If you wanted to have a construction project done and a family member offered to loan you part of the money to pay for the project, would you be willing to take the loan if there was one big requirement? That big requirement is that there is one particular person you cannot hire to do the work, and this person happens to be the person you hire to do every construction project you’ve ever had done on your home.

In this story, one man offers to loan his parents money for a construction project, but he doesn’t want them to hire their favorite contractor. He has a list of reasons why he thinks this guy is not the best at his job, but his parents disagree and insist that this is the guy who has to do the job.

Now, he’s torn between loaning his parents the money and letting them hire whoever they want or refusing to loan them anything if they hire their favorite contractor.

Let’s read all about it.

AIO for not wanting to loan my parents $5K unless they use a different contractor?

So here’s the situation. My mom’s car keeps getting stolen (or almost stolen). The first time it actually got stolen, and the second time someone tried again but got caught.

So now my parents want to build what they’re calling a “driveport” — basically convert the garage into a secure area behind a gate so people can’t access their cars easily.

The total cost is around $10,000 — $5K for materials and $5K for the contractor.

I told them I could help by loaning $5,000 to cover the contractor part. I’m happy to do it because I want them to feel safe, but I also said I didn’t want them to use this guy they always hire named Manny.

They really shouldn’t hire Manny.

Here’s the issue: Manny’s not licensed, his work is super sloppy, and my parents have complained about him for years.

Every project he does ends up needing to be fixed again. He leaves paint splattered everywhere, things break after a few months, and my dad still keeps hiring him because he “knows what he’s doing” and “knows the house.”

It drives me insane.

Why can’t OP’s dad see that Manny is not a good contractor?

For context, my dad originally met Manny outside Home Depot and started paying him about $80 a day.

Over time, that somehow jumped to $500 a day — even though his work hasn’t improved at all.

My dad just thinks of him as a “family contractor” now because he’s familiar with the house and “good to us,” even though his projects constantly run over budget and take longer than promised.

For example, Manny will quote something at $5,000 and it always ends up being $10,000 or more.

OP’s parents have made some pretty big mistakes with their money.

My parents are like crazy with money. Like they gave old contractors (also unlicensed) $36k upfront and they VIOLATED the house (that’s a story for a different day) they think flashing money upfront it’s gonna make them stay and do a good.

So I’m trying to make sure this new garage/driveport project doesn’t spiral the same way.

I want the spending to be controlled, but my parents keep saying Manny’s the only one who gives them a “good price.”

I’ve told them we could easily find someone else, even if it’s a bit more expensive, and actually get decent, professional work done — but they’re weirdly attached to him and already made an agreement with him before even telling me.

OP needs to stand firm on this decision.

So I told my parents, “I’ll loan you the money, but I really don’t want you to use Manny. If you’re set on using him, then at least don’t pay him everything up front — pay in parts as he actually finishes work.”

I even said I’d give them the money in increments ($1,000 this week, $1,000 next week, etc.) just to make sure things stay on track. And they aren’t gonna end up in the same situation because from my view, the longer this project takes the more they will spend, which means it will be longer for me to get that 5000 back.

They got annoyed and told me that’s not how it works and that I’m “overcomplicating it.”

Then my sister jumped in and said I’m “not a bank” and that I “can’t tell people what to do with a loan.”

They can think whatever they want, but OP doesn’t have to help them pay for the construction.

But I feel like that makes no sense — if I’m lending someone money for a specific purpose, shouldn’t I have a say in how it’s used? Like, if you get a car loan, you can’t just spend it on furniture.

I’m not trying to control them; I just don’t want to throw $5K away on someone who’s done bad work a dozen times. I even said if they want to use Manny, fine, but I’ll just sit this one out financially.

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Now they’re all acting like I’m overreacting or being “too strict” about it.

I really don’t think I am — I’m literally just trying to help while making sure it’s done right.

He needs to stand firm on his decision. If his parents insist on hiring Manny, they can figure out how to pay him.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

This person thinks he should just let his parents pay for the project themselves.

Exactly!

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a girl who thinks her family is doing too much in criticizing the tidiness in her small space.

This person shares a story about hiring a sloppy contractor.

Another person has questions.

He should simply rescind his offer of loaning his parents money. I’m not sure they even need the loan. Either he didn’t mention it or I missed the parent where they said they couldn’t afford to pay for the project. If they can afford it, let them pay for it themselves. If his sister thinks he shouldn’t dictate who they hire, then let her loan them money if they need a loan.