re: Ok you legal minds of the OT. Got a friend who's been scammed.

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That’s how most contractors operate,

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that's how most fly by night contractors who don't know how to mange money operate

If someone stole 15k from me I'd burn their house down.

I know one way to get their money back:


This is a joke and I do not condone this type of action.

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If someone stole 15k from me I'd burn their house down.

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That's the guys mother right now. I think she would if her son asked her to. Reason being they are building the house back on their property back near his mother. Because she is going to need some help doing basic things before long and they now live several miles away. And my friend is wanting to get back there to start cleaning up and fixing up their acreage.

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When are people going to learn to not give money to contractors up front. If a contractor is reputable and solvent, they won’t ask for or require any sort of payment or deposit up front.

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Was the deceased the builder or was the homeowner acting as the general contractor?

It's a double edged sword. If there's a substantial material cost up front it's not unreasonable to ask for money upfront. I never ask for money up front, but then most of my price comes from the labor not the material. I've had friends who essentially extended the credit to the homeowner only to have the homeowner refuse to pay after it was completed saying "take me to court". (One poor sap has to go to church with the Effer who ripped him off!)

The key to protecting the homeowner and contractor on a major project is to pay in installments as the work proceeds. Homeowners should withhold 25% until everything is totally completed to their satisfaction. And don't be afraid to ask other people to inspect the work if you don't know what to look for. If at any point you don't like what you're seeing stop the project.

In this case it wouldn't surprise me if the homeowner is SOOL with the subcontractor dying.

This is not entirely accurate. Reputable and solvent contractors typically require around 2.5% of known contract costs. It's to cover the initial architect fees, drawings, etc. Especially when dealing with a custom build. Why would the contractor just take your word for it that you will buy the house when completed. Sure, some due diligence on the front can help narrow those people out, preapproval, etc. But when the contractor is obtaining financing to build your custom house, and the buyer just sits back doing nothing during the build finance wise, there needs to be some skin in the game

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When are people going to learn to not give money to contractors up front. If a contractor is reputable and solvent, they won’t ask for or require any sort of payment or deposit up front.

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Even if they are legit and say they need the money for materials, I go with them and pay for the material myself to have it delivered to my driveway/garage. I've done this with flooring, painting, whole house plumbing replacement and pool restoration including pavers/tile/pump and filter. I pay the labor costs either when milestones are met to my satisfaction or the job is complete and passes code inspections.

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Tell your friend good luck. When I put a pool in years ago the contractor was using my money to pay subs from his previous jobs. It caught up with him on my pool and the subs quit doing the work. One of the subcontractors filed a lien on my house since he never paid them for the gunite work. The $15,000 might not be all he loses if there are unpaid suncontractors. Even if work is being completed, the contractor could be guilty of not paying the subcontractors, leaving the home owner liable for payment or having a lien filed.

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This is a messed up liability ladder. And I know it's true. But if you're paying the contractor, the subs should be looking for money from the GC and not the homeowner who has already paid.

I ran a small construction outfit last summer and I was adamant on not taking payment for product or services not quite rendered. Payment structure was homeowner friendly up front. First payment covered most material and a small amount of labor. Payment was due once material was delivered and the homeowner at least has that. Once a landmark was hit, the next payment was due which included the price of the remainder of the material and most of the labor. Always left 10% until job complete.

Requiring payment up front without anything to show for it is a red flag. Unfortunately it may be a $15k lesson here.

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Very common.


That's the game for many contractors sadly

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For every story like this, there are dozens of times the contractor gets fricked over. It's not like contractors are just flush with cash constantly and can absorb hits like that all the time.

If you think the lawyers seem useless for your friends, try filing theft of services charges or liens. I've never received payment from a lien, and only one arrest from filing charges against a client. That only happened because several other contractors filed charges, and the investigation uncovered other crimes. I still didn't get paid, tho.

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I still didn't get paid, tho.

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I doubt few, if any, have ever recovered money from a fly by night contractor