"Sometimes the best money you make, is the job you didn't take."

There was an excellent Concrete contractor in the Seattle area. One time he completed a fantastic job on a driveway in a really expensive neighborhood. After the work was done the homeowner tried to nickel and dime him and not pay what he agreed to. The contractor refunded what he had been paid, ripped up his driveway and took it away in his dump trucks. It was epic. He was an older contractor that had plenty of money and was tired of peoples crap. He actually picked up 2 or 3 more jobs from that neighborhood. The neighbors know what happened. Neighbors are a powerful source of business as well.

I know a guy who was owed money from a local Chinese restaurant for window cleaning or something similar. So after many attempts to get paid, he went one evening when the restaurant was full, and stood in the middle the dining area shouting "I want my money! I want my money!..." over and over. They rushed out and paid him straight away.

Got a job handdigging a sewerline with a shady business. After job was done of course lady didnt want to pay. I got into her car and sat there quite some time. She finally paid me after i asked her what was for dinner. I hate people who expect something for nothing.

The way I run my company is, 1/3 down to get on the schedule (Covers the materials) , second third down when we start the project and the final 1/3 once the job is completed. Our contract explains the payment plan in great detail. In the 20 years we have been in business, we have never once had a problem collecting.

I’ve owned an asphalt paving company for almost 30 years now and although it’s a different business than landscaping, it’s also the same, because we’re both working for homeowners. what you say in this video is absolutely spot on. Always get 50% when you start and always get paid upon completion. The part where you talk about trusting your instincts about a potential customer is really important. Several times a year I will not even give an estimate to someone because my bat senses are tingling and I know that customer is going to be trouble. One thing I might add is if someone try’s to get you down on the price you quote them, although annoying, it usually means that they do plan on paying, or they wouldn’t bother. Also I’ve noticed that most problems that come up are caused because the customer has wrong expectations. This is usually caused by the contractor not getting things straight with the customer from the beginning. Great video, I wish I could have watched it when I was starting out. It would have saved me a LOT of headaches.

sorry for always commenting on your old videos, I watch them over and over as need be. your information is very helpful thank you for all you do for us.

Great advice !! In 40 yrs of doing flooring ive only not been a hand full of times !! but every one of those customers very wealthy !! The average client paid right away !!

I've removed work for failure to pay. It's funny how fast the checkbook comes out when you have a sledge hammer in hand.

Thank you so much for sharing/ My son got burned by our neighbor! So sad! Thank God it was not a lot of money, but the work he did was super hard, he dug 5 4'Ft deep holes on our yard; (con pico y pala) 5 fence posts and put inside 8' Ft poles for a fence that fell between us. We did our share of an oral aggreement in which they have not paid since Hurricane Irma.

This one was my Dad's story he passed on to me. He did HVAC and was on a job site when he learned from the plumbers and electricians that the customer hadn't paid them on time when he was supposed to. It was the second missed payment. My Dad told them that he would get paid, and he installed the furnace and A/C. They thought that he was crazy. Sure enough, the guy failed to pay and everyone put mechanics leans on the property. He still didn't pay and everyone was screwed... except my Dad. The customer kept calling to complain that the furnace wouldn't work and that it kept shutting off. My Dad told him repeatedly that it was a good furnace and would work as soon as he was paid. After a few weeks of cold weather, (and stories going around that the same guy screwed HVAC techs over that he called to figure out why it wouldn't work), he called my Dad and agreed to pay cash. With cash in hand... my Dad disconnected the flue pipe and put a ladder up onto the roof. He carried a brick and a clothes line rope and sent the brick down to smash the glass disc he had siliconed in the chimney flue. Then he connected the flue pipe, lit, and set up the furnace. The customer was pissed but my Dad got paid in full! Furnaces have sensors that must detect a positive draft from the flue or they won't light. Looking up the chimney, it appeared clear. Pretty sneaky of my Dad! I'm not sure how you could protect yourself like that landscaping or hardscaping.

from the bottom of my heart...thank you so much for making these videos...my company is 2 weeks old with 17 years of past experience and I'm 35 but I'm binge watching and taking notes...Thank you so much again

so true. you're fair honest and do a good job. You are entitled to be compensated. it always seems "friends" or those who portray themselves as friends are the worst. always your best buddy until it's time to pay.

You made a very good point about gut feeling. I am at a point where, when I have a bad feeling about someone, I will not work for them at all.

