I used to be almost exclusively a no money up front contractor. Even on bigger resi jobs. The more I saw, and the more I talked to other good and reputable contractor friends of mine, the more I realized this is a very risky venture. And it has NOTHING to do with the stability and strength of my company.
Hiring a contractor is a TWO WAY TRUST relationship. You trust that I am going to do a good job and the right thing, and I have to trust that you are going to pay me the agreed upon price, even if that's T&M.
In today's world of the internet and media, information is conveyed at the speed of light. Folks are sometimes flat out told you don't have to pay someone for almost any reason, sometimes no reason. The whole "So sue me" mentality comes into play.
Don't get me wrong, most of my jobs are a few days or less, and I rarely get anything up front. At the same time, most of my customers are repeat or referral, so there is already a good relationship. That said, if I go to wire a new home and the job is into 5-figures, you'd better believe that I am going to ask for a percentage down and a larger percentage after the rough-in. There is a LOT of leg work and outlay even in the early stages, and it is extremely unfair to suggest that I not get paid for weeks for some of that work.
By not paying someone for a good portion of work they are essentially financing your job for you.
I am a contractor, not a bank.
--- In DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com, "Bill Chmelik" <Chmelik@...> wrote:
>
> Like I said Mike, it depends. If I am going to hire someone, we are going to agree on all aspects of the job up front, or one of us will walk away. If a Contractor asks for money up front(I have on occasion bought materials up front), I worry about his business and if he is going to be around long. The job that the OP put forward had no monetary investment for the contractor, and as such, I would have found a fencing crew that wanted a little side work…
>
> ck
>
>
>
> From: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike Shoaf
> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 7:06 PM
> To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [DIY] Some thoughts on contractors
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> due to the sour economy, many reputable contractors are having money problems too! have you considered purchasing the materials yourself to take the financial burden off of the contractor? as a contractor, I have to bargain with customers who don't understand the risk of tying up my savings in a job for a customer that I don't know who may have a bigger wants list than bank account. just a fence? if my only liability in a project is my labor, I will jump twice as fast to get done quickly and ensure a satisfied customer. If the customer insists on haggling every nickel and dime from the price I quote, I welcome them to figure the job and take on the risk of over- or under- estimating the materials. if the customer guarantees the material will be on the job on the agreed starting date, I will not be wasting my time waiting or his money, so I can give him a break on the labor rate. if a delay is caused by unforeseen circumstances, I will be agreeable if he gives me reasonable notice, I don't have my crew standing around costing me money. if it is just a small job, take on some of the responsibilty yourself. otherwise, be a little lenient when you get my quote, as I spend a lot of time doing quotes (my time and gas) and never hear from the customer or they expect the quote to still be good months or years from now!
>
>
>
> From: Bill Chmelik <Chmelik@...>
> To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 5:54 PM
> Subject: RE: [DIY] Some thoughts on contractors
>
>
>
>
>
> In my mind, it depends on the job, installing a fence? They get paid when
> the job is completed. Building a house, percentage draws, with the last draw
> held until the punch-out list is completed to my satisfaction. So in answer
> to your question, it depends.
> One more thing to remember, if you hire a contractor, you are hiring someone
> to do what YOU what, as an example we interviewed 3 contractors when we were
> planning to blow out the roof and add a second floor to a rancher, all three
> contractors said that it could not be done the way I wanted, so none of them
> were hired and we did it ourselves, exactly as we had wanted it done. So
> don't take no for an answer unless you have exhausted all resources.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mailto:DoIt_Yourself%40yahoogroups.com [mailto:mailto:DoIt_Yourself%40yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of petey_racer
> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 3:37 PM
> To: mailto:DoIt_Yourself%40yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [DIY] Some thoughts on contractors
>
> You're not seriously suggesting that a contractor get no payment at all
> until a job is completed, are you???
>
> --- In mailto:DoIt_Yourself%40yahoogroups.com, Ray Kornele <krazykyngekorny@>
> wrote:
> >
> > I agree. Also, insist that he puit a clause in the contract that he
> > does not get paid until the job is completed, satisfactorily. No
> > clause, no contract.
> > KrazyKyngeKorny (Krazy, not stupid)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Sandaidh <sandaidh@> wrote:
> >
> > > **
> > >
> > >
> > > The first is the one they recommend the most. I called him and told
> > > him about the job. He said he could come out Monday (this past)
> > > after 6 pm. I took off work early so that I could be here.
> > >
> > > Six o'clock came and went. At 7 pm, I called him. His voice mail
> > > said the mailbox was full and couldn't take messages.
> > >
> > > I called again at 8 pm. Same response.
> > >
> > > I called at 9 pm. Same response.
> > >
> > > I called at 10 pm, and from the sound of it, woke him up. He'd
> forgotten.
> > > After apologies, we rescheduled for this morning.
> > >
> >
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Please send decorating questions to Interior Motives List - to subscribe
> send an email to: mailto:Interior_Motives-subscribe%40yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups
> Links
>
No comments:
Post a Comment