@Mandi Martinez there’s a stipulated damaged clause that you can include in your contract saying the price will be reduced by $x for every day that the job goes over.
This is super easy to implement in the next job of you include a bonus for the contractor if the job is completed before the end of contract. And also a stipulated damaged clause on the back end.
When you determine the end of the project date ask him “are there any problems that you see might arise on this job?” He might add a few days as extra padding. Then ask him “is there anything else that would prevent you from completing the scope by this date. He’ll probably say no and be happy with the completion date. Now you have an exact date to count on and a happy contractor who will work harder for that bonus if early. You can make the bonus the money that you will save from the hard money fees and holding expenses so you’re technically not owing any more money.
Another idea that we’ve done is to walk through Home Depot (or wherever you buy material) with your contractor, pick stuff out together and have him tell you when he expects to be installing each item. After you know what materials he needs and when, just phrase this like you’re going to do him a favor and handle all the delivery and material purchases so it will either all be on the job site when he needs it or he’ll be able to pick up materials at the store that you’ve already paid for.
You will either be paying him for all the work that he will be complete the coming week or you could always pay him at the end of each business day for the work that he’s done.
Some contractors have time managing finances so this will give you a much better chance of having nothing go wrong on your project.
Those are just some ideas that I‘ve done. Hope that all makes sense. No horror stories from contractors yet! :)