I got screwed over a couple of times early in my career big time ! Having to eat labor and materials. Now I will only pour concrete for a few select contractors in my area . I will not work for anyone in the General Public or contractors I do not have at least five years of solid business relationships with. Also I never pay for any materials, labor only work . The way I can pull this off and stay busy year-round is because I provide an excellent service at a very competitive rate . I turned down more work than I do . I'm sure I'm more fearful then I should be . but like I said ,I can lose money sitting at the house and not even break a sweat doing it .

Amazing advice. It’s good to know that there are some honest people like yourself still in this world.

I am a home owner. Before starting to build on my property I studied lien law in my state. As a result I took precautions and made the builder sign a lien waver and had him have all his subcontractors sign lien waivers as they did the work and I got a Final Affidavit of Payment from the builder. Well, it turns out the concrete contractor did not pay for the concrete, did the job, got paid by the builder, and left town without paying for the concrete. Concrete company came after me. He filed a lien but never took me to court. He knew I had lien waivers signed by both the contractor and the builder that all debts were paid, however, he place a lien against me but never took me to court. It has be over seven years now. Having these lien wavers from both the subcontractor and builder paid off or I would have had to pay twice for the concrete.

More interesting and pertinent real world advice from you Stan. Thanks! My story about customers not paying for a good long time comes from last year when an embassy I was working for did not pay me more than 2 months after I told them to find another contractor. I was emailing and calling the secretary everyday when I finally was summoned to go pick up my check and sign a receipt which was 100% in a foreign language. Never again will I work for an embassy!

Was asked by a friend, while having a beer, to level Field and back yard and remove trees ... HOW MUCH? With an attitude of wanting to help, I said I would charge time and materials and shared what my hourly rates are. He asked again "How much to level yard" I said $3,000. I quickly noticed, that to level and mow lawn in the future, sod should be tilled to prevent the need for buying top soil. That was the beginning. My bad for not catching this sooner, tilling would add to the cost of the project... The job went on and on starting with him asking how much to install sprinkler system. Roof drains, Rock gardens were my suggestion. I reminded him this is time and materials and gave him a GUESS what it would cost. Seemed I was always short by Thousands of dollars each time. When the Dust settled the project cost was over $20,000. I am blessed to have been paid in full and 'I think' ( VERY GREAT-FULLL)I am still friends with this old Buddy. The lesson is I should sit down WITH OUT A BEER,,,, and spend the time to write out a quote. (I had a gut feeling when he spoke of others who worked for him in the past and his displeasure.) LESSON: Once quoted I can ask for money up front, as you suggest, and I am sure the experience for both would be so much better. You're right. Follow THE GUT, as long as its coming from a good place. "Enjoy the Ride"... Colin Markin

Thank you that was a great video.I started my business around a year ago and I didn’t realized how hard it is to collect the money from the customers.

I have been on the other side of the story. Hired a landscaping company through Amazon Home Services to mow the lawn and remove the weeds, both of which were really tall, up to 12 inches high. Yard is a bit over 0.5 acre separated in two by a creek, which has a bridge going across it. Gave the contractors link to Google Maps where they could see the exact size of the yard, as well as some pictures of the yard, and exact job description. Received a quote from the contractors. Guys came 7 hours before their scheduled appointment time and were aimlessly wandering on the property, basically trespassing. We told them to come at the scheduled time. At this point, they told us that the job will be twice the quote amount and that they cannot mow behind the creek because their mower will not go there. After that they started to literally whine (I am not exaggerating) about how hard their life and their work is. We told them that they were fired, and they looked really surprised. Took some effort to escort them off the property. Next weekend, we took out our little 18" hand mower and our tiny weed wacker, spent a few hours, and got the job done by ourselves. Can't say that it was easy; we would prefer professionals to do it; but at least we did not have to deal with the nonsense.

My friend and mentor used to have a crane service doing dragline work, demo, setting culverts, stuff like that. He would bake pies for his delinquent customers, show up at the office and boom, he'd leave check in hand. He figured $5 of ingredients for a $20k bill wasn't bad. He was also lucky to have a lot of steady repeat customers who he knew were good to work for. Not all of us can be that lucky, though!

Awesome videos. You do what most GC's can't, are afraid to, don't know how to, on and on. Congrats on success. You earned it.

I dont know about everywhere but here in WA state contractors have to be licensed. This means you can go look them on the WA state website and if they are listed "in good standing" then they have a substantial bond so when you pay %50 up front you can be assured that they will follow thru or the state will pull from their bond to make it right and then go after the contractor for amount pulled from the bond. This is an amazing feeling when you are paying upfront. This protects the consumer, the contractor and the state who produced the license.

