The contract should have included well-defined milestones with associated progress payments. For your protection, in no case should your payments get ahead of the completion of the job. Even the best contractor can lose focus and motivation once the project is 100% paid.

I'd recommend just a friendly, yet businesslike conversation pointing out that the job is only 50% done and asking if the invoice was intentional. Work together to define milestones and associated payments for the rest of the job.

Trust your instincts. Do not pay the remaining balance until the project is done to your satisfaction. Double check your contract.

Agree. If you think they are just in a bind...offer to purchase your own materials yourself to finish the job instead of giving them cash. We had a cement contractor short on cash for his workers so we paid for the cement truck instead of giving him additional cash up front. Which was maybe 25% of the balance. But, at least we knew we'd have the concrete poured. :)

Sometimes we'll give "newbies" a chance and am aware that cash flow isn't always available for struggling businesses. Particularly when you get a low bid because they are a struggling business and need work. Soooo, offer to pay for materials (not cash) and get the job done.

any reputable company would never ask for full payment before completion. do not pay them. sounds fishy to me. A lot of people lose their money to contractors that go out of business and the work never gets completed. do you get your paycheck before you work?

Absolutely do not pay in full until the work is completed. Check your contract. We have defined milestones detailing what work needs to be complete to get the next payment. We paid a deposit, a little less than 10% and then started making progress payments as the work was completed. We did not make a payment from 8/14 - 9/3 since the listed work wasn't done; however, that did not stop the general contractor from asking for a payment on 8/14. I reminded him that the work listed wasn't complete and he didn't ask for a payment again until 9/3 when the items noted in the contract were completed. We have made 3 of 7 progress payments (plus deposit) with possibly 3 weeks to go for an 8-week project (will be 9 weeks). We bought our own finish materials. The contractor supplied most of the building materials and paint although we are not using the light switches he has on site, the shower drain cover and we are not using the ceiling or trim paint he selected. The final payment (a little less than 10%) requires that all subs be paid with signed lien waivers.

All of my dealings with contractors and builders have followed the same procedures as described by Katrina Tate. This was for four homes- one custom new build and three renovations of historic homes, over a 27 year period and in three different states.

Do not do it! It will set you up for failure. They could slow down the work b/c they aren't motivated or just not show at all. He needs to be fair to you.

Tell him "On the day that I see X, you will be paid Y." Do not pay in full in advance.

It's pretty unusual to see contracts that pay in full before delivery of goods or services.

Our company contracts are based on construction milestones met. Additionally, projects aren't "paid in full" until after the punch-list is fully completed.

I'd ask about reworking the contract to include milestones linked with payment.

What required you to pay him 50% upfront? What does the contract state about invoicing you and your paying for the balance? As stated above, a small deposit and progress payments with SIGNED lien releases is the only way to go and this should be reflected in your contract.

Everyone has great advice here. Our company never asks final payment until all work is complete and the punchlist was finished by our workers for the homeowners... They might be in a bit of a bind, read your contract, we go by milestone payments when you can see that work is done. Ethically, I don't think anyone should take all the money owed until the job is complete.

What does your contract say? Payments should have been outlined in there.

Don't pay the remainder now.

My husband ended up emailing them......Well that did not go well at all. They are adamant on getting the remaining part of payment and would not acknowledge the lack of progress. Mistakenly said they were only 3 weeks into project when we are going on week 5. When we raised the actually # of days worked in the last 2 weeks (4.5 total) they said something to the effect of 'how do you know are you there everyday"....I was flabbergasted. They accused us of being the problem (they have made mistakes such as height of rain heads, waterproofing required after moving rain heads higher (as per plumber recommendation), tub - wrong design (they wanted to file the rough edges and use cement which in our mind would have nullified warranty this was something we were very specific on prior to signing). Anytime we have had questions they have gotten very defensive rather than trying to assure us.

We would impart the conversation to something a bully would do. We did our best to remain calm as after they sent the terrible email they called us to discuss and then spent the whole time berating us and even going so far as to say 'we just don't seem appreciative of the work they are doing'. All we want is what's fair and when they don't seem to be progressing we feel we have every right to question timelines. They equated this to us not 'trusting' them. They said them asking for basically 98% at what we determine to be mid point is actually less than what most contractors require. We really are being held hostage by this and in a very terrible position as they have not threatened to not complete the job at this point if we don't pay but we are worried if we do pay how do we know they won't drag this out even longer. Especially with the way they are treating us as the only part of the problem.I mean what's the incentive to do good work now for us.

I would not pay them anything more till the job was done unless it was in the contract.

We did a large bathroom back to the studs remodel last year and all the payments were in increments over 3 months based on what work was finished and inspected. Final payment was after everything was done and we were fully pleased.

Definitely don't pay. Unless you feel you have no other choice. Are you in a position where they can stop work and you can live with it the way it is for a few months while you jump through hoops? Look up your state CCB (Construction Contractors Board) and start figuring out what you need to do, say, and document too protect yourself. Even though it is not fair or just, you may be able to offer partial payment to keep them going. We ended up in a dispute with our contractor, and it took 6 months to reach a settlement that I still didn't think was fair. But at least he didn't continue his sub standard work in other parts of my house!

Did you check their licenses, bonding, insurance and if they had any other complaints before you hired them? I

With that response don't pay another dime and let them walk. Period. You can also go after the original 50 percent in small claims court. But for now, cut your losses!!! Very unprofessional sounding.

I agree joeseph this is what we are worried about. During the phone call the owner assured us tiling was starting on Monday so we will see. I am really trying to remain positive but my husband is livid at the treatment. We think it is normal to have mistakes during such a large project and have communicated this to them but to no avail as apparently we are the bad guys that should be more overtly appreciative of them for fixing their mistakes at no cost. We have did a large renovation on our kitchen and used a different design company and contractor. We are really kicking ourselves as we should have used the same contractor. The relationship we had with them was wonderful and professional. Sometimes even with all the accolades and what seems to be a good company does not mean as much as how the relationship is between you and your contractor.

Please tell us you have a contract. What does it say? I'm rebuilding from hurricane sandy as we speak. Not once have I paid in full before the completion of each job performed re: frame,roof,siding,etc. The only contractors here in Nj asking for such large sums up front are the bad ones. We have seen plenty of projects here stalled unfinished or abandoned by these creeps. People have lost their insurance money to them. Your guy sounds like one of them. I would never pay in full before completion and you would be foolish if you do. You could offer to write a check for a portion every time they work,but it sounds to me like they rob Peter to pay Paul, scary. If you don't pay and they don't finish you still have money. If you pay and they don't finish you lose. Are you a gambler.

Ultimately you should check the contract. What does it say? I wouldn't pay the full amount. I wonder if you can punt back a "counter" to their demands: we will pay 10% when xyz is done (milestones). If the contract says you don't pay in full until complete, then refer back to the contract in your discussions. If it continues I would be prepared to report and if needed get legal consult re: contract and completion. I've seen some people take these type of issues to our local news, sometimes that leads to action.