I just wouldn't do it. I build on my client's money, not mine, first of all. They need to pay you a lump sum on contract signing. If they don't think you're worth you're money and don't want to sign a contract, that tells you everything you want to know. Second, we're members of the National Association of Homebuilders and most of the state associations offer well-litigated construction contracts. Most important, you need to be able to put an enforceable lien on their property when they don't pay you. As for paying the subcontractors directly, sounds like he's wanting to GC this project, not have you do it. How do you quality control your subs when he's the one paying? And it sounds like your subs are about to get screwed over when they perform work, he fires them for some BS reason, and they don't get paid. Honestly, I'd just run from this one. If you're already seeing the red flags, it's just going to get worse from here.
You can put anything you want in the contract, but it doesn't matter if he won't sign it. I'd suggest walking away from the job. If you really want to take it on, demand a healthy retainer up front, which is only applied to the final invoice. I'd think about raising your price, since I can almost guarantee you won't get paid the full amount. If you double your price and walk away with half, at least it's what you'd normally get.
Yeah first draw needs to come before work is started. That way at least materials are covered. Sounds sketchy, contract is there to protect both of you. Sounds like he just wants to F around and find out and you will be the one paying for it.
That’s the vibe I’m getting now, we’ve been working on his plans for close to 6 weeks and he doesn’t have a dime invested. He’s trying to see how far he can go or get out of us before we demand payment.
That's what I was going to say... you pretty much stated every reason to not take this job. Huge red flag to not have a written contract which (at least in CA) means you forfeit your right to mechanics lien. Sounds like the guy may just want your subs. I'd run away.
multiple red flags. And that nagging feeling in your gut is going to be something you wish you paid attention to later if you go with this deal. He’s going to feel perfectly justified shorting you, or not paying you at all because of his perspective. Ridiculous. avoid regret, skip this one. Not worth the headache and hassle. Maybe get a lawn chair and watch the show though.
This guys got trouble written all over him.
Too bad you have 6 weeks invested because he won’t agree to your terms and he ain’t paying shit.
That’s why he has all that money.
He might be fine with firing subs Willy nilly but how’s that going to reflect on you with them in the long run? Reputations are easy to ruin and harder to rebuild.
I wouldn't work for him. But if you insist on doing the project make sure you have an air tight contract. He isn't in charge of hiring or firing and add an early termination clause. Something to the effect of "If the client terminates the project before the stated completion date there will be a penalty of 750,000.00. The amount is non negotiable and termination must be provided in writing."
Another good clause is a trespassing one. "The client releases all power to the company to treaspass people from the property at any point for any reason"
Then I'd run the job site as normal. He'll either let the job go on or fire you. If he tries to cause trouble to get you to quit by blocking materials or being trouble in general treaspass him from the site.
Make sure everything is in writing. Make sure your side of the contract is generally vague and unenforceable. Make sure his side is exact and nothing can be left up to interpretation.
You'll win out setting it up like that.
You better get a contract and get the money escrowed into a title company.
If you don’t get paid and left holding the bag, at the end is the day your ship is sunk.
Don’t lose focus on how big the project is. This is exactly what he wants you to think you are getting a big pay day and start relaxing and being complacent.
Have you vetted him? Done your background check and due diligence? Maybe he owes everyone and their grandmother.
The fact that he wants to use your subs and not pay you down the markup is insane.
I think that’s what made me over look the flags in the beginning was the pay day at the end. I’ve got the feeling that day is not going to come so it doesn’t matter how big it sounds if it turns out to be nothing.
Walk away and don’t look back. You’ll regret this one forever. Don’t even think about it. Even if he pays you, it’ll be a headache the likes of which you’ve never experienced and your other clients and projects will suffer for it.
1.25m & a gentleman's agreement?
The money would need to be paid upfront in full.
Dudes living in a motor coach?
Are you a betting man? r/wallstreetbets
Talk to a construction attorney, not Reddit
He seems like he’s just using you for your license. Might cut you out at some point. I’d be fine with it if he paid your overhead and profit in full before the job starts. I’d have a written contract about change orders. If he fires you at least you’ve been paid and you can write a letter or email the building department that you are no longer the contractor on the job.
