CONTRACTOR HOLDING MONEY AND NO WORK

[Brian Horwitz]

Hello BP community!

I just recently came across this forum and I am going through a difficult flip attempt. I'm not which category this goes into. 

I paid a licensed contractor in South Bend, IN $30,000 for carpet, wood flooring, appliances, and cabinets. I gave him the money last June 2017 and have been trying to pry work and/or stuff out of him for the past 7 months. His father died shortly after I gave him the money so I tried to be understanding for a while. Then said he had issues with subs. He has told me several times "xxxx starts tomorrow" but it's just BS. I don't know if he has too many jobs or is just out of money. Since the first of the year, there has been workers at the house for only 3 days. He still owes me about $20,000 worth of stuff and/or work. It will be years before he finishes at this rate. I realize I need to move on or I might miss the good window to sell the house in the summer. What kind of options do I have to go after this dirtbag? Should I keep trying to coax him to work on the house or just commit to moving on? Does anyone know a good place/site I can find someone who can take over the rehab? I'm reluctant to move on since he knows what he's doing (as a builder) and knows the in's and out's of the project/house.

Thanks

Brian

[Jordan Moorhead]

I never pay up front. I’ll buy the materials myself and pay them enough to get started but that’s it.

I would fire him and offer to sue him unless he returns half of the money.