One of the most frustrating parts of dealing with a contractor can come at the end of a project, when – even though most of the work has been completed and paid for – there are a few small details that the contractor has promised to fix “in the next few days.” Weeks later, they are still unfinished, and the contractor has not responded to your calls. Mild irritation has turned to total dissatisfaction with the contractor, destroying all your pleasure in the work that has been done.

What can you do to keep this all too common problem from happening? In most cases, the answer lies in establishing and managing a payment schedule in such a way that the contractor has a real incentive to finish up the detail work.

Talking over expectations – both yours and the contractor’s – and negotiating the payment schedule before work starts can help prevent a myriad of problems. In developing the payment plan, Home Repair Resource Center suggests that you do not agree to a large down payment, but instead seek reasonable alternatives based on the principle of “money paid for value received.” For most small jobs, no payment should be necessary until work is completed. (Read more….)