I would have a 10% retainer held back from the contractors payment during construction.

You just need to stay focused and get it done.If the cleanup is a family project then no doubt there will be some that will be thinking picking over cleaning which is fine I suppose as long as they know that within minutes the muscle is coming through and that pile is gone.    

There is nothing wrong with paying full retain if the property meets your criteria.

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(I found couple of attorneys but they don't clearly say how much it will be, they just say something like "give us $2000 as retainer and we will start the process, we don't know exactly how much time it will take and how much total it will be...

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To get the best price though, it may require some muscle and time.

I ultimately want to get him his $30k back, but I'm sure he will want to retain some ownership in the structure.

Security interest is a little tricky, it's not just a deed of trust pledging security, it's also where a "lender" has the ability to void an agreement and retain title or not pass title.