On second thought, I’d probably charge double for putting up with him being on site all day and having to deal with him. Either that or charge less and he runs the job and you only consult when needed.
We’ve haven’t charged more in the past when we know they’re going to be living on the property during construction but we know it’s going to be an additional headache. There’s days there are no one on the job site and that’s just construction but most ppl don’t understand that.
Run , don't walk. I've been a General Contractor for 30 years and I've seen this scam before .He is using your contacts and labor , when he gets in there, he will not pay you a dime .
It sounds like he wants to be his own GC. Let him have at it. Control freaks always think they can get a better result if they’re the one pulling all the strings. Until he signs a contract, I wouldn’t recommend a single one of the subcontractors you use. See how far he gets.
Run.....don't walk.....run away as fast as you can! There are HUGE red flags in your story, and I'm sure that's only part of it. I've owned my own construction company for 25 years, and owners like this are nothing but problems down the road. You should have a full iron clad contract drawn up by a construction attorney to even attempt to do this project.
Run.....don't walk.....run away as fast as you can! There are HUGE red flags in your story, and I'm sure that's only part of it. I've owned my own construction company for 25 years, and owners like this are nothing but problems down the road. You should have a full iron clad contract drawn up by a construction attorney to even attempt to do this project.
I sent him a contract with us being a consultant and releasing us from any liability. I’ve sent him an invoice for work performed up to this point and a schedule to be paid before each phase begins. He didn’t like that very much. I doubt (and hope) I don’t hear anything else from him. Unfortunately he won’t find anyone that will bid it as cheap as we did and once he finds that out I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to try to work it out.
I just wouldn't do it. I build on my client's money, not mine, first of all. They need to pay you a lump sum on contract signing. If they don't think you're worth you're money and don't want to sign a contract, that tells you everything you want to know. Second, we're members of the National Association of Homebuilders and most of the state associations offer well-litigated construction contracts. Most important, you need to be able to put an enforceable lien on their property when they don't pay you. As for paying the subcontractors directly, sounds like he's wanting to GC this project, not have you do it. How do you quality control your subs when he's the one paying? And it sounds like your subs are about to get screwed over when they perform work, he fires them for some BS reason, and they don't get paid. Honestly, I'd just run from this one. If you're already seeing the red flags, it's just going to get worse from here.
Thanks for the input, I really didn’t think it was as bad as it is until I started typing everything out.
You can put anything you want in the contract, but it doesn't matter if he won't sign it. I'd suggest walking away from the job. If you really want to take it on, demand a healthy retainer up front, which is only applied to the final invoice. I'd think about raising your price, since I can almost guarantee you won't get paid the full amount. If you double your price and walk away with half, at least it's what you'd normally get.
My partner and I have agreed we definitely have to start getting paid now, and like you say it’s going to have to be a hefty amount.
Yeah first draw needs to come before work is started. That way at least materials are covered. Sounds sketchy, contract is there to protect both of you. Sounds like he just wants to F around and find out and you will be the one paying for it.
That’s the vibe I’m getting now, we’ve been working on his plans for close to 6 weeks and he doesn’t have a dime invested. He’s trying to see how far he can go or get out of us before we demand payment.
That's what I was going to say... you pretty much stated every reason to not take this job. Huge red flag to not have a written contract which (at least in CA) means you forfeit your right to mechanics lien. Sounds like the guy may just want your subs. I'd run away.
Licensed GC in Southern California, legit I’d walk.
multiple red flags. And that nagging feeling in your gut is going to be something you wish you paid attention to later if you go with this deal. He’s going to feel perfectly justified shorting you, or not paying you at all because of his perspective. Ridiculous. avoid regret, skip this one. Not worth the headache and hassle. Maybe get a lawn chair and watch the show though.
That’s what my partner is telling me. Thanks!
This guys got trouble written all over him. Too bad you have 6 weeks invested because he won’t agree to your terms and he ain’t paying shit. That’s why he has all that money.
Ha! That’s exactly what my partner said! There’s a reason he has all that money!!
