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I had been getting estimates for my house to get a metal roof and garage and settled with 5V metal and had the contractor lined up. He met me at my house this morning and I signed the contract. Then he asked for 50% down. I was very shocked because this was never mentioned. When my wife and I built this house the builder kept asking for money and he got ahead of me 22k. Turned out he was ahead on another person 50k and another 10k...maybe others. None of us ever saw the money, and this is why my wife and I have the strict policy not to let the contractor get ahead. I told the contractor I needed to think about that. I said if he get's the shingles off and paper up I'd feel like he had enough invested for me to give him the cash. He refused and said he has to order the metal first, which makes sense. Bottom line, he left angry. Is it the norm to have to pay 50% before a single bit of work is done? Thanks, Kurt
Guest User
2016-04-25 08:51:04.000000
I would not say it's uncommon but it is also perhaps not common. Every contractor will have their own policy ... sometimes influenced by past experiences and sometimes by their cash flow needs. One thing you could require is a waiver of lien from his supplier before final payment is made. In all fairness though he should have disclosed his terms before he asked you to sign anything.
Todd Miller
2016-04-25 08:57:37.000000
+1 On large roofing projects, we normally run 33% on contract signing, 33% on material delivery, and 33% upon completion. Can't seem to figure out where that last 1% goes...? Ha!!
Eric Novotny
2016-04-25 09:37:23.000000