One way I do things, which is common in custom fabrication is on a hourly job is to work till the money is dry. So if they give you $500 and you are $100 an hour, you tell them the rate ect and then after 5 hours you go back and get more money or leave.

Great video brotha.....I had my own "Handyman" type business and I've had guns pulled on me...people trying to fight me...when money is involved...you loose friends....I also had rental property....ughhhh don't get me started!

I always do ten percent at signing, 1/3 at start, 1/3 at 1/2 point, and final upon completion. Makes getting my final paycheck so much easier at the end. Change order money is due at signing before work commenced before change is done ALWAYS. First thing you learn is the final check is the one that's ALWAYS the hardest to collect. If the final check is lower, it's much easier to collect it.

I was doing a flooring job for a small regional department store, but I was hired by the general contractor. I did one store up north and had to wait 90 days for my check. In that time the had me do a second store in Western Wi, both jobs we completed on time on budget with no issues, 90 days came and went with no money. I decided to call the general contractor and i found out what was going on, he explained to me that the money was delayed over a roof trusses issue something I have nothing to do with. Months later no money the only thing I received was a bankruptcy notice for $65000!

Great video, great advice. Thanks.

The first story of the neighbor and friend job gone bad is contracting 101 which is to never do work for family or friends. The nuisance fee should not be a flat rate dollar amount but rather a set percentage of the overall job cost. That alone will separate clients from high end clients as well as the way they do business. The moment you show up and getting half down is not suggested. You're getting half down at that point for what? Just showing up? Keep in mind there are many contractors of all different trades that do exactly that and either never show up or at best show up when ever they feel like it. A contract which includes the payment schedule should be written up and signed by both parties. Additionally not only is demanding half down day one because you showed up going to make a client think twice, it's also not legal in many states. There are far better ways to ensure the clients you work for not only have the money for the job, but also pay you with that money that they have for what ever work has been done. If money issues are happening especially in today's age, contractors of all sorts are either attracting the wrong type of clients or not formatting the money process correctly.

Great video -- short and sweet, BUT drives home very key components to getting PAID, which is the name of the game. It forces clients to be honest, helps them and the contractor budget, but also keeps the contractor on point & organized, so they don't get in over their head. It keeps everyone on the same page, and everyone informed & happy.

I agree 100 percent. Liens work. Deposits work. Collecting the second you are done works.

Think about ordering a product online. At almost all website businesses you pay in full before they send the product. I suppose the customers who refuse to pay for a job upfront also won't order anything online unless they can receive the product before paying. Right? Great videos Stan! Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

Just found you man, great videos! Geek to Freak motivated me to start my own lawn service. Then I found Keith Kalfas and he helped me jump up my game. Now I found you and I believe you have the videos that'll help me jump myself to the next level. great videos, thanks for putting them out there

22 years in framing ,drywall ,and drywall finishing and paint. And I have never been burned. Thank good. Never made up a contract. I had to wait a few days a couple times but never not been paid. But your right. Gatta read the red flags from the beginning.

I usually get the customer's personal address. I'm a small time home painter. I had a guy stiff me on a commercial job. I showed up at his house, they opened the door when I knocked loudly, I walked in, sat at his kitchen table while talking firmly with the family, that his check bounced. He called a few stores he had to see if they had money. I was sent to another store that had the cash in the register to pay me. I love old skool tactics. I got paid!

For this coming plow season I am doing more contracts and getting payments up front. I like the word 'downposit'

I have been screwed by ''friends'' on a couple different occasions and now I demand half down plus total costs. This is only working with computers mostly but its still the same principal. Make sure you do what Stanley said and get paid up front because once your done and gone your out of sight out of mind. And don't just trust friends and family, treat all business like business.

this type of videos needed to be out ten years ago in Texas the construction market is ridiculous

Been in business since 09 and my family won't even bother asking me anymore lol. Went through father mother brother aunts uncles and cousins all asking me for "estimates". They all finally got the hint when they all got the same treatment with "actual" estimates.....as soon as they realized real money had to be dispensed wow all of a sudden the tune changed. I know you can't pick your family but also nobody can screw you like family. Stanley is true true.....always trust your gut....or intuition whatever you call it. Money makes people funny.

It's so weird. You can do a job worth $1,000 for family/friends, not charge them, and it's "gee thanks". I'm lucky to get a plate of cookies... However if you gave them $1,000 cash, they'd think it was most amazing thing to happen. It'd just blow their mind. In other words it's just not worth working for free unless it's for someone who truly appreciates it. I also make family/friends get estimates now. They need to know I'm giving them a good deal so they can't hold it over my head later that they "gave me work".

