to ask if if it is reasonable to pay a builder before he starts

[Finallyspring]

Sorry, boring thread. Someone is coming to do some building work and has asked me to pay £720 for materials before he starts ( final price is £1,500. Is this reasonable ?

Well my dh has a building company and never used to ask for money upfront. However he got so very pissed off with clients not paying on time (big jobs mean regular structured payments) that he now asks for money upfront, rather like a deposit really. Some people are absolutely shit payers - just want to point that out as builders are always portrayed as the baddies

I would never usually pay a tradesman in advance. If he is so financially insecure that he cannot afford to buy the materials then maybe you should consider someone else. Most tradesmen have accounts with merchants and will probably not have to pay for them for a month or two anyway. I think he is being cheeky here.

If you are really keen on using him and he is insistent then ask him to deliver the material to your house and store them securely.

If he wants £720 get him to give you a copy of the supplier's invoice. Check to make sure they match the invoice and then pay him something like 70% of that figure (in case he disappears at least you have something of value). Give him a signed receipt.

If you agree all this in advance then any resonable person would not have a problem but he will not even do that then you really should find someone else.

I was going to say the same as Harlot.

You don't always pay for materials upfront. Most builders I know have a trade account at various builders' merchants and will use that to get started. Unless you are using a big company, it's reasonable to give your builder interim payments by settling bills for materials on a weekly basis. But don't settle anything without an itemised invoice so you know what you are paying for. It all rather depends on how long the job will last though. At a total price of £1500 I'm assuming not more than a few days so probably you'll give the builder one interim payment towards materials. But not before he starts the job!

I've not read the thread (sorry) but my parents are in the middle of taking builders to court after they paid most of the money in advance, had the roof taken off their house and then the builders did a runner. The two builder friends I have said that most builders have a credit account with suppliers and that they never ask for money up front.
After my parents' experience I would never pay up front and would look for a builder who takes payment after the work is done. That's just my opinion but seeing the stress my parents are under having someone completely wreck their house and steal 20k off them makes me extremely wary.

on that cowboy builders they say never give money upfront because builders get their stuff and pay later or something like that.

It's normal to pay a small deposit. i wouldn't pay 50% up front. A reputable builder will have a trade account so won't need cash for materials up front. It's not unreasonable for them to ask for payment once the materials are delivered but you should see receipts, check off what has been delivered and ensure that it's kept and used at your premises. You should also retain a small amount from the final payment in case you find a fault. YOu should agree with your builder what a reasonable amount of time is for snagging. You need to ask for references and take a drive round to other properties to see what the work is like. Also ensure that the whole job is broken down into a detailed specification of what is included in the quoted price so you don't get hit with unexpected "Well the quote included the doors but not the door handles. handles is extra" scenario. Check with your local council to see if they've had dealings with the builder or complaints about him. There are numerous trade organisations who can give advice on how to check out the builder you're dealing with.

Can you buy the materials yourself? My old builder used to give me a list before he turned up.

ALWAYS have an address and landline number before you let a tradesman start work though! Dom says so.

DH is an electrician and never asks for payments up front.

For building work he said okay to ask for materials to be paid for BUT only once delivered on site. Dont pay upfront for anything you cant see.

Okay to stage payments where you pay for goods delivered or work done. This way if it all falls apart neither you or he are majorly out of pocket.

< thread hijack >

Sorry but it is apropos....

My mum has to have some electrical work done and was given a quote of £400 by a local reputable electrician. He is due to start on Monday. Then he emailed her today and said that due to another customer's having defaulted, he required £280 up front to cover materials.

It seemed odd to both of us that a business would have those sorts of cashflow issues and it all seemed a bit fishy, so she cancelled.

WWIBU?

I paid a builder half up front for some work and he was a complete and utter nightmare. It was like getting blood out of a stone getting him to finish the work. Don't do it.

you pay in stages never pay up front don't you watch watch dog

ask to go with him to the merchants and pay then and their you pay a deposit then half when the works half complete then the balance when its completed at the end

Here's what I do: Ask for a list of materials and buy them yourself (and bear in mind it might cost a bit more because you won't be getting trade prices). That way you know exactly what they cost, you have them at your house, and there's no question of the builder not coming and doing the work.

The problem with giving someone the cash upfront is that if they bog off with it, you don't have any more cash to purchase more materials and then pay someone else to do the job.

And yet, cashflow is a real headache for some builders, so they operate on this basis and if you stiff them for the cash or are slow paying, then they are only out of pocket for their time, not the materials.