Well, this is awkward.. working for a con artist it seems.

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At a different time I couldn't have even considered it. Functioning level too low, not enough cash on hand to take the risk and not be stressed. I only have the $ I have because over the last 2-3 years I've made the sort of income someone might support a small family on and only have myself, no debt, and cheap rent from family. So, circumstances changed and allowed for me to do this.

Pros and cons - I Know I'm not super proactive about finding more work.. but, I Also know that if I continue posting ads, doing jobs and making a good impression, that I Will get more work as a contractor in my trade. This client has contacts with other projects and she likes my work And ethics/honesty in billing etc. The carpenter on site (53 years old) running the job says I'm the best mudder he's ever seen and will gladly have me work on his sites or just sub the drywall finishing work to me. The electrician asked for my number after he overheard me talking to the client about putting 3/4" plywood inside the wall for backing for a TV mount so that it will never break away from the wall even if they get one that tilts/pivots - he'd never heard of that from any drywall guy before + has now seen my finished work and Knows my walls and ceilings are smoooooth.

So, even if I'm not the most type-A proactive guy about posting ads and seeking more work, just simply by doing work and meeting people on sites, more and more work will come - people know they Want the phone number of a Good Taper when they see one. Lots of tapers out there, but not very many good ones, so quality of work alone is good enough marketing to build a reputation and get texts/calls/emails for more work in this particular trade.

Obviously, you love doing what you do. That’s certainly important.

Nah, not even.

If I truly LOVED it I'd be up Early AM absolutely STOKED to go do it.

It's not love, but, it is Very Satisfying to be able to do a thing with a trowel/putty knives that other tradesmen look at as being some sort of black magic. Being good at this makes it look Easy, but someone else could pick up my tools and give it a try for the first time and chances are really high that they're beyond humbled and feel ret*d (for lack of a better word.) for not being able to do something that Looks So Simple to do and make look good.

Plus my father was a steel stud framer/drywaller (but not finisher/taper/mudder - whatever you want to call us) for something like 47 years. He's a Good family man, President of our Union Local etc so even though he's always said I can do anything I want Except for drywall (lol he wanted "better," for all of his kids) I Like doing it just as a middle finger to anyone who looks down on people in the drywall trade assuming we're all just a bunch of degenerate drug addicts and alcoholics etc.

It’s just not within my expertise….certainly very useful skills, though—especially if you get a “fixer-upper.”

I’d be one of those who look “ret*d” doing this….until I learn through much repetition.

Almost everyone falls in that category. Few people can pick up the tools and use them properly and get a good result when they first try it - including the vast majority of tradesmen. People who do it make it look pretty easy, but that's only because they've done it for thousands of hours. It's The Most Often subcontracted trade - a jack of all trades type might be able to do framing, electrical, plumbing, insulating, painting etc just fine - but they almost All will pay a Taper to do the drywall finishing so it looks good. Typically we get it done way faster and it looks multiple times better - that's why people will pay handsomely for a Good taper. Otherwise they know their walls and ceilings are going to look like a kindergarten art project.

Contractor didn’t reply to my text or answer my phone call tdy but called me back and says she’ll have at least ~40% of the remaining balance of my invoice for me tmw afternoon and then the remainder through the week.

Heard that for the last 2+ weeks, though.. that the remainder would be paid off within a week.

We’ll see if she has $ for me tmw. She Did make the payment she said she would last Monday, so maybe. But obviously everything she says about the circumstances is total BS.

She phoned me yesterday about 1.5-2 hours before we were to meet to delay until this morning sometime around 11 as she didn't have time to go collect a cheque and deposit it before the bank closed blah blah blah. Pay me.

Being a couple weeks overdue and still not paying everything up to date is now going to jeapardize the project timeline. I have a couple other commitments in my life and a firm start date of Feb 20th to be doing practicum work of sorts in a movie studio 12 hours a day for 2 weeks straight - so I won't be available to do anything on this job Feb 20th - March 3rd or so.