We will not even order products until the 50% deposit clears, Then when our company delivers and/or start of the project a additional 30%. Final 20% due on completion walk around. Works great.

i had a bad feeling about a customer once so i did what you said about upping my down payment and the guy paid everything with no problems what so ever, I also had a really friendly customer who i "trusted" throughout the whole project and she ended up burning me.. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!!!

Love your videos - great information! Grew up in the construction industry - concrete formwork - in the Boston area in both residential and commercial construction.

Here in Ma. , we get 1/3 down 1/3 when ya show up 1/3 when finished

I work for private homeowners almost exclusively, 90%+ is T&M. I'm a one-guy operation with an occasional helper, and leave the bigger commercial/contractor jobs to bigger outfits. Haven't had any bad experiences, but only a few years in business. Worked extensively in the construction industry prior to that, and got a feel for problem customers. I don't have a problem walking away from something I think would pay well...if they paid. Often people who try and stiff a guy are also twitchy up front and a royal PITA to deal with project-wise; people who are pleased often refer me work to like individuals. Good customers pay the same rate as bad ones, and I guess you know which we'd all rather work for.

Thank you Thank you Thank You .. man I am overwhelmed by so much excellent information .. and that vid thing is excellent! I am going to watch every single one of your vids and many twice or more

One of the stories I always loved was a mason who built a chimney for a multi-million dollar project and had a feeling he wasn't going to get paid for the job. About 2/3 of the way up the chimney, he installed a single thin pane of glass. You couldn't see it from the top or the bottom. The gen contractor refused to pay him when he completed the job and he went home. The homeowner moved in and found that smoke would back up into the house from the fireplaces and couldn't figure out why. The homeowner got on the contractor about it and he hired multiple chimney sweeps and inspectors and no-one could figure out why it wouldn't work. They finally called in the mason who came to the site with the contractor and homeowner there and he said, it doesn't work because I haven't been paid... The homeowner pulled the contractor away and said "what the heck" and the contractor had no justification... They went back over and the contractor begrudgingly paid the mason - +10%. The mason picked up a rock, went up on the roof, dropped the rock down the chimney smashing the glass. Climbed down, said have a nice day, and went home. That general contractor never worked in that area again but the mason had plenty of work.

was screwed by a lady who wanted a stone wall. got half up from 25 percent at start. had to go to court for the rest. Judge up held my price. I do contracts that the home owner must sign. gives materials labor and time frame, provided down payment and fee is paid before work. always get notary to sign it.

Amen....unfortunately most of us learn the hard way. Lol. Always get a down payment if the job permits, a customer needs to have skin in the game. Can't trust anyone these days.

Not in the Landscaping/Hardscaping business like most people here. But, I come here to here your business advice which is helpful. I run a delivery dry cleaning business and have had to change my system completely. I will not even consider picking up a new customers clothes until I have their credit card stored on file. It cuts out a lot of crap. I know a potential customer is not serious until they provide payment info.

In Fire/EMS/LEO world we have a saying... "If it's NOT IN WRITING it didn't happen" ... Having a set of terms that the contractee signs and given a copy of helps. Stipulating somewhere in it that "these terms may be modified in writing and authorized by both parties" allows for some flexibility. Having basic terms like you describe in this as a boiler plate should be standard practice. Having two or three part forms with the terms and conditions printed on the back keeps all the info together so they can't say "oh I never got your terms paper" or something. Having a statement (IMO) also that says "Work will be done in accordance to customary business practices" allows for some leeway if you do something a tad different than another local contractor but is acceptable business practice nationwide.... Great info !!!

Did a job for family at a low rate for contract land clearing , my brother picked up my dozer took it to the job I did 137 hours and he returned my dozer then billed me the exact amount for cartage as the bill for the dozer work . The cartage bill was $85 per km for 160 km ( both ways ) had to go to court where a judge ruled that the cartage was anon standard of the industry and a clear way of avoiding paying a debt, he had already filled for bankruptcy for that business and started up under a new company and I had to join the list of creditors who missed out on being paid , all I can say is it wrecked our family life as i haven't spoke t any family member in 15 years

I like to try to have my employees or subcontractor stay on the site until I collect that way if the customer has any excuse like there's a minute thing that they wanted finished they can't pay me until it's done we're still there we take care of it we collect , there's also something about when we've done a really good job it's hard for the customer to look at the guys who actually did the work in the face and say their unhappy about something

Hired a guy to fix my bed sides on my pickup truck. Dropped the truck off he didn't even mention any money! Truck was done and he said I could come pick it up! I brought him $2500 cash and handed it to him! He is a very trusting guy haha good to do business with!

