Contractors asking for money upfront?

[Edwin Del Aguila]

I am a local contractor in the Houston area and im starting to run into a very bothersome problem. I sometimes sub out certain trades to do work for me and they always ask for money upfront. I dont ask for money upfront and I dont give money upfront to anyone. I have done some work for several investor on BP and I was wondering if you guys are running into this problem. I feel that you shouldnt have to give any contractor money to do work for you unless you have a greed to from the very begining. Its already a cut throat market here in Texas with so many illegal contractors and yet they have the gull to ask for money for materials! I had a plumber and a gutter guy ask me for this and I refused to pay because if you cant buy materials you most likely will cut whatever corner possible to get the job done. What are some of your thoughts?