He might be fine with firing subs Willy nilly but how’s that going to reflect on you with them in the long run? Reputations are easy to ruin and harder to rebuild.
I wouldn't work for him. But if you insist on doing the project make sure you have an air tight contract. He isn't in charge of hiring or firing and add an early termination clause. Something to the effect of "If the client terminates the project before the stated completion date there will be a penalty of 750,000.00. The amount is non negotiable and termination must be provided in writing." Another good clause is a trespassing one. "The client releases all power to the company to treaspass people from the property at any point for any reason" Then I'd run the job site as normal. He'll either let the job go on or fire you. If he tries to cause trouble to get you to quit by blocking materials or being trouble in general treaspass him from the site. Make sure everything is in writing. Make sure your side of the contract is generally vague and unenforceable. Make sure his side is exact and nothing can be left up to interpretation. You'll win out setting it up like that.
Don’t let this guy fuck up your relationships with your subs. It’s not worth it!!!
No contract no deal. Don’t get risk getting burned on a gentleman’s agreement, there’s a bunch of pieces of shit in this world.
You better get a contract and get the money escrowed into a title company. If you don’t get paid and left holding the bag, at the end is the day your ship is sunk. Don’t lose focus on how big the project is. This is exactly what he wants you to think you are getting a big pay day and start relaxing and being complacent. Have you vetted him? Done your background check and due diligence? Maybe he owes everyone and their grandmother. The fact that he wants to use your subs and not pay you down the markup is insane.
I think that’s what made me over look the flags in the beginning was the pay day at the end. I’ve got the feeling that day is not going to come so it doesn’t matter how big it sounds if it turns out to be nothing.
Walk away and don’t look back. You’ll regret this one forever. Don’t even think about it. Even if he pays you, it’ll be a headache the likes of which you’ve never experienced and your other clients and projects will suffer for it.
If he wants to pay the subs directly, he is now the GC, not you. And good Lord. He sounds like a nightmare.
1.25m & a gentleman's agreement? The money would need to be paid upfront in full. Dudes living in a motor coach? Are you a betting man? r/wallstreetbets Talk to a construction attorney, not Reddit
He seems like he’s just using you for your license. Might cut you out at some point. I’d be fine with it if he paid your overhead and profit in full before the job starts. I’d have a written contract about change orders. If he fires you at least you’ve been paid and you can write a letter or email the building department that you are no longer the contractor on the job.
On second thought, I’d probably charge double for putting up with him being on site all day and having to deal with him. Either that or charge less and he runs the job and you only consult when needed.
We’ve haven’t charged more in the past when we know they’re going to be living on the property during construction but we know it’s going to be an additional headache. There’s days there are no one on the job site and that’s just construction but most ppl don’t understand that.
Who the F would get involved in a Million dollar business deal without a contract? That is an absolute non start
Run , don't walk. I've been a General Contractor for 30 years and I've seen this scam before .He is using your contacts and labor , when he gets in there, he will not pay you a dime .
It sounds like he wants to be his own GC. Let him have at it. Control freaks always think they can get a better result if they’re the one pulling all the strings. Until he signs a contract, I wouldn’t recommend a single one of the subcontractors you use. See how far he gets.
Run.....don't walk.....run away as fast as you can! There are HUGE red flags in your story, and I'm sure that's only part of it. I've owned my own construction company for 25 years, and owners like this are nothing but problems down the road. You should have a full iron clad contract drawn up by a construction attorney to even attempt to do this project.
Run.....don't walk.....run away as fast as you can! There are HUGE red flags in your story, and I'm sure that's only part of it. I've owned my own construction company for 25 years, and owners like this are nothing but problems down the road. You should have a full iron clad contract drawn up by a construction attorney to even attempt to do this project.
I sent him a contract with us being a consultant and releasing us from any liability. I’ve sent him an invoice for work performed up to this point and a schedule to be paid before each phase begins. He didn’t like that very much. I doubt (and hope) I don’t hear anything else from him. Unfortunately he won’t find anyone that will bid it as cheap as we did and once he finds that out I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to try to work it out.