I have a big job starting next week. Told customer what materials to order and broke the work down to three phases and % payment due at end of each stage 40/35/25. I don't anticipate any problems but I'm comfortable with the numbers and he is to. Good channel btw 👍 from England

I was told by friend Steve that he welded about 1/2 mile or more of 6'' barred steal pipe main line . Now To be clear all the welding rod belonged to Steve until he was paid in full. Now the farmer had his son welding some of the joints and when the line was tested some of welds leaked. The farmer told my Steve to fix the welds that leaked but Steve said those are not my welds mine I mark my welds a stamp ( like a brand ) those are your sons welds. The farmer had to pay the full price for all of the welds that had to be repaired By Steve. When the job was finished the farmer didn't have the money so Steve said he would wait until harvest. A short time later the farmer harvested his crop and no check for Steve so Steve Went out and started grinding his welds out. The farmer came over to where Steve was grinding on the pipe welds threatening to call the police. Steve said I have permission to be here from the owner of the land and I am removing my welding rod until I am paid in full. The farmer started for the bank to get his money and Steve said you better get plenty of money because I will be removing my rod until I am paid! This was 20 or 30 years ago at around $80.00 dollars a joint.

This past summer a fence company quoted all his fence jobs stupid cheap(as in too good to be true cheap) He took a 25% deposit upfront and then would disappear. He did this all summer and skipped town. Most customers understood our higher pricing but some wanted the same price as the scammer. It was very difficult trying to get them to understand why we could not install the fence for the same price. As if we are the ones ripping them off.

I walk up to the client when my tasks are completed to perfection and say…. “Now time for my favorite part” they always know what I mean and give a chuckle and are eager to pay. That’s only possible with 2 things…perfect work and airtight contract.

Thanks Stanley for the helpful video.

My secret to being paid in full for every other job is that I'd use the threat of a real property lien if someone started trying to get out of the debt. I genuinely wanted to work with folks, I realize that some projects are not exactly elective and can be a huge unexpected cost, things such as septic systems or severe erosion aren't things most folks can just pay cash money for. I'd arrange payment plans (with interest, of course), but as soon as folks went delinquent and started blowing me off, I'd just gently let them know that I wasn't going to waste my time bugging them, I'd just file a lien and they could pay me when they're able, even if that's years down the road when they want to sell their home. I had two jobs that stood out as being particularly obnoxious in that regard. One was a septic upgrade so a fellow could get his carriage house fully-plumbed so he could live there while renting-out the main home. Times were tough for him, I accommodated they guy as much as I could, and figured as long as he was making progress on the debt, it was no hardship for me to run an account for him. When he went 3 months delinquent, I brought-up the topic of filing a lien to make sure I'd get paid, he paid-off the last few hundred bucks he owed immediately. Another was a snow-clearing job which took dozens of hours to open a nearly 3/4 mile-long driveway after a 9' snowfall. After the snow was cleared, he started whining about his engineering business doing poorly, so I worked-out a payment plan for him as well. Months later when it was summer and the huge heaps of snow I piled were mostly melted away, he started getting difficult, blowing-off his monthly payments. I guess his wife didn't like the prospect of having a lien placed on their home, they came-up with the remaining balance almost immediately. I think the reason this approach is so effective is that, at some level, people think if they drag their feet and fool around long enough, the contractor will just give-up and go away, all debts dismissed & forgotten, or that they could bargain to pay less as is possible with unsecured debt that gets sent to collections. Liens are something that take no effort to maintain and they don't go away, they secure the debt by clouding the title to the real property which has been repaired or improved until they're paid-off.

I work with my dad and my dad doesn't like arguments some lady didn't pay us after the job was finished even though we do great work ...

Great videos. Thanks for passing on your knowledge.

My friend who was a mason contractor told me if someone wasn't going to pay after he built a chimney for them he would install a sheet of glass, so when the would try to use the fireplace the smoke would back up into the house, they would call him to fix it, he would collect then drop a rock in to break the glass.

No more checks on 1st cuts for me. Had a customer set me up real good this month with an overgrown lawn. 2 hours of work, check bounced, no pay. PLUS, my bank charged me for the returned check. Lesson learned. Never again.

good advice...i have a few rentals and i still go every month in person and collect the rents. 99% of the time no problems and they have it...cant bullshit me with excuses when they know i am coming.

