Even the best of us will get taken and in times of a down economy it happens even more often than in a thriving economy. Before times got as hard as they are now in residential remodeling and construction I had always stressed the importance of always paying for construction work after it was completed and paying invoices to your contractor in percentages of the actual work being completed. While you may truly trust your building contractor or subcontractor and have never had an issue with paying in advance, it doesn’t mean that at some point you paid for materials or work you ended up not getting.

A friend of mine hired an electrical contractor who was a friend of his to perform the installation of the electrical system in a custom home they were building. They had been friends for many years, and my buddy wanted to help his friend out with some work for him and his employees. Everything went smoothly from the selecting of locations for various electrical outlets and light fixtures throughout the house. Upon the final walk-through, for what was supposed to be the completion of the electrical, many things were not done, and yet the final bill was presented for payment. One friend honored another’s invoice and paid the invoice thinking that he would surely have his friend come and finish the electrical items that were incomplete or incorrect. It never happened. After two-plus years, my friend had to hire another electrical contractor to come and fix the electrical work he paid his friend to perform years ago. The relationship is gone and hard feelings for some reason are on both sides, yet only one side should be angry.

Please send me topic ideas at jwc@residentialmedia.com.