Paying builders (merged threads)

Tom_Jones

I NEVER charge a deposit to 'book' a work slot, although there is a penatly clause in the contract should the client cancel at short notice, which equates to 25 % of the value of the work. I then charge two stage payments of 40 % after 2 weeks then 30 % after say making the building watertight, followed by a final payment of 30 % on completion of the job. Asking for 70 % of the money upfront would is a no no in my book.

Clara_Pereira

Hi everyone, can you please let me know if it is normal for builders to ask for money up front, ours is asking for a 1/3 before they start.

Gem_

It is normal for them to ask for money for materials upfront (at least in my experience).

How much you want to pay them / intallments etc should be open for negotiation. If they seem like unreliable then hold as much money back as possible or you may never see them again (or at least not for weeks).

Sorry to any builders out there who are good guys but I always seem to get the dogie ones. The last work I had they wanted 100% payment in advance! not likely! In the end I asked to see the invoices for each individual part of the job and then paid them bit by bit. However, I was pretty much having a whole house renovated so for smaller jobs it would be too much of a pain.

Hope that helps

G

vansboy

If it's a big job & substantial amount for materials, see if you are able to pay the suppliers, directly.

We did this for our roofer, just gave a cheque to the driver, who delivered the tiles.

If it's a small job & not much £$£, ask yourself, if you can afford to loose the amount, if he does a runner, how come he's that hard up & can't fund the cashflow in his business...& have I chosen the right bloke!!

VB