GC contract/draws/fairness questions

[Steven Mitchell]

Hello,

A little background.  This past year we have run the gamut of GC's.  A fellow rehabber was taken for 23k.  The GC just took the money and never showed up.  I had a few bad experiences culminating with this last one - we hired who we were told was the best GC in town.  The 80 day rehab has now ballooned to 8 months due to him spreading himself too thin and using me as his unwilling free hard money lender.  Now we are suing.  Anyways.  Its been less than ideal.  

We are now starting a new project.  We are now that girlfriend whos been beaten by some dude for months, and now our next relationship gets to deal with our baggage.  LOL.

Ive been told by a rehabber in town that its not realistic to have the GC sign anything that commits them to penalties if they run over, so thats off the table....right?

How do you guys structure your contracts?  I dont see myself giving anyone 50% up front anymore.  Is it realistic to think we can find a GC who works more hand to mouth?  Who can afford materials and labor without us prepaying?  We want to be fair, but we dont want to find ourselves in the position of them having all of our money again, and us not having any recourse.  

[Matthew Paul]

As a contractor , I can put the materials on my account , BUT I wont . I want money up front . Its strictly business , If you want me to front the materials then I will be a hard money lender . 

The truth is how does the contractor know YOU are going to pay him ?  Too many so called "investors" dont have the cash to get the job done right . 

Customer supplying materials .  Well when they arent on the job , or they are wrong or there is not enough . I am now billing you by the man hour while I wait . Not only is the job delayed by 2 or 3 days waiting , but you are paying for my time .

Contractor Marking up materials ,  But of course they do , I get a nice discount at the supply house , The customer pays retail . My relationship with the supply house is to my benefit .  

Completion date , we always give one , But anything outside of our control that occurs extends that date .  Inspectors backed up , weather , etc . 

As far as paying the customer damages , if not done on time ,  thats only on commercial big jobs , not gonna happen on a little residential job . 

We get 1/3 when we sign the contract , 1/3 when we start on site and the final 1/3 upon completion .  If a customer doesnt like those terms , we just move on to the next job . There is too much work out there .