Home Remodeling – What is Reasonable & Customary for Up-front Deposit?

[seaspades]

Ok folks – I’ve started to engage people here based on previous recommendations. Somewhat new to the area, and am used to either 1/3 down or 1/2 down on projects with balance on completion or at least the other 1/3 when materials and labor started showing up.

Here I’m running a real gamut from 50% down to full payment (for blinds from the same franchise that only required 50% in previous). Straw that broke the camel’s back for me is a carpet installer who insisted on all materials and 50% of the labor up front before they’d even talk date (and they were highly recommended). Somehow that came to 5300 of the 5800 for the total job.

Is this just “welcome to Seattle”? Or am I just paying for not asking / insisting on terms up front before investing my time in estimates? Seems to me that some skin in the game for timely completion is not unreasonable. Appreciate others’ experiences. Thank you!

Share This

[montanapup]

Seaspades; dont give anything until you have checked online the status of the contractor. Make sure they are licensed and bonded and without infractions. Ask for actual jobs and go there to see the work. A reputable contractor will do this without hesitation. There are quite a few contractors that conduct lots of business in WS that come with “recommendations” but have taken deposits and left jobs incomplete. The deposit should go into an escrow, not a general slush fund. Many ask for the money to fund the other projects, leaving you without promised services. Have a construction lawyer look over the contract if any. Good luck!

https://secure.lni.wa.gov/verify/

Share This

[dyn99]

If I was a contractor, I’d want 100% down if I could get it!

But as the homeowner, those amounts are wholly unreasonable unless the job is very small (say <$10k).

I’d offer no more than 10% down, but in exchange offer weekly or every other week payments based on milestone completion. For example, if drywall is 50% complete on Friday PM, then you cut a check for 50% of the drywall portion of the contract.

Make sure your contract clearly states the costs by subcontractor trade, and never pay the final 20% to the sub or for the line item until it’s 100% complete to your satisfaction.

I’d also insist on multi-party checks or direct payments to subs to ensure the money makes it to them in a timely fashion.

I’m speaking from experience here. I’ve been through contractor hell multiple times over. The methods above saved us from a repeat of our first disaster…

PS – checking licensing status isn’t enough. Make sure to check for lawsuits filed too. Dw.courts.wa.gov

Good luck!

Share This

[Michael Waldo]

I used to be a painting contractor.
I asked for 1/3 down, which I used to buy supplies, after signing a contract. 1/3 when job was nearing completion and the rest when the customer was satisfied. Check BBB and you can lock up a businesses contractor number on a state site. Labor and industries I believe. There it will tell you if they have insurance and any lawsuits or liens against them.

Share This

[mariaeveritt]

Thanks for the advice. It is really needed to know how contracting work.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by mariaeveritt.

Share This

[Author]

Posts