Hello Ak- I was a builder and have started and negotiated many projects and starts. One thing I would say is that of course a builder wants as much $$ as possible upfront- especially if he doesn't know much about you. It goes both ways. many builders have been hosed over the past year or 2 by owners not paying them or running out of money somehow- so they are trying to cover themselves.
That said, I think 60% upfront is very high if no work has been done yet, or it it just started today.
Be careful with a company that cannot float any of their bills for your project. Most decent builders can pay their subs or suppliers for a little bit while they wait for you to reimburse/ pay them. You want a builder that has a few decent credit lines open at suppliers and in good standing.
Let me know if I can help out any. Thanks and good luck,
Ken L.

As the first answer notes, that structure isn't uncommon. From your perspective, you want to provide as little money up front as possible. Ideally, your initial payment would cover no more than the materials to be used in the project. And, again ideally, you should have a 10% holdback to make sure that all the final details (the "punchout list") are taken care of before the builder receives its final payment.

Hope that helps.

Hello Ak,

What your builder is proposing is not an uncommon way to do business. If your leary about him, contac the local Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed, ask for a copy of his insurance certificate and if he has a license you can look it up on line MAgov.com or ask for a copