How to allow your contractor to make minor purchases for your project with little financial risk

[Stinky The Clown]

Buy a gift card for the hardware store of your choice - probably Home Depot or Lowes. Buy one for maybe $75 or $100. Ask him to get you receipts. This allows him to go buy minor supplies without digging into his pocket and saves you from having to go get the stuff yourself at the cost of time and the risk of getting the wrong stuff. At the end of the project, you get the card back.

[NMDemDist2]

1. good idea

wonder if my local Sutherland's offers such a thing. I know the Texas Street lumber doesn't and McCoy's sure won't

But if there's a Lowe's or Home Depot around that's a great idea.....

[Berserker]

2. Yup that makes since

We have nothing better to do than run errands for the homeowner and if we pick out the wrong thing that's too shinny and we have to return it we have nothing better to do. Maybe if you get 5 bids on the door hinges you will get what you want? Still to shinny? well get us another card we will be glad to spend the day looking for what you want we have nothing better to do.

[NMDemDist2]

3. my guy used to stop an pick stuff up on the way to the job in the AM

maybe we ran short of painter's tape or needed another bucket of mud or some trim pieces

just saying :shrug:

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

4. Not sure where your are coming from there!

Don't you people understand what a contract is ,or what biding a job is?
Have you ever actually seen a consruction contract?
First off, what you are going into there is the trust factor,and if it were me and you came on with that, I would walk away and you would or will be looking for another contractor. I really don't want or need your business.

In a contract I estimate across my time shopping,and you pay me my wage for doing that, if you are dead bent on saving a few bucks ,than you will find a lot time to run to the store for me. And the longer you take ,the more I will cost you.

As far as your control over that or the materials,you get what you pay for ,it is just that way. And there is no way you can get a better price for those materials than I can, but if it's the thing about the ego, I would say more power to you and have at it.

The last one the played that game with me,ended up spending $15,000. for kitchen cabinets at home depot! I could have bought those same cabinets from the very same supplier home depot used for under $ 4,000.

Now ,this guy is a lawyer, very smart and penny wise. You see it was all about the check.

He cost himself $11,000. more than he will had to pay. I might have charged him $5,100. with mark up. He thought he could beat my mark up!Much of the mark up will have covered my time for all those little extra add ons that in the course of project really do add up to a lot, but for some reason,they forget! Actually after the third add on the contract is void and a new contract must be negotiated,and thats legal.A construction contract is a legal binding contract. You got a lawyer,I got a lawyer.

But if I know you, you know me, you trust me, I trust you,than I might be inclined to do you on time and materials. But, you advance me the materials checks. And if I am carrying a helper there is always another advance.I might start a small remodel with a $5,000.check.Or more than that.

In a contract ,materials are a bid ,labor is another bid. The total plus tax is your cost.By law I am not required to show you my cost for those materials.And contractors no not show you those receipts.My receipt is the receipt.There is always a clause for the unforeseen. Problems that may come into my awareness during the job that require extra labor and materials to correct.In some cases such problems can actually cost more than the total of the original bid. Neglect is more often than not the cause of such problems. Starter houses and old houses. You know, like -This Old House.Owning a house is not just about keeping up on your mortgage payments, there is maintenance and preventative maintenance.You buy a fixer upper for a low price because nobody fixed it in the past and nobody wants to go into that to make the sale, so it is dumped off on the next owner. It's the way of the beast.

I work on old houses, gives me the opportunity to test my skills.Every old house presents it's own unique challenges. I also work with the family budget.I tell them what must be done now, and what will need to be done later in time. I also show them.They in turn show their friends and neighbors what the finish work looks like.Word of mouth eh!

If there is no trust between you and your contractor, than the contractor should not be working for you and you should not have the contractor in your house or on your property. It's that way. But I am a independent, not a big company or outfit.

If you don't trust me, I don't want anything to do with you.
I hope that clarifies something.

There are two ways it can go, TRUST, Or contract. Actually I make more money doing long complicated contracts.

But I prefer working with people I know ,people who trust me and I trust them.Trust, time-materials. Materials up front and small advance.Nobody that I know who knows me,wants me to reach into my pocket for their materials. Because they know,we too have a budget. Honesty believe it or not is still the best policy. And without trust,there can be no honesty.It is indeed a two way street.The other thing is credit card interest rates,another contract issue . Wear and tear on tools another 5% ,comes out to about 30 % over the top, oh those contracts!

Trust-time-materials -check up front, it's the least you can do for yourself in the interest of saving money.

You just have to find somebody to do the work that you know,or through a friend or relitive can get to know. It's a age old trade secret really! I suppose you just have find yer way into the loop!

[Stinky The Clown]

6. ...

"Don't you people understand what a contract is ,or what biding a job is? Have you ever actually seen a consruction contract? First off, what you are going into there is the trust factor,and if it were me and you came on with that, I would walk away and you would or will be looking for another contractor. I really don't want or need your business."

