General contract issues and need help on how to handle

[Randall Re II]

I have two properties in rehab right now 3 houses apart from each other. Before I put down a big 50% down deposit on the properties and only the roof deposit of half for one of the houses, he was great. Easy to talk to, work with, everything. The moment I put 50% down on the projects (combined $25k plus). Now he’s garbage. 30 days late on both projects, a month late on the roof installation, I got fined by the city for the lawn getting out of control after he sent me photos saying he fixed it but left out he only had the front of the lawn fixed, and not the back.

I wanna fire him once I find a replacement. What’s the best way to do this so I can get the money back I gave him as I know he hasn’t done much work?

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Randall Re II:

The moment I put 50% down on the projects (combined $25k plus). Now he’s garbage.

What a shock.... :-) Never give 50% up front. Never. I thought by now everyone would know this....?

What does the contract you signed say about non-performance? There should be an enforceable clause in there specifically about that. But there also should have been a payment schedule...

All you can do now is to go to the Contractors License Board in your state and maybe call the local DA. File complaints. Depending on how crafty this guy is, you may just have to eat the loss and learn from it...a lot of guys like this are what the police call 'uncollectables'

In the future, you should always pay only for work that has been done.....i.e. the electrical is complete, pay the guy - for electrical only! Framing is finished, pay the guy for framing only. Some Contrs will argue that they don't think it's fair to spend their money on the client's materials, but if their contract is solid, then there is (almost) zero risk. All states give the Contr pretty serious lien rights for this very reason...

Sometimes a Contr. will request a small amount up front for materials, and I think that is ok in some cases where the materials are a huge number (like cabinets), but if an established Contr does not have enough money in reserve to pay for some materials, then you do not want him working for you. It indicates that he is a fly-by-night kinda guy...