Terms and Conditions
 

I've been reading through a lot of the posts here and most of them say not to pay a contractor until the work is done. While I agree with that we are looking at a landscaper and they want 1/3 down and 2/3 upon completion. Looking for some direction here. He's 2 months out to do the work and I'd feel better giving him the 1/3 just before starting. Comments please....

Notwithstanding the advice on this forum, there are not many businesses who will purchase materials without some guarantee of payment. 1/3 up front to cover the cost of the shrubs, mulch, or whatever they will be installing doesn't seem unreasonable.

Now that pools are in such high demand it wouldn't surprise me if some installers wanted a down payment to hold your position in line. I would be less comfortable paying that kind of reservation fee but might accept it from a good company that is known to be reliable.

I wouldn't pay a lawn service in advance unless I had used their service, knew their work, felt they were reliable, and was getting a good discount.

There are landscapers who will do the job with no payment until they are finished and you are satisfied. That is the best way to go because you have no financial risk and you know that the contractor is properly financed and responsible. But, if you want to pay a third in advance, the only way to do it is with a credit card charge. That way, you have 60 days to dispute the charge if the contractor disappears. Some landscapers will say that they don't accept credit cards, but I think that any responsible contractor should accept them, even if they charge you a small percentage (2 or 3 percent) to pay the bank fee. I would not hire a landscaper any other way.

You probably have no choice. But the story would be the contractor should be able to finance its work. If it can not them maybe you should not deal with them. But then you might not find a contractor. I gave a deposit for some landscaping from a contractor who was active in the area and had a good reputation. But communications broke down including he did not deposit my check. I finally stopped payment and he then showed up that day to finish the discussion. He said he would start the work with no deposit. Long story short he did not show up and I hired another contractor and gave him a deposit (but I did know this person).

Here are two other options. One is to agree to pay the supplier directly for the materials when they are delivered to your house. Another option is to agree to make progress payments based on the amount of work completed. But, paying a third of the cost either in cash or by check before any work was completed would be totally unacceptable to me, and could very well result in you losing all of the money. It happens often.

Would never finance a contractor but some sort of progress payment could work.

If you felt you had no choice but to pay a deposit put it on a credit card but would also get some sort of a contract signed by contractor.

OP, you can also check out the contractor with the BBB and seniors against crime, this will let you know if they have any complaints. Also there is a Florida webiste to check for license, insurance, etc. I will need to look this up.

The BBB
All the BBB's are simply franchised business they are not a non profit agency.
Here's they they work when I was in NY they call up the biz and say they had an inquiry about your biz.
If you would like us to hold any complaint against your company you have to join for $900 a year.
If you do you won't have a negative rating and can advertise you're a BBB approved Biz
Total scam.
Crimes against seniors are good but they have no power to do anything.

Now getting to original ?

There are more landscaper complaints here I think than any other trade.

If they don't have funds to buy materiel's or credit with their suppliers they are not very established are they as in will they finish?

Or never show up.

They should have credit with a nursery, credit with say home depot for block wall materiel etc.
If they can't get credit they go to you finance their biz.

Keep looking don't get sucked into any pitch about $$$ upfront.

Don't sign a contract, ask for a quote in writing agree to pay upon completion or tell them simply they will not get the job, stand your ground.

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If they have to purchase materials I think a third is reasonable.

I would not pay any contractor anything up front, unless the job requires the contractor to spend thousands of $, such as for a kitchen or bath remodel. Most credit cards allow a 30 day period before any payment is due. Therefore the contractor can put his material on his credit card without any interest, and if he can not do that, he is not worth hiring. Another point is, why not have him take you to where he gets his supplies, and you purchase them yourself. Just pay him for his labor. MHO!

So, you give them a check for a thousand dollars, they cash it, and you never see them again. Then, you start a thread on TOTV complaining that the company cheated you. Do a search and you will find many threads like that.

Our landscaper did not require a dime up front, purchased landscaping stone, bushes, plants and materials to build a wall around our palm tree out of pocket. He even picked out the plants and brought me the receipt for the wholesale prices he paid. Did an excellent job in lightning speed.