The contract I awarded last Friday was for just over $5.8 million. That is the largest of the seven I currently have active. The smallest is just a tad over a million. Each of them is for a commercial/institutional kitchen.

The OP comment was about hiring a handyman to do a tiny little job and allowing him to buy a tube of caulk or some such that he might need. Many people allow these guys to have a key to the house and do work pretty much as directed. It isn't truly so much contracting as "hiring a handyman". The idea came from a handyman who is doing some minor jobs for me at a house I am renovating that is a half hour from me.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

7. I get ya stinky

You seem like lawyers I know of that do estate planning /tax attorneys! Sure, this client only worth about 1.2 million ,not so important ,this one here be very by very much up on minding your p's and Q's ,worth roughly 11.8 million. On so on. Eh !

But $ 60,000. on a remodel to turn a building into a suitable setting given what the client's will expect a law offices to look like is in actuality very very much money to spend!

I get you there. A tube of caulk! Right down to it!

Yer talking about a guy you hire to do the little things you yourself haven't time to tend to!

Yer handy cat need not be licensed or bonded or insured all that ,aside from all the overhead! Oh and keys!Oh those keys!And of course it is not necessary for the handyman guy to throw a million dollar insurance cover over yer investment property in order to cover himself and you. you have that all down! I get ya. A tube of caulk !

But the issue at hand could be about anything or a light switch.
And how to go about dealing with material costs. If it's a small job for example, you might pay in the end. Or do you pay for materials up front in the form of a question.
Come on now clown,not everybody will hire the newspaper delivery boy to do caulking and painting and such. I mean what's it take to run a brush and roller, or a painting compressor fer that matter. !

The other question's such as how do you know what you are paying for? Hiring of contractor issues. Sure there is a lot of not so honest contractors out there.

If the person you hire to do yer task work is not a professional and you worry about all that, sure, a home depot pre pay card might just be the way to go.

But if you are hiring a contractor, those issues are worked out in a professional manor and you know that.

Lets not be foolish or at least be specific. You were not the only person in mind when I posted.

The lawyer I mentioned, he is not just a client but a long time friend. He was also a engineer for 6 years. He did those kinds of things you mention in those numbers. Today he has fourteen attorneys under him at his firm where he is a full partner and a staff of forty more.I can talk numbers,but not here.Harvard/Yale all kinds of cool schools hanging on their walls!

Me I'm just a contractor ! They need us and we need them! They own that building, but that building is one of my buildings. I made that building what it is today. I did the designs ,I carried out the work.Even fired a interior designer,cause didn't need her services! I had helpers I must admit, I did sub contract out aspects of it, there was a time frame to keep.
It's all finished now but,
Nobody walks into that building to do work without consulting with me first.
And the man who was a engineer who is now a lawyer will tell them the same thing. Don't talk to me about it, talk to the man,if he says ok than it's ok.
So, the engineers need us to,needless to say.

Oh, it's not like their fancy high rise offices on the 110 th. floor downtown,or which ever ,what ever, but according to customer response, it is very very impressive, very nice.But with the kind of money those people have, I would suppose that is the very least they will expect. And I must say their comments were very kind,or are.

Let me ask you this, would you try to hand a automobile mechanic a little plastic mershant pre pay card to by the little things with? !You know a gift card good at yer local auto parts store!
The answer is no, unless he is the kid down the street what fix's cars.

I still do house calls ,my ways haven't changed,no job too small. I have always been a handyman, I am a builder.But I like being fix it guy too, I always have. Sure, I wear different hats! I have people that have always known me as the guy with the suspenders with his truck what has always fixed everything around here! Reasonable too ! Their all in their 80's now,God Love them.! I know I do!

[Phentex]

10. Remember my garage remodel? We got very lucky with

that contractor. He would pick up the materials he needed and give me the receipts with no mark-up! There were some things we got from a builders supply store that he could not purchase. We needed cedar siding to match what we have and you can't get it off the shelf at Lowes. You also have to have a very clear understanding of what you want before you let the contractor choose some of the items. As long as there is a meeting of the minds, I have no problem letting the contractor buy the items.

We had a pretty good idea of what the materials would cost so I didn't pick over every single receipt.

You are right, though. The trust issue is huge.

[NMDemDist2]

11. my guy is a friend that i throw some work to now and then, he lives in town and I don't

so the jobs were always "i'll buy the stuff and how many days @ $x per day will it take you?"

usually I'd just hand him some $$$ and he's grab the stuff on the way out of town and trust was never an issue since I tend to be the "keep the change and put it in your gas tank" kinda person

this next job will be a true contract (major bathroom demo and remodel) but I'll move slower on that one and the handy guy won't be bidding that one.....

don't know what pulled your chain on my response, but I think him having a pre paid card around when I'm not there to hand out cash is a great idea that will never work here since we don't have a Lowes or HomeDepot in this town and he knows all the guys at the lumber/bldg materials/plumbing place and I'm on first name basis with the paint store owner.

whatever, dude :shrug:

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

12. Read post 9

I misread stinky's post. Chain was already pulled, had nothing to do with clowns post.

