On Jul 7, 10:38 am, "Nancy Young" wrote:
"Clueless Mary" Windswept@home wrote

By visual inspection, roofer diagnoses buckling in some of the plywood
sheathing and takes a down payment to buy supplies, including the
plywood sheathing.

This would concern me. He should not need money from you
to get the supplies. From everything I have read, a reputable
contracter has a line of credit with stores. I have never had to pay
for materials up front like that.

Collecting a deposit does not mean the contractor _needs_ the money,
it's simply a standard procedure for most and is a good business
practice. There's risk for the contractor, same as the owner, so
collecting money that's being spent on the _owner's_ project only
makes sense. Whether a deposit is collected or not depends entirely
on the contractor, but the maximum allowable deposit is usually
spelled out by local or state law, so obviously it's OK with them.
The line of credit at a supplier is there for the contractor's
benefit, not the owner's. If the contractor decides to float the
owner, that's up to them.

R