I would not give more than 1/3

Just say no unless a well verified contractor . The only time it's justified is when it's a custom product like a screen door or window for your home and they have to order it themselves in advance.

Landscaping
 

Got suckered into a landscaping nightmare!! I didn’t think I was that stupid but boy was I. Please always check the person out and don’t give upfront money!!

Ask around and get recommendations from neighbors on who to use. Jamie’s Landscaping and Pavers is highly used here in the villages. No $$ down. Ours was broken into three separate projects and we only paid for each when done. Friendly, fast and they do great work.

Pay anything up front on a credit card so that you can dispute the charge if necessary. If they don't take cc's I would move on to a contractor that does. Or, you risk losing the money. With a cc payment you have recourse.

Jamie's gave me a quote for a $5,200 project. He said that they would do the entire project and that I would owe nothing until it was completed and I was satisfied with the work.

I agree. Some posters on other threads have suggested that you can stop payment on a check. Most contractors will cash a check immediately, and once it is cashed, it is too late to stop payment. With a credit card, you have 60 days from the statement date that the charge first appears to dispute the charge. Then, your bank must immediately remove the charge from your account and investigate the disputed issue. That is the Federal law.

Landscapers
 

Its all about trust! The big guys will probably be there to complete the job, but their estimate that they gave you is still just that. The farther out the job is who knows what the price will end up being, with material costs.
The little guy….. he is subject to the same things, but can he complete the job?
The landscaper I chose Dereck Atwood is smaller but has vision, won’t do a job that is against the rules submits paperwork, a family man, has a big heart, but struggles with getting workers like everyone. He is months out and I believe this is the guy I want to help and not pay the big company with lots of overhead more money to get it done sooner. One said that they couldn’t even do my front yard for my budget.
After the job is done the time I waited won’t matter.
Still I am trusting that he will still be in business since I paid him money to buy the materials up front.
Life is a risk. At this point in life I don’t want to take big risks but I am willing to take this one.

Contrarian
 

Check with state and local agencies and make sure contractor is insured, licensed, and bonded before entering in any agreement.

I would find another landscaper, but that's just me....

In the landscaping business, requiring a license, insurance, and bond will eliminate a lot of potential companies in The Villages.

When I had my kitchen redone the contractor wanted 1/3 down so he could buy materials, 1/3 when he started the work, and 1/3 upon completion.

Something that may help a little. Ask the landscaper to show an estimate from their supplier for the goods being used in the project and pay that amount when the product shows up at the site of the work. Part of the contract.

If a contractor doesn't have the financial means to carry the cost of the job until completion, he's probably short on cash and has more leverage over you when / if the job starts.

Didn't happen in the villages, but rather in Michigan. House remodel project. Wanted 25% down ("to get the job started") and then periodic payments as the work progressed. I researched the builder and could find nothing negative. His sales materials were head and shoulders above the other bids as far as professionalism. Long story short, he does virtually nothing, goes out of business and I lose $70,000. Only then did I find the great advice that you are getting here, DO NOT PAY IN ADVANCE. If he cannot afford to finance his business for 30 days, the business is not very stable. Agree to pay based on how much work has been completed. The only thing I would pay in advance is "custom" supplies that he cannot reuse. And then I would pay it to the supplier.

Be very careful- call seniors Vs crime and see if they have anything on file about him - check BBB - go to the permit office and see what they have on him!! Is he licensed- bonded - insured? DO NOT GIVE MONEY FAR OUT GIVE WHEN HE STARTS!!!!

A third of several thousand dollars would be a good hit for doing nothing for a scammer.
Been plenty of posts on TOTV where that scenario has been played out.

Note that if the contractor takes your money and disappears, his insurance will not do you any good.

Upon closer examination, the 1/3 is due at the start of work, so to cover the materials and 2/3 at completion. Not as concerned about that when you can't start for 2 months.... Thanks for all the comments and recommendations.

That a hard question to answer because because at the end of the job and it completed
 

You decide not to pay him he will have to sue you and that is costly. should be 1/3 down, 1/3 in middle and 1/3 completion. A lot of contractor do ripe off people, you should control the job with payments and stages of Contruction