I am a residential/commercial mover. This story is of a repeat client. I had moved them from MA to VT without payment issues though plenty of PIA issues. A year later when deciding to move to a less rural area of VT I did not hesitate and took on a bigger scope of the job, packing the entire contents of her home and antique business, carefully packing thousands of fragile smalls. 8 days on the job, 2 tractor trailers transported, and everything unpacked perfectly without 1 single error. Staying within the exact quoted price. Since they were elderly, repeat customers I accepted payments via installments. Every check after the initial cash deposit bounced. After 2 attempts to collect on the debt, we are left to pursue small claims court. And filing criminal charges, as passing bad checks is a federal offense to the charge of grand larceny by check.

I love watching your videos good job, I am just getting started with landscaping and I can use as much advice as possible, I will watch more of your videos

had a guy tell me his neighbor would hall off the rock with his dump trailer.. so I saved him money.. come to find out his neighbor wasn't okay with that. buy this time the job was done and he said he would not pay me until I moved all the rock away. fortunately I had a friend who owed me a solid n he came n picked up the rock for the cost of the dump fee and gas. it was a close call

I had a landscape contractor bill me and then I found out that he had stolen 3 triaxle loads of material that he dug out from my foundation. His lawyer contacted me and I provided him with pictures that my neighbors had taken and a reverse bill with legal charges of double what his lawyer had demanded for his hourly charges. I won.

Enjoyed your video. I'm a small manufacturer and I always get 50% up front, full payment Ex Works (before it leaves the factory), I have 2 corporates I do a lot of work for and it hard for them to pay on my build cycle due to their payment system to 100s of contractors. In that case I get a signature on the line on delivery stating clearly that "all goods remain the property of my business until payment is made in full" which gives me the ability to get a legal judgment to recover equipment in case of non payment for any reason.As all pay 50% that covers any labour not paid for on full amount. 25 yrs in the motor trade as a mechanic before that taught me that trust is not a word that belongs in any business transactions no matter who its with, business is business, you don't get paid you go out of business. Cheers.

I LOVE THIS GUY HE KNOWS

in Ohio law says 10 percent down max. then progress payments. I guess showing up is progress so maybe I'll try your method. I get stiffed once or twice a year, and I never forget it. seems contractors get cheated by homeowners more than vica versa.

Carry Non-Payment insurance and let them argue with insurance company lawyers over it. So long as your work is good, and and contract solid. They'll pay EVERYTIME. Never even had to follow through a claim.

Thankfully I am a small company, just me out of Maplewood and have not had that happen but I have had to wait two to three weeks for payments. Because I trust that people will do the right thing.

I'm in major auto repair. The same rules apply even though I have a "perceived" mechanics possessory lien. I don't do any work for new customers over 1-200 bucks without a sig. I don't do any work for anyone of a major nature without a sig. The 2 or 3 times a problem was settled in a courtroom I prevailed without hesitation due to that policy. And I don't know anyone in my marketplace who follows that policy. Business is business and Mr. Genadek has this issue nailed. Good video.

Credit card chargebacks! I got taken for 26k last year after the job was done. Still fighting it.

Great videos Stanley! Im a masory contractor in MD and unfortunately we have a home improvement law that states 1/3 deposit maximum. Im not sure about other states but its a bit of a pain in the ass.

It's is this very reason I am launching a new website for contractors, as well as starting my own vlog there are very few contractors I follow on KZfaq, but you are one of them.👍 I hope we can calibrate in the future on some shop Talk,

Thank you Sir for your very valuable insights, I am considering entering the Earth Moving business and the lessons and advise you post here are so great, many of these you have learned thru hard graft and steep curves obviously. I am based in Melbourne Australia and the very same principles apply here no doubt....Again thank you for you advise and please keep them coming. More power to you my friend : )

I have worked in the loan world for a long time , wouldn't it be prudent to agree to sign a lien waiver only after the funds have cleared ? I think this would be the best way to protect yourself and have good recourse against the contractor or homeowner ...

This has been a struggle for as long as there have been workers and customers. I had a roof done years ago. Roofer wanted a third down for materials and I felt that was fair. Said it was a 4 or 5 day job. On day 5 the guy says he needs to pay his crew for the week even though he's not done. I told him that was HIS worry. He said 4-5 days and now it's day 5 and not done. Same thing with vinyl siding. Sure, contractors getting screwed is not good but you can't sit there and pretend that ALL contractors are honest either. If you do, I'll link in some vids from The Home Inspector showing shitty work on really expensive homes.

