Good points. I would also suggest you hire licensed and insured contractors only. I also need to see visual proof of their work. Everyone has a different definition of quality.
As a contractor I have always taking 50% downpayment from the government, commercial, and residential. I will never fund somebody's dream. Self funding contracts is a sure way to go out of business if something goes wrong. No self respecting contractor will accept 100% the financial risk.
What I usually do is make them pay for the material upfront and if it’s a one week job, pay the rest at the end of the job .if it’s a month job i ask if they can pay me only what I need to keep me and my men going for the bills.. etc.!and once we finish pay us the whatever is left 👍🏽
When I do a kitchen remodel there is no way I will pay for the cost of materials that are going directly to homeowner. Contractors need to vet clients just as clients need to vet contractors. If a homeowner is not willing to put down the money for their custom hickory cabinets then run fast. If a customer is unhappy with the wood grain or something trivial but aesthetic it is important they are invested in the project or you will loose money from nuances and customers that don't know what they want.
As a contractor I also agree with this. I can’t tell you how many times ignorant homeowners went with a slightly cheaper bid, who was including very cheap and crappy materials while I was using higher quality materials. I like to get prices for labor only, because it creates an apples to apples comparison
The two things I do agree with him completely on though, is that you should always hire a licensed contractor, and also, if the workers are doing anything that you don’t like or if there’s any problems with the quality or timeline that you don’t like, you should speak up immediately. I agree with them there. We have very few jobsite concerns/issues each year, but they pretty much all stem from customers not telling us their concerns immediately. When customers don’t tell us stuff immediately, it can turn into a bigger issue. Always speak up, for the benefit of both yourself and the contractor
You are wrong. We are intimidated by contractors! Stop lying. You contractors never respond to our phone calls or messages, telling us you were too busy then you are blaming the customers! Very immoral! That is why we don’t trust contractors in general. 95percent of contractors are scammers.
@@NerdNest0 Thats only true if you’re hiring unlicensed clowns- and “forget” to check their license- and you do so because they’re the cheapest bid. Then you get screwed and wonder why 🤷🏻♀️
@@NerdNest0 If you pay a fair price and hire a LICENSED, LEGIT CONTRACTOR WITH 5+ YEARS IN BUSINESS AND A LOT OF (AND OVERALL 4.7+ RATING) REVIEWS, then you won’t get screwed. But you’re cheapie cheapie
@@NerdNest0 And if you’re intimidated by contractors that’s your own fault for picking the wrong one. Or you’re bigoted and judgemental. For me? I have a 147 IQ, I play piano, I love studying science, and I have a 100% clean criminal record. I’m gentle, honest and always peaceful and calm. I dress and act professionally with our clients. Maybe you hire the wrong goons because you’re too CHEAP (sorry, just being honest) to hire someone trustworthy and reputable? Don’t blame the legit contractors because you hired some random sketchball just bcuz he was the cheapest bid, and then you got burned. Even a dog learns to stop sticking his nose where it hurts. Why don’t you learn? Hire a legitimate contractor and you won’t have issues, stop being cheap and pay a realistic price for quality work, it’s that simple
Licensed doesn’t mean they are insured, if the contractor entity is sole ownership, no worker compensation insurance is required. Also homeowners need to verify the contractor is the actual license holder, not using someone else license.
If they have insurance then they can provide a proof and you should call insurance company to verify it is in force. They should also show all payments for materials and subcontractors, before final payment. If they are not paid materials and subcontractors, they can put a lien on your house, and you will end up paying twice.
Silly boy, insurance doesn’t mean anything if they’re not licensed. Insurance companies in my state, can legally avoid paying any claims if the contractor is not following state laws. And lacking licensure is a violation of laws, so the insurance companies don’t need to pay anything. So hiring an unlicensed contractor that has insurance, is like going rock climbing and being held by a thin piece of string as your belay rope... it might “feel” safe but it’s an illusion. At the first sign of trouble, that string gonna break and you’ll be left out in the cold Why do you think insurance companies will ensure unlicensed contractors? They do it because they know they don’t have to pay. Otherwise, they would just deny or overcharge unlicensed contractors because of the increased risk of them being more likely to do work dangerously or incorrectly. But they don’t need to do that, because the insurance coverage is just a mirage. Anything over 1 or 2 thousand, and the insurance company is gonna go legal and request proof of licensure and then deny claim. If you hire an unlicensed roofing contractor for example, and then they fall off the roof and break their neck… their insurance company isn’t paying a dime, you will be
He gave a lot of good tips, but I disagree about this part. We are a licensed class A contractor, we do very high-end quality work, and have amazing reviews. We don’t take half down, that’s too much, but we do take 1/3 down (which is STANDARD) and then 2/3 upon satisfied completion of all work and all touchups, if any.
If a client told me “I only do business at 10% down“ I might meet them in the middle, if the job pays well or they seem like they’re a good person. And maybe meet at 20% down. Or, if I get red flags, I will tell them sorry, looks like we can’t agree, maybe ask the next contractor. 🤷🏻♀️
Sorry but bad contractors have ruined your image of being sleezy no show handyman. As a homeowner I have more lose than you do. If you do the work from start to finish then you should have the right to be paid handsomely.
We have a very detailed contract, written by a law firm, includes everything it’s supposed to include, and we are a license class A contractor with great reviews. So if clients are still making edits, it’s a red flag and I know to avoid that client. So I look for reasons to avoid taking that project. We made $1.4 million last year.
With that said, there are also sketchy contractors out there that don’t know how to write a contract, or they don’t honor their word, or they try to charge you more at the last minute, all of which is ratchet (just being honest) and illegal.
Also respectfully, if you’re hiring a licensed contractor with a good reputation, like us, the money is not as important as your satisfaction. The fear of a bad review will make us do a perfect job, even if you pay us everything upfront. I’m serious. So when he’s saying don’t pay more than 10% down, that only applies if you’re hiring some unlicensed clown sitting outside Home Depot, and not a legitimate licensed company with a good list of reviews etc. So he’s kind of contradicting himself. He says that you should look for somebody with good reviews, but if they have a long history of good reviews, then you shouldn’t be afraid of giving 1/3 down, which is important because it weeds out the thieving homeowners who don’t want to pay after the job is perfectly done, and yes those people exist and they’re common. So I feel like his advice is sensationalized and very biased and one-sided, it demonize contractors and makes homeowners look like innocent angels. The reality is that there’s good and bad people that are contractors and there’s good and bad people that are dentists, lawyers, doctors, sales people, finance workers, teachers, etc. He’s purposely trying to make customers of contractors feel good about themselves, in order to get more views and sell more of his books. So basically, he’s lying to you for money, which makes him kind of a fraud
This guy is a troll what about the protection of the contractor. who pays 100 percent of the job up front. I definitely agree that is ridiculous and not a good idea but I wouldn’t expect anyone to do a job and not put any money down that makes no sense what if the job is in the tens or hundreds of thousands or something I understand with a commercial work because you are dealing with a reputable brand (hopefully) but some joe smoe home owner naw to much a risk
Guys just full of shit trying to pro.ot his own company hell probably over price you at the end and alot of these jobs want pay their workers up to 30 days after the work is completed so they want charg you but that money has to be coming from somewhere they get paid but their workers have to wait a long time for their money