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Originally Posted by retiredguy123
Wrong. I worked for the Federal Government in construction for 35 years and the Federal Government never paid any money in advance for construction work. Payments were made every 30 days based on work completed. Also, the contractors had to procure a payment and performance bond before their bid was even accepted. I did not say "all" contractors who ask for advance payments are unreliable. When I moved into my house in The Villages, I got 5 written proposals for landscaping work and none of the landscapers wanted any money until the entire project was completed and I was satisfied with their work. So, there are plenty of landscapers in The Villages who will do work without getting paid in advance. Also, why won't the contractors who want money in advance accept a credit card for the advance payment? Your post is just not accurate.
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Not wrong. I have been a contractor, consultant AND inspection engineer on many state and Fed construction projects. Every single major project had a mobilization pay item. Money up front, PRIOR to any work being done.
Who said the contractors wanting money up front won't accept credit cards? I can name several who do, including the largest landscape company in this area. And unless your job was small, less than 10k, I doubt seriously there are 5 landscapers that wouldn't want a token payment prior to starting. In the thousands of contracts I have fulfilled , I can say the very few times I got screwed by a home owner, they did not want to pay even a small amount up front, and I know now in hindsight, they had every intention of screwing me before I ever started.
If you don't trust your contractor, why should the contractor trust you? If you don't trust them enough to pay an installment, for the acquisition of materials, the scheduling of equipment and laborers to set aside for your project, then by all means.. pay that extra 20% or more a couple of these guys charge that don't want money up front.