Best way to fire a contractor?

[Kevin Larson]

To get to the point of my question, and not get too caught up in the details I wanted to get some advice on the best way to fire a contractor.  The contractor I hired to rehab my out of state property is two months past the contracted end date and is not going to be done anytime soon. The contractor is full of excuses, has ran out of money and mis managed this project.  I am not paying the contractor the final Installment for this exact purpose. I now have to go find another contractor to finish the job and pay them. If I can get some advice from fellow investors that have experienced similar problems with their contractor and on how to notify the original contractor of a work stop notice without the original contractor putting a lien on my property I would appreciate it.   I now have to go find a new contractor to finish the job and will pay them from the amount that I’ve held back from the original contractor. The experience I have had with this contractor has turned into the poster child of investors fears of working with a contractor.  Thank you in advance for your replies and advice!