Think of it as insurance against substandard work or faulty material.

Plus the hours of material participation. 

I would have been ok with the latter numbers because I have been stockpiling materials for like two months, but...I did not know if I could trust them due to the lack of "professionalism," and my lack of experience. 

You don't see any actual receipts for materials or invoices from contractors they hired.

Price out as much as you can in terms of materials and estimates.

He seemed legitimate at first, and I even had a few friends look over the materials he provided.

I've read a lot of bad information on how some gurus are promoting techniques that are flawed at best, fraud at worst.

We had to repaint the entire unit because the material he used left oil stains everywhere.

Cost to build is $350K (I am managing it all myself and calling in favors around the city to get low rates on materials and labor).

Also im pretty sure he promotes section 8 rentals and gives you a story with rose colored glasses.