Friends and Family might be the only ones whose word or handshake you can trust. There may be some who can't even risk that. As unfortunate as it sounds, it's often the case and the reality is that most deals are not with friends and family but with those you hardly know at all. Ever had a contractor drag his feet on your home repair or improvements? How about the pool man or the neighborhood grass cutting kid not showing up when you expect them? Get them to sign a personal business contract. Here's how to write one...

BUSINESS CONTRACT BASICS

1) Put the Date at top of the page;

2) Put your name and the name of the contractor, salesman, etc.;

3) Put down both parties addresses and telephone numbers (very important);

4) Write in detail the products to be transferred or the services to be performed;

5) Write down all the Buyer's agreements, for instance, Buyer agrees to pay in full when work is complete, Buyer agrees to provide all resources, etc;

6) Write down all the Seller/Contractor's agreements, for example, Seller agrees to service product if faults are found within a (state time frame, one week, one month, etc.) period, Contractor agrees to work every (state best time, Saturday at 1pm, etc.), Contractor agrees to work on (Date) and work from 9 to 5 for 10 consecutive days with one hour break for lunch, etc;

7) Create signature blocks at the bottom for both the Buyer and Seller and get signatures for each.

What won't a business contract like this cover?

Very little, but consult an attorney if your deal is extremely important or you want to make absolutely sure.

Visit www.LetterRep.com for Free Sample Business Contracts, hundreds of sample personal and business letters and Online Tools for Addressing, Dating, Editing, Formatting, Printing, Emailing and Faxing.

Rob Noyes owns and operates the Internet's premiere Business and Personal Letter-writing site, LetterRep.com. Contact Rob at admin@letterrep.com for answers and solutions to common letter-writing situations.