I Should have been paid and this job should have progressed already and I should be done the most critical task by February 10th at the absolute latest, but now that she's messing this all up and I'm not returning to work there until I'm paid in full as agreed.. I foresee it causing problems. It's not MY problem, but now I'm in the middle of it.

What IS my problem is their stringing me along pushing things back days/weeks. If she'd told me straight up it's going to take a month to pay you then I'd have gone and taken on another contract in the meantime, not wait a few days only to be told to wait a few days. This is total BS and typing it out like this is just additional confirmation to myself that once I'm paid I'm not doing one second further work for these people unless they are paying me Cash Up Front In Full at the price that I give them before I start.

She flaked.

Sent me a text saying she’s not feeling well and sent me $x via etransfer - half the minimum amount she committed to having in cash this morning and less than 20% of what she still owes me. Auto deposited so at least it’s something.

Haven’t replied yet, thinking of exactly what message to craft and points to make. But basically need to communicate that my deal was to be paid up to date before continuing work. Still owed $x and should have been paid up in full over two weeks ago. My specialized trade takes time to do. I will be, for all intents and purposes, out of town from February 20th to March 3rd and unavailable for work on this or any other project. Her delays are creating a serious crunch time on this project sooo, best pay me asap you fn B.

Obvi I won’t call her names in my response. Hard to know exactly how much pressure to apply before she ghosts, cuts and runs and tries to hire some cheap hack to finish the job - but really truly my pricing on this job IS cheap. I kept my rate low to accommodate a nice client with a razor thin budget vs trying to make maximum market rate. I wouldn’t have if I knew any of the rest of this would transpire. But whatever what’s done is done and now it’s just about getting paid, then likely finishing the job and maybe getting paid from the contractor, maybe the client has to pay more directly to me/others after the contractor runs away with her money and stops paying any bills at all.

I sent a bit of a long reply stating it wasn't what we'd agreed to the day before nor what I had agreed with her son about payment in full by x date. I told her I have other obligations in a nearby city Feb 20 - Mar 3rd 12h/day.

She replied and basically said she'd pay me by the 15th at the latest. So far she hasn't kept almost any of her time/money promises, so, I won't be surprised if she takes longer. That would leave me 4 days to complete my specialized trade - and given the temperatures and humidity, that's Almost physically impossible and will require small miracles, or more equipment (dehumidifiers, heaters, fans) or very expensive fast drying materials that come with increased risks of flaws to repair later etc. More realistic is allowing 8-10 days+ to allow for proper slow drying time w/o risks of cracks.

I haven't replied to her most recent text yet, but I'm going to basically say the sooner you pay me and I can return to site for the next phase the better in order to allow for drying time as 4 days is simply not long enough. The WORK won't take dozens of hours; it's the drying time. I also feel like I want to tell this woman she's thrown a wrench in my work schedule planning by having her son tell me I would be paid within a week and then taking 3+ weeks to pay. If I knew I had a month I'd have gone and sought another contract in the meantime vs. being told I'd be paid within days and then return to finish this work. (I may or may not have sought other work; been healing a minor injury and doing school work and some other things - but that's besides the point - as a contractor she shouldn't be jerking peoples' schedules and livelihoods around like this.)

But w/e - I COULD take on some other work right now but I don't think I'm gonna. I think I'm gonna blitz through some school course work and maybe get some maintenance/repair work done at home, maybe tackle some other procrastinated stuff in my life at home etc.. then if I Don't return there until the 16th I'm 100% not available from the evening of the 19th through to March 4th so if I'm half way through my process then they'll simply have to wait until March 4th before I continue on.

