How can I pay for home maintenance without a credit card?

Question

I inherited a 125 year-old Victorian house in which the upkeep was very neglected. Needs roofing, wiring, plumbing, painting and could also used some energy efficient doors and windows. I've tried hiring contractors and they come and look over the work but I never hear from them again. I was telling a friend and she said it may be because I don't have a credit card. The workmen look up my credit rating and nothing shows, so that scares them off. I don't like paying cash - that way there's no recourse if the repair goes sour.

You'll say, "Just get a credit card." I am afraid of identity theft - I've had several relatives wiped out because of credit card problems. Other than the house, my needs are few - I don't travel and auto dealers are willing to accept a bank check for a car purchase, so I never had a reason to have a card.

Jay · Answer

Pay by check or money order, ACH or Wire Transfer, Zelle or Pay Pal.

Judy · Answer

It might not have anything to do with a  credit card, the job  might just be more trouble than it's worth to them.  And you're taking about more cost than most crdit cards would cover anyway.  Can you get a home equity loan?

Slickterp · Answer

So you don't want credit, but also don't want to pay cash.....interesting.  Most contractors would accept a check just fine.

A Hunch · Answer

The only reason why a contractor would look up your credit score is if you are trying to finance the repairs.

There are a lot of flaky contractors.  My guess is that they aren't calling you back because that's just what happens.

You are doing large repairs.  A contractor is not going to accept a credit card for these transactions.  If you are using one contractor, they will probably want a wire transfer.  If you are using multiple contractors, you probably pay by bank transfer like Zelle.

Your recourse is that besides the first payment, you don't pay if you are dissatisfied with the work.

StarShine · Answer

Many contractors will accept checks or money orders. It actually saves them the fees on the credit card transactions. They generally want a downpayment and then progress payments.

Have you followed up with the contractors? There is a huge run on home renovations right now. They're busy and some building materials are hard to come by which may mean that they don't want to quote until closer to the time they're available to do the job.

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How can I pay for home maintenance without a credit card?

5 Answers