I once had to weld a trailer hitch for a guy, he pretty much said he will be back with the cash. After welding i wrapped up my tools and leads and waited for the guy. Called him 5 times, left him 10 text messages, no answer. 2 hours later and still nothing, it was getting dark, so i simply told him, if he doesnt call me within 10 minutes, i am taking the trailer as payment! 30 seconds later he called 😁

I'm 16 and i want to be a general contractor and your videos are very helpful as of right now I'm working under a contractor and also learning alot from him first hand

So similar to David below I also left a offer for fixing some bad pavement in his driveway for about 5000 SEK (approx 650usd) and when we started lift some of those "bricks" I saw that the underlaying material was just really rich dirt. And told the guy that those who installed it just removed the grass and made it level so it would soon be the same issue again. I gave him a new offer for redoing the whole thing for 25000 SEK (approx 3200usd) and he accepted after we was done I walked him trough our process and gave him the papers of what we installed etc and he was very pleased with the job. In Sweden we dont use "checks" but send "Faktura" (invoice?) So he gets 30 days to pay. And when payment didnt come I called him and he refused to pay. I asked if there was any issues with what we done or something that didnt meet his expactations. He said the job was done great and hes really pleased but that we agreed on 5000SEK not 25000SEK. I tried make him understand that those were 2 very different jobs.. Long story short I got 8000SEK. Couldve probably brought him to court but was afraid of a even worse loss. Greetings from Sweden

I'm just starting my landscape business and I gave a 28$ fee for a 4 hour job contract was signed and the guy said I'll go to the bank I waited 6 hours for him to get back he got back and asked me why I was there I replied I'm waiting for my money he said your not getting it long story shot I called the sheriffs office 4 squad cars showed I got 50 dollars as a late payment fee he dropped me of course but his neighbor hired me for double the amount so happy ending

A guy called me from a CL ad, said he wanted his rear entry door replaced and the front door fixed so there would be no drag. Showed up for the estimate, landed the job, and scheduled to start 1 week later. Agreed to pay cost of materials and 50% up front 50% upon completion. Arrived day 1 got cash in hand, and did all demolition work and had the door installed by the time he arrived home from work. Was super happy with it and decided all of a sudden he wanted to full out replace the front door and install screen doors on both. Adjusted all documentation accordingly and proceeded to execute the work. Job was supposed to be 2 days and ended up going back and forth for almost 3 weeks because he kept changing his mind. From style of doors to the color of paint. By the time it was all said and done I had replaced both doors, installed screen doors on both, and re-finished the garage entry door. All went smooth on the customers side agreeing to pay what was fair at each time of adjustment to the contract. Simultaneously, had hired 2 different "painters" to help but f*ed it up more than they helped, so I'm out labor expenses, no biggie...went back about 3 days at the end to fix the paint and the customer said he was happy with it, job done, time to collect the remainder of the balance (which was only about 10 percent at this point) says he wont pay me because I didnt fix his smart lock on the front door. So to conclude I was denied being paid because he bought a faulty lock. I live over an hour away from the guy and tell him I'm not coming all the way back for a lock that doesn't work. He's pissed because I won't just fix it and puts him in a "bad position" with work scheduling to exchange it. I have a legal contract with the guy but I won't end up pursuing it because I'll end up paying more to collect than the amount I'm owed. On to the next project and will be sticking to my guns on the way I do collections which have always been very similar to what's explained in this video. The bad part is this guy is career military amd I gave him a military discount in an attempt to land more jobs with him at rental homes he owns. Can't trust anyone

we don't have the time to tell all!! keep up the good work. .and keep bringing the reputation up for the goodones. (Retired)

in wa state i am a electrician and we can just put a lien on there house if they dont pay

As a lawyer I am constantly fighting for my clients to get the last 20% of payments after the work is done. They either come late or never.

Been in business for over 30 years. I do my best to get paid up to the point of asking for the next payment. The lines of bullshitters seem to be pretty common. The latest is my dad died and I can't pay you right now. My answer and I confirm it an email is " I have to leave your job now and hope you understand. Let me know when you want to start it back up." The most important thing in business is to be real so you can tell when someone else is not. I've been ripped many times and these are where I have learned how important it is to know boundaries and respect even in your personal life. As long as you respect yourself you will see who does the same. Yes there are a lot of refined crooks out there too and that is where your gut feeling over rides. In a win win situation any risks form either side should be limited no matter who you are dealing with. The laws do their best to work this way and if you have a good lawyer he will show you how to set up your contract for it. I think a good contractor makes his communications to the customer legal and clear.