The client has made it clear to the contractor that she expects tradespeople to be paid on time and to return to work on time vs. delay the project. The renovation lead carpenter on site wants me back there Tomorrow at the latest, as the project must progress so it can be painted and he can carry on and do finishing carpentry work and bathroom tiling etc. But he Also told me get paid first. I have a feeling that he may just leave and go seek another contract to do for a month and then return later when this one is back in action or something - not what anyone Wants, but this con artist is forcing the timeline to be lengthened significantly by not paying bills. We're all trying to apply as much pressure as possible to get bills paid from money the client has already sent before the con cuts & runs and ghosts everyone. We're all hoping she's enticed by the prospect of stealing much more money to keep paying bills down.. we'll see.

Talked on the phone with the lead carpenter yesterday. He's pushing for me and others to be paid, but feels bad he's the only one being paid up to date properly - because he's a Forceful communicator and tells her Pay Me Now or I go find another contract. + he has social/sort of family connections to the con artist and she knows he'll badmouth her to everyone they know. (This is the first, and last, time he's worked with her.) As long as he's on the job he's not allowing anyone else to do my trade as he's pushing for me to get paid.

Will send her a text this eve saying I talked to him, he's ready for my trade end of this week. Waiting until the 16th won't be enough time to complete it. He told me he's paid up to date. Pay Me so we can move forward w/o causing further delays. etc. + it's not cool to tell me I'll be paid in a week and then take a month, jerking around my schedule like that. Something like that, anyways. I'll compose and send it later today and see how she responds. Maybe with more pressure she'll find the money sooner.

Then if she doesn't pay me until it's too late and I'm unavailable for a couple weeks, maybe someone else will do the work - whatever - won't kill me not to have that work.. but it will either compromise quality severely Or cost them 2x as much to pay someone else with my skills to come in on short notice and get the work done. Kinda needs to be done in a certain order of operations to keep the job going, too, vs. delay the whole thing and cause other trades to walk.

Difficult balance of maximum pressure to get paid vs. not so much that she cuts and runs and doesn't pay anyone, as ideally more money can be recovered from her.


I Also had an idea for how more money might be able to be recovered from her. If she's still paying the lead carpenter.. he could arrange a deal with the owner to leave site for a while, work somewhere else for his income, while invoicing this con artist every week or two to get her to pay him, basically in advance, and then he'd have some of the recovered budget to send back to the client to complete the job with. Something like that might work since the con is almost never on site to see progress of anything. Hmmm - maybe. Might be worth discussing behind the scenes and see if there's a way to swing it and recover any money. Or maybe he can continue invoicing for work while other trades are there doing stuff and she won't know whether he did stuff or not. Something like that. Could work, maybe, if it comes down to trying it.


Overall I've been expending far too much mental energy on this topic and need to just start getting mad at this woman and get my money so I can better focus on other things vs. this bs. NEVER will I work for her again. No one will.

And the more I think about it, the more I believe her son - my friend from the beach - is involved in the family scam business. I'm going to have to play dumb and accept whatever plausible deniability bs lies he feeds me later about the client not paying so payments were late etc for the sake of not blowing up our social circle. But behind the scenes, months from now, some anonymous reports to the taxman from several people who've been ripped off are going to blow up his mothers con game. Hopefully she has to go get a job in fast food or flee the country or whatever.

No return text yesterday. I’ll be phoning her today.

Carpenter told me it seems she gets money Fridays from her other clients so it’s a good day to hit her up for payment.

I texted her, she phoned me. Says she’s waiting on payment from another client to be able to pay me. She disclosed a lot intermixed with her bs and lies. Seems she’s stealing at least $40k in change order up charges from another client that are probably mostly bogus and charging them $200k for a renovation that had a $160k budget and the client hasn’t paid the last $30k as they want to inspect the job first. (Rightfully so!) Apparently they’re not happy with some drywall patch work on that job - common; not everyone has the same talent that I do so walls won’t look as good and if I were a client I’d complain about flaws, too.

Anyways, she’s disclosed enough to indicate she’s taking money from one job to the next to pay bills with. I haven’t called her out on her bs at all as confrontation about facts won’t get me paid.

She did say she will pay me and doesn’t want this to affect my social relationship with her son - good; that’s about the only thing I think that might get me paid.

