Extension large deposit

[AJacobs81]

Hi
we are planning an extension costs have come in and the best quote is 35K from a company I dont know much about. Have done some research online and reviews are all positive. Company is on trusted traders, rated people etc. The problem is they can’t start until 3 months time but are insisting on a large deposit of 10k to guarantee the slot for us. Any advice please

Is it to secure materials aswell? I would ask if they can guarantee no price rise if you pay the deposit as they may put the price up after they have your money, get something in writing saying this if you pay it.

hi No mention of materials, as start date is still 3 months away. When asked why so much they said it is to secure the building slot so they can guarantee we will go ahead with the works and not pull out if we get a cheaper quote some time in that period.

That does seem quite a lot under the circumstances. Have you spoken to previous clients personally? Incidentally, would you mind sharing the size of the extension? Our quotes have varied wildly.

Do you have personal recommendations or just online references? His may be genuine but not all online references are genuine. Sometimes the cheapest quote is not the best. I'm sure you know all these.
What deposit conditions did the other builders who quoted for the work have? If no one asked for such a huge deposit so early, I would back away. It doesn't feel right to me.
If you feel you must, can you place the deposit with a third party - like third parties who hold rental deposits? What conditions will be attached to the deposit? How will it be released? For materials or labour and under what conditions? Can you get it back if the builder is late and the work doesn't start when it is scheduled to? Do you have a signed contract with a company you have validated? Can you risk paying such a huge deposit with nothing to show for it? It is your hard earned cash. Up to you to protect it.

I have had awful companies through trusted traders etc. It really doesn't mean anything

What kind of extension is it? £35k seems really cheap. And availability in 3 months is very quick. That would make me suspicious alone.
You don't pay to reserve the slot, you pay in advance for the 1st lot of materials so they can order them. 33% is too much.
I would only go off local recommendations, visit their previous work, meet them in person etc.

hi we received 5 quotes in total 2 asked for large deposits at the beginning others did not. Builder has stated if I am worried pay it on credit card so protected by section 75.

How much space are you adding for £35k. Must be tiny! Have you got quotes from any recommended builders?

You have to ask for a breakdown of what the £10k is for. If it is purely to reserve the slot, run a mile. If it is to order materials in, it is too early and ask what materials that covers. Have you seen any documentation?
We've done x2 extensions that were £100k each - both times we only paid 1st installment as work was beginning, which was 20%.

Yeah I am really starting to have doubts. Sounds too good to be true

35k is very cheap. I’d be wary.

Just so you can see it in black and white....10,000 out of your budget of 35,000 is too much to give away as a deposit to secure a slot offered by a builder you have not received any personal recommendations for.
Asking you to put it on your credit card sounds very much like someone is doing a hard sell on you.

How big is the extension? is it single storey? If you give a rough idea of where you live geographically there should be someone on here who can give you a rough estimate of costs. Maybe even recommend you a builder. Word of mouth is far better than trusting online reviews.

I had an extension years ago, never paid a penny upfront. I paid everyone directly ie builder's merchant for all the stuff ordered by my builder, I paid the sub contractors directly too. My builder invoiced me every week and I transferred his labour rate directly into his bank account every Friday afternoon. It ran on budget and on schedule. Initial quote included all the subcontractor costs. And no, he isn't building anymore he is retired sadly.

Never pay in advance unless it’s just a very small amount for materials, but even then not 3 months in advance…

Never trust online reviews.

Never be sucked in by quotes which sound unrealistically cheap.

Our small extension is in progress and will be £40k to plaster finish (barring any surprises!). The deposit was £500 to secure the start date.
We then paid first installment of £5k the day they started (when skip had arrived, foundations started being dug etc).
£10k upfront sounds high unless you are getting materials delivered now to protect against price rises.

We had to put down a £10k deposit when we had a single storey side extension. That was about £38k 4 years ago. I'm in the south west.

Paying more doesn't mean you'll get a better job done. Half the tradesmen on our job were great and took pride and other rolled their eyes like teenagers when they did a sloppy job and didn't read the plans.

That did include initial materials aswell- forgot to add!

Thank you all for message you have made up our minds that it doesn’t sound correct. Will find a local builder.

The availability thing wouldn’t concern me as much as the amount. We have been getting quotes for an extension, all reputable local builders with personal recommendations- I think of the five, four have done work for neighbours and friends. Two are able to start this summer, one in September.

We do have all paperwork in place apart from the party wall agreement and it’s a very simple extension, no steels.

But I would not be comfortable paying that amount up front.