After reading it, I saw the point. That point is something very different from what I was thinking. And what I was thinking had nothing to do with what stinky the clown was getting at.

Simply put in defense of a point, although the point was misrepresented ,if you are are in the process of setting up a business arrangement between you and a contractor, even if the commercial contractor lists as a handyman,a pre paid gift card may create complications in view of a thing called trust.
And it is not standard business practice.

Ok, years ago I used to pick up materials and pay for those materials with my credit card. A few people did not reimburse me one year. Once big. The materials cost more than they wanted to pay for the entire job.That's what they told me after all the add ons. A lot of the expenses were lighting that they specifically wanted and ordered. I guess they saw me coming. What you worry about happens both ways.

The bad experience did not make me bitter, it made me smarter.
I learned to pick and choose who I will do work for.The educated client places a high value on honesty. It took a few years to find the nit ch.
It was almost like starting all over again.

Sort of seemed how it would seem to somebody who is hiring a contractor for the first time. How do know if your being ripped off or going to be?It's a two way street.Oh, as a contractor ,if it's five thousand or more you can put a lean on their house. But is that worth it? Complicated questions.

Same on the client end.

Trust is a huge factor. As is being trust worthy.
Insurance is another thing.
But the trust factor is bigger in my opinion.
Instinct or intuition, a good feeling or bad feeling, what ever you call it is a factor.So you think it over and decide. Lets say you the client ,you have a good feeling about it. You might make your choice based on that feeling.Maybe something told you something, maybe that something is yer instinct.Maybe you pick winners at the track the same way!I mean I dono.

If it's $200.00 there thereabouts, I'll cover that. But I won't build you deck or a second story addition on my credit or remodel your house .
And on that scale the bank comes into the picture.You are either going to bring your house up to market value or you are going to increase the value of your home.

But that wasn't Stinky the clowns point. His point was about a arrangement between he and his workman. With unemployment the way it is, I imagine there is a lot of guys out there that are willing to go that route. I would guess that is what you mean by handyman, someone who is out of work and in need of gainful employment.Or maybe it's not,I dono.

What I can tell you is most commercial contractors use at least several different suppliers ,different hardware stores and lowe's and home depot. Paint suppliers on and so on.

But that wasn't Stinky's point was it?
I think what it all comes down to is ,you really have to know somebody.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Whoa

Ease up.

I get that you disagree. Keep the disagreeability elsewhere. These minor forums work VERY hard to stay sane, truly respectful, and understanding.

Copped 'tudes don't play well.

Welcome to the forum.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

9. Stinky the clown, pardon me!

I reread your suggestion. I had to go back twenty years to relate to that.
It is not standard practice to go that route. And why would somebody suggest such a thing if they were not of a suspicious nature to begin with.
That's what popped to mind


I noted where it is you said.the card saves you time going to store and bringing back the right materials. There I see you are saving time which is money and also assisting in moving the project along. You also described the complications involved and those returns!

Realtors tend to operate that way,but they are always on the look out for green contractors, green meaning contractors that do not have much experience running a business. Some people rely on realtors to get a house ready for sale, that could cost thousands of dollars . Realtors like to keep some of those thousands in their own pockets, factors in nicely along with the commission on the sale. And of course it is dishonest.In fact it is white collar crime. Property Management realtors are quite crafty at that sort of thing. In fact recently I did some consulting work for a family in Canada that owns several apartment buildings in the United States. The family was bilked out of a lot of money by the property management realtors.One in particular who mysteriously retired and left the state, by way of sail boat.

It's nothing new,it's all been done before,white collar crime,it sucks.And it doesn't matter how many ways you have seen it , it still sucks.
Sure they will catch up with him eventually,but it still sucks.

Most people I know in the business would be insulted by suggesting a pre pay card . The suggestion may indicate the client does not trust you at all.I would not feel comfortable under such circumstances.

However the situation you described is a mutual beneficial agreement between you and your workman.Again, it is not sandard practice to go that route.

So if you will, pardon me!

[Berserker]

13. NO Copped 'tudes here

just a simple contractor wanting to help out others.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. As I said, welcome to the forum.

[janx]

8. Stinky, I'll mention this to a good friend of mine who uses contractors

constantly. I wish I'd gotten this advice for her last year; she was not paying attention at all and got ripped off. Great suggestion--thank you!

[Berserker]

14. Sorry to hear that

But MOST ALL contractors are honest hard working people that don't RIP Off anyone. We get RIPPED OFF a lot by homeowners. Lets compare stories.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Most all customers are honest too.

I'm sure you can regale with stories of bad customers. I can regal you with stories of snake in the grass contractors (with names, addresses, phone numbers, and in some instances, the docket numbers of the lawsuits they lost).

The tip in the OP was for very small time users of services by very small time handyman type "contractors".