She also complimented my work and told me about a couple upcoming jobs that I can have first right of refusal to do. I thanked her for t he compliment but but my tongue and didn’t tell her that any future work will be Pre-Paid cash up front if she wants me to do drywall finishing work as I’m not going to wait 2-3 months to get paid. Period. If she agrees to that and pays up front I’ll do the work, if she says she doesn’t have the budget to do it then okay find someone else I’ll go work where I’m getting paid on time.

Client called me yesterday and said she argued with the contractor on the phone and the contractor hung up on her so she's worried that's the moment where she might just cut & run and never pay for any more bills. Contractor told the client she owes her money.. umm, no, there should Still be $19k remaining in her budget (at least, maybe more) even IF all of the items on her invoice were paid in full. (including my bill)

HOPING that I still get paid, but there's a possibility I'm out thousands of dollars on this one. But I MIGHT still get paid.. maybe - and Only because I have a social connection to the contractors son and she even said to me on the phone a couple days ago that she wouldn't want this to affect my social relationship with him. So, even if she screws everyone else I'm Hoping that connection still gets me paid. Plus she does Want to use me for other projects because my work is good so if she wants to try to keep that relationship afloat she has to pay me, too. What she doesn't know yet is that the only way I'll work on her other projects is if I take a look, give her a flat price, and she pays me up front in full - if it's 6 grand; put 6 grand cash in my hands and I'll go grab materials and put my tools to work. Don't have the cashflow to pay up front and want to pay when work is complete? Too bad. I don't extend credit to people a second time when they take months to pay me. Cash now or find someone else - I'd rather sit at home and scroll memes than work for free. I'll go to work as soon as someone has cash to pay me, that simple.

Hmm. No reply to my text and my phone call went to voicemail in one ring - maybe she has cut & run as of yesterday.

Our last convo she said she was going to pay me and didn't want this to affect my social relationship with her son and spoke of upcoming work blah blah blah - but yesterday she flipped the script on the client again and tried to tell the client that the client owed her money whereas in reality all bills should be paid and there should still be $19k remaining in the budget to carry on for a few weeks.. but bills aren't paid and the money is gone, so $50k+ missing. It's possible I'll never get paid from this job.

The client and the electrician are going to sue her. I might also. Maybe. Thing is, she doesn't have contracts with anyone - on purpose - so there's no documentation of what she was supposed to do for what price besides emails/texts. And even if judgements are won against her she has no assets to lien and no employment income to garnish so most likely scenario is blood from a stone no one will get anything.

In the grand scheme of life, though, months+ down the road.. several people will make anonymous reports to the taxman about her and her couple of business names and how they operate with clients and subcontractors, and if she's screwing everyone else, she's screwing the taxman.. and then she'll get roasted for that. She can outrun court ordered judgements, but she can never wipe a tax debt clean. Best she could maybe do is flee the country if she has enough money to exist somewhere else. But what she'd likely do is just operate under a fake name or three and accept payments in cash and just grift enough money to survive for as long as she lives - something like that - like deadbeat dads avoiding child support.

Con artist is blaming the client for disputing her invoice (obvi it should be disputed, it’s complete bs) & says 3 of her other clients are sick at the moment so no payments from them.

The Only thing that might get me paid the rest of my money is her trying to salvage her son’s reputation with me.

Others are preparing paperwork to sue her. I might have to as well. Might never get paid even if I win in court, but still, it’ll be satisfying to a degree anyways.

She did pay me another large lump sum a couple days ago and is now down to only ~20% of the total owing.

I think she’s gonna completely screw the electrician and ghost him for $10k. She did pay the carpentry crew in full.

Home owner wants a price from me to complete my specialized work - no problem.

Homeowner and electrician are preparing to sue her.

After I get paid then if she wants me to do work on any project it’s cash up front. I’m not waiting a couple months to maybe get paid maybe not. Don’t wanna prepay? I’ll go ride my motorcycle around and have fun instead if I don’t have another client.