Make sure you have written out in a contract all of the work you expect to be done (this cannot be to specific in my opinion) and the payments schedule/work milestones timeline agreed upon upfront to avoid any confusion down the line.

@Nat Chan I never understood why contractors would ask for a large deposit to start a project, here in California your limited to what can be asked up front generally up to $1000 or 10%, which ever is less.I never give deposit, most contractors that we deal with have a clear and well define scope of work, attached with a detail schedule of values (Especially for large projects that run a couple of months) and a construction schedule complete with milestones.

This is a true rags to riches story that we can associate with at BP and have proof that it's doable.We look forward to hearing about your future milestone achievement as you happily work towards your 4,000th posting.

In order for me to overcome this, I've setup a detailed plan with milestones and target dates, leading up he the first purchase.

I would include:-Strategy: the high level goal you plan to accomplish-3-5 goals/tasks to work toward that support your strategy-Dates and milestones, both short- and long-term-Measures of success: how you know your plan is working-Next steps: what you'll do immediately to get started and keep momentumIn my humble opinion, focus and discipline are two of the most important characteristics of a successful buy and hold investor.

I had to hustle over the last 10 years to get to several milestones.  1st, I needed to get the place financially where I wasn't living paycheck to paycheck.  2nd, my wife and I wanted to do start a family, which would require real estate to replace her income....

Today marks a milestone in the industry.

Have a goal and steps to achieve it, with milestones and deadlines...I don't want to sound judgmental, but you seem to leave a boss for another boss.

We've officially crossed the 100,000 member milestone here at BiggerPockets!

For a job that big just pay downpayment on first job and pay on milestones of completion not 99 percent complete but 100 complete.