Builder wants money upfront

the choice is really yours , but dont be surprised if your chosen builder walks away.

Hiya, I like to think I’m a fair and honest builder , Its Perfectly normal to ask a client for a deposit prior to works, to secure date of works . There are cowboy builders out there who take advantage of this platform and give honest tradesman a bad name . Trust works both ways if you are anxious or think the deposit is too high you should speak with your contractor and raise your concerns, They could offer you a different payment plan base on progress of work. If they don’t make you feel at ease simply don’t work with them . You should never pay your builder in full before works carried out and to avoid confusion make sure you have progress of works agreement for payments Most builders it reasonable to ask a 20% deposit prior to works carried out

The only type of deposit i would personally ask for is a portion of the material cost, my reason is simply because todays prices on materials are very unreliable and therefore every 2 weeks a material cost should be re estimated, by getting the deposit of materials the builder has more security incase the job gets cancled or the customer has to put the job on hold, 5k deposit seems pretty extreme and desperate, research his name and ask for references before even showing a penny upfront!! Stay safe out there

To be honest I charge a deposit from clients but I'm working with my materials so actually is a payback for materials plus a small amount deposit. I never exceed 10% of worth of job for deposit and I quote the Client at task to be done not for whole work, so at the end of the day a can request a payment based on the task ive done it and client is happy with quality of work.

Cash or the kind of payment you are talking about is not suitable for construction work. As mentioned in the previous comments, a small advance may be requested for the material. Apart from this, another interim payment that you are convinced of may be when the work progresses. But I think there should be a nice balance at the end of the work. Even if he doesn't run away, he doesn't make any effort to finish his work on time. Even if he has to come urgently, there will be many days when he does not come. Make sure to make a contract that gives you confidence. Kind regards

I honestly wouldn't ask for half the Quoted amount as a Deposit! If a deposit is required for us to get the ball rolling on our next roofing project we would first and foremost provide a full written quotation including signing up form for both parties. We follow the Routine Guidelines in terms of a 14 day calling of period unless instructed otherwise to proceed earlier ie , emergency roof repair . We would only then be looking for a small deposit to secure some costs against materials needed for said job . With expectation of remaining balance to be paid upon completion.