PALM BAY, Fla. – What was supposed to be a dream renovation for a Palm Bay family turned into a nightmare.

“Let’s pay somebody. Let’s do it right and it’s turned out to be a nightmare,” said homeowner Ray Ferguson.

An updated driveway was the Fergusons’ first project in their new Palm Bay family home.

They are adoptive parents who have adopted seven children. Most have special needs, so they wanted a safe space for their children to play.

“We did our research. We got estimates, some of them,” Bonnie Ferguson said.

They hired a contractor and paid $20,000 up front. Shortly after the project began, there was a disagreement about the quality of the work.

“There was no curve. It was just this kind of flat octagon with straight lines and dots and some pretty dangerous spots,” Bonnie said.

After raising concerns about the project, the family received a letter saying the contractor was canceling the contract.

The Fergusons decided to go ahead and have someone else finish the job, but then they were hit with a lawsuit.

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“They placed a lien on our property and started foreclosure proceedings,” she said.

The suit says the contractor never paid the concrete supplier, so they were coming after the property to get the money back.

“This is a real vicious cycle,” said attorney Scott Widerman, who represented the Fergusons in court.

Widerman says a judge ruled in Ferguson’s favor in May, saying the contractor they hired was wrong to not pay the concrete supplier.

Unfortunately, winning the lawsuit didn’t fix much for the family.

“The judge said you’re right. You have a judgment against you. Collection is a tougher issue,” the lawyer said.

The supplier has been waiting for payment for more than a year, so Ferguson had to bite the bullet and pay. They had just started a payment plan with the concrete supplier.

“We count pennies to make sure everything is covered,” Bonnie said.

Now they’re paying $1,000 a month for 20 months, which means this couple will end up paying twice for supplies — nearly $40,000 on concrete — because the contractor never paid. They started a GoFundMe to try to help recover lost money.

“How do you trust anyone from now on?” Ray asked.

The Fergusons say they were not in communication with the concrete supplier before receiving the lawsuit.

Fox 35 reached out to the vendor for comment, but never heard back.

So how can you prevent this from happening to you? It all starts with asking the right questions and never signing or paying anything up front.

“If a subcontractor or supplier is left unpaid, the lien will be placed on the property where the work is being done,” said Holly Salmons, who is president of the Better Business Bureau serving Central Florida.

She shared some exact questions you should ask a potential contractor, including:

1. Can I have a list of all the suppliers and subcontractors you work with on my project?

2. What is the schedule of when these people will be paid?

3. How will you show me that payments are made?

Salmons says you can take it a step further and “even ask if you can pay the suppliers, you can be sure the suppliers are paid when you’ve paid them out of pocket.”

The Fergusons are speaking out to warn other landlords.

“The law protects them,” Bonnie said. “It allows them to do that.”

You should also get a “Warranty Release” signed by a contractor before paying any fees or signing a contract. This removes your home from the threat of a lien if someone involved doesn’t get paid.

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