First off, you should never have paid half up front. Secondly, it sounds like there's no written contract at all. If so, good luck enforcing that.

First, don't shell out any more money. Is it in the contract that he'd be fitting in your job around his other jobs? Is he licensed?
I'd first have a serious talk with him, let him know how unhappy you are and give him the deadlines you want met. Also let him know that any future payments will be based on work completed and you expect the 'owed labor' to be completed by a certain date (you set the date). If he isn't willing to work this out with you then don't hesitate to take the next step.

The electrician and plumber should not have been paid for work they haven't done. The fact he has you buying everything would say that he doesn't have a good history with suppliers. Your paint should have been purchased by the painter. Only advantage to your picking up the paint is you got exactly the paint you wanted, but you also should have gotten the painters discount.

In the long run you may not get back all you've paid, but it's going to be a lot less than what you'll lose if you continue with him as is.
From what you've written.........I don't trust him.

I'm sure you've done some google research but I'd start with the suggestions in the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: legal actions

Besides what the others have said: Your contract has no completion date. Generally, the law will give him, until the permits expire (which is usually a year).

worthy,
I honestly thought half down was "standard" - my cabinet maker is the same... but he is actually DOING work.
Yes, I do have a contract. it states what work is to be done and the cost of each phase. it does not state how long it should take though. :(

Annz,

No... it does NOT state that he'd work my in around other customers. In fact the fine "standard" print states "will do the job proposed in a timely fashion. " His "defense" is that I delayed the project. Orignally signed contract 2/27 with plans to start mid March. I found out two days later that I needed surgery at that time... so we pushed it out to mid may start. He totally agreed to that. COntract had no start or end dates listed. Revised contract did state May 15th as start. He "blames" my delay now since he took other jobs. He also says that I didn't have all materials on time which caused delays -- NOT true and I have proof of delivery on them. Ran out of tile and needed to order more but other work here that could have been done at that time. One plumbing part that needed to be reordered.... since plumber drilled holes before confirming that the valve was adjustable. Again, not my fault and other work to be done.

He IS licensed.

We have already voiced the concerns in person and via email. I have set out an expected deadline (two more weeks) to finish this phase... tile mudroom, paint mudroom and tie up loose ends... and my desired start for next phase a month from now. He replied that he is tired of me trying to tell him how to run his business!

What I paid the electrican and plumber so far is for work that they HAVE completed. however, I feel that the contractor should have paid them, not me... since it was in my bid amount ... and the amount that I gave him half down on!

The contractor IS the painter also. He does that himself. He gave me the info to get his discount for the paint. Again, though something I had to go and do myself... and pay out of pocket!

Thanks for your input... any other thoughts on my answers?

The good news is, he DID protect you by making you pay your subs directly. Believe it or not, he is correct. Had you paid him to pay them, and he didn't (which he probably wouldn't have), they could have put a lien on your property. At least this way, the only money you "owe" to anyone is him, and he still owes you more time than you've paid him so far.

He is playing a game with your money. Is he bonded? You can go after his bond. That might be your best course of action, without have high legal fees. Otherwise, he knows that it will cost you more in legal fees to get back what he owes you, than the amount he actually owes you...hence the game.

You could get a lawyer for $300 and 1 hour to write up a letter to him to scare him. But, I am betting he's played this "game" before.

Do you have a state registrar of contractors? Here in AZ we do have one and they take things seriously. I would contact them if you have one in your state. In AZ, they will come meet with you and him and try to resolve the issue. This will register as a complaint on his license -not good business for him. The state has the power to even revoke the license. This is the route that I would take.

A key rule to follow in these situations is the one I follow as a builder: NEVER let your payments get ahead of the work! (Yes, I am shouting.)

The only exception is for custom work, typically cabinets or stairs, where the suppliers ask for 40-50% down. In those cases, I find it worthwhile to pay more to contract with suppliers less likely to suddenly go belly up. I've even paid for Dun & Bradstreet credit reports on them. Also, it would have been worthwhile to spend $350 for a lawyer to vet your contract rather than take the contractor's word on "standard" practice.

But as kirkhall says, it could have been worse.

This post was edited by worthy on Thu, Aug 15, 13 at 10:50