Motivating a contractor at the end of a project

[Joshua Feit]

Greetings BP!

I have hired a contractor to help me with a rehab in downtown Atlanta. We are fixing the house to solid rental condition, and then I am going to hold the property.

The work is 95% finished, and the punch list is dragging on and on and on. At this point, I think my contractor is working other jobs, and finishing out my job is not getting any priority (probably since mine isn't making him any extra money at this point).

Does anyone have any tips for me about how to get this contractor motivated to wrap it up? Or better yet (for the future), how to keep a contractor motivated the whole way through the project?

Thank you for your insight!

[Todd Whiddon]

Best way to get someone to finish a job is to hold back as much money as possible till they are complete!

How much have you paid him / is left to pay?

Next time spell out your payment schedule in your scope of work and make sure there is enough held back so they are eager to wrap up 100% before moving onto the next job.