high reviews.

4) Get a minimum of three bids and don't necessarily go with the cheapest one. I'd rather pay what it takes for a job I will be satisfied with than save some money and regret looking whenever I walk into the room.

5) Insure with your Department of Labor and Industries that any contractor is licensed and bonded before you hire, and ask the agency if there have been any complaints, resolved or otherwise.

6) Make sure you have a detailed contract and budget, and that you understand it well enough to know what happens when something goes wrong.

7) Don't pay much, if anything, up front. A good contractor will be solvent, not be living from month to month, and will be able to buy materials on credit from his suppliers. Someone insisting that a big payment up front is customary is someone not to be trusted. I've done four remodels and none of them asked for money before starting; they billed me as they went along, and documented the expenditures, and I paid once a month on big jobs, and every couple of weeks on jobs that moved along quickly. And only when the jobs were done and I was satisfied did I pay the final bills.

Generally we have a waiting list that changes depending on the work load throughout the year. For a bathroom it is usually 6-8 weeks. We sign the contract then use this time to finish other jobs, make all selections for the new one, and get ahead on ordering things like cabinets. This also allows time to plan an organized production schedule.

A successful repairperson doesn't have much of a waiting list if his rates are high enough. A successful remodeler does have a several-week/month waiting list if his rates are right.