I finally grew that beard that I've been working on after listening to this man talk!! In other words, my testosterone just doubled!! This is a Mans Man!! This is my approach to life!! Now I see why you have so many peoples respect!! You're spitting nothing but facts!!

on a subdivicion a agreed with a homeowner to clean up a retention pond for 500 dls. but when i finish the job, the homeowner send me to the HOA president who tellsme that 500 was to much this retention pond and it was a common area but he was responsible every year to pay for for it and he ussualy paid 60 (the guy before was tricked to), so the guy finally make me a check for 150 cause i spend 15 hours... and his argument was that the neigbor's wife look trhu the window several times and she didn't thouth that i was working that hard (95 degress outside) and the pastor (the HOA president) thougth it was fair to pay me 10 dls. an hour like the guys on those gas stations, i argue for 30 minutes but clearly the guy take advantage of me... that was 7 years ago... i stll learning every day one way or another....:(

haha he was walking out of the police station

Thank you for the great informative videos.

Dealing with exactly this right now. I'm a timber cutting contractor, I cut a bunch of trees on a lot clearing job for a friend's construction outfit, I told him I needed half, which I got and told him I'm on a 2 week billing cycle for remainder once finished...it's been 5 weeks since I finished the job, and no word yet

I rarely had folks not pay for price bid, yet had a few that pushed for services not agreed upon beforehand. Most honest were those living on lower income. The worst folks to collect from were doctors n lawyers n other rich people. I would in turn visit with other contractors n we had a long list of folks Not to work for without money paid up front. Lost some customers yes, but less headaches n maintained a better relationship with honest home owners. I would add little things they didn't expect n never had a complaint ever. Sometimes when you give a bid n your gut feelings are throwing up red flags, it's time to go highest bid n leave. I seldom do work for family n close friends as they automatically assume you'll work wayyy cheaper than others. An the fact it almost always leaves friendships n family placed in hard positions. Yes, some friends n others understand you too have bills if not moreso than they may. Some jobs go south really fast, finding a solution ASAP n keeping the customer in the loop helps at times. They generally go with lowest bids n almost always have court costs or hiring us to fix problems. Not because we are so awesome, but try to treat them as our best customers. I have found that neighbors to customers can start problems themselves n influence their attitude towards jobs. I have left several jobs, an stated that your neighbors have all the right ways things should be done. After which most came begging to have us return n their neighbors kept their opinions n even had them hire us when job was done. So many factors that most folks neverrr hear or ever realized what happens at times. Managing people n employees an their problems can be overwhelming at times. Yet I have one Golden Rule,,, If a employee becomes a hazard to other crews or threatens to leave job. Never Ever talk them out of leaving your crew. One bad attitude can generate ill feelings with entire crews, whom all had gotten along before said employee came along. If they want to quit, let them quit. If not, they almost always cause trouble amongst others n even customers pick up on their attitudes as well. I'd rather have a happy employee than one who brings down others, be selective in hiring. It really does work. More $$$ can bring crews back to life, so share some of your profits IMHO regularly, an let them know you have their backs.

When you talk about getting half down to avoid getting scammed, it directly contradicts what you said in your three ways contractors scam video. Unless I'm crazy you said that anyone who needs half down is not financially stable and doesn't have any credit so you shouldn't trust them. I'm paraphrasing obviously but that's what I got out of it.

You're spot-on about having customers pay for materials. The *only* job I ever ran where I didn't collect 100% of my bill was a particular guy who I should've known better than to work for. He showed some signs of being demanding at the start, even bragged about sending other folks packing without pay because he didn't like the quality of their work. He actually tried to send me packing without being paid partway through the job, complaining about what his dirt driveway looked like when it was barely even half-graded and I had some parts ripped-up for restructuring & drainage. I had to get a bit forceful with him to complete my job, which involved finishing it with a layer of recycled asphalt. Of course, he found fault with the recycled asphalt and refused to pay, rather than deal with him anymore, I just took payment for services rendered, blacklisted him, spread the word to colleagues about him, and called it good. If only I'd had him pay for materials, I would've collected on the entire project on that, too.

My friend the cabinet maker was having trouble collecting for a kitchen he made for a customer. I advised him: if the material usesd is say $5,000, then ask for the $5,000 before ordering and delivering the material. If it is a $10,000 kitchen then tell the customer that the houly rate is such and such for installing the kitchen and you will expect it to take this number of hours and it will be paid to you daily.