Builder Requsting Deposit 9 Months Before Work Starts

James333

Hi,

As the title suggests, we are planning on having an extension in August 2017. The work totals around £50k and the builder has requested a £7k deposit to keep the build spot free. I have no problem paying a deposit a few weeks before so materials etc can be purchased but £7k this far in advanced doesn't seem right to me?

Anyone have any experience of this or what the normal procedure would be?

tonyh66

find a different builder he's taking the mickey or planning to go bust.

HiToAll

run, run away, and then run a bit further away from him just in case.

comeandgo

No, no no. Do not pay that far ahead. No business would expect that.

I think he wants you to pay for his Christmas.

James333

Thanks all for your quick replies. These were my inital thoughts, the builder is actually a family friend of my partners and said they would usually ask for more than £7k but as they knew us they would reduce to 7! Looks like it's time to get some other quotes.

Doozergirl

We're booked to October next year. It is actually a bit of a concern that anyone being booked in so far ahead is possibly going to go elsewhere given a chance or opening by another builder. In the meantime, we're banking on the work and refusing other.

£7k might be a bit much as a holding deposit but I think, in this instance, that a commitment is fair. £7k also isn't enough to skip the country on. I would get contracts signed at this point though, so you are both tied and protected to some degree.

This deposit issue is popping up more and more on the board and I think that it might be a sign of the times rather than dodgy builders. When there is more work available than you have capacity for, you can start to name terms.

George_Michael

Doozergirl wrote: »

. £7k also isn't enough to skip the country on. I would get contracts signed at this point though, so you are both tied and protected to some degree.

Maybe not enough to skip the country on but if there are a few other potential customers paying the same then it will soon add up.

Having a written contract is fine up to a point but that contract is basically worthless if the builder is running a limited company and that company folds up in the next 10 months.

Doozergirl

George_Michael wrote: »

Maybe not enough to skip the country on but if there are a few other potential customers paying the same then it will soon add up.

Having a written contract is fine up to a point but that contract is basically worthless if the builder is running a limited company and that company folds up in the next 10 months.

And I've also said it might be too high an amount. I dislike being half quoted.

Trust is a two way street. This is third time I've had this conversation on here in a week. There is a clear trend emerging.

J_B

Doozergirl wrote: »

Trust is a two way street. This is third time I've had this conversation on here in a week. There is a clear trend emerging.

In all my business life I have done or had work done and then sent/received a bill which would be then settled according to it's T&C's
That's how I still run my life now although I'm sort of retired.
I work one day a week and send a bill at the end of the month, which is paid about a week later.
A plumber has been today and needs to order parts for our boiler that he installed ten years ago.
When the parts arrive and are fitted, he will send me a bill which I will pay.

Trust is indeed a two way street.

missile

A family friend, hm? You can't pick your family, but you can pick a better builder.

Remember a deposit is really just an unsecured loan.

George_Michael

Doozergirl wrote: »

And I've also said it might be too high an amount. I dislike being half quoted.

The reason I only quoted half of your post was for the simple reason that I was only responding to some of what you quoted.
You stated that 7k wouldn't be enough to skip the country and that by signing a contract would offer a degree of security and it was these two points that I responded to, hence my not needing to fully quote you.

If I was responding to your opinion that 7k might be a bit high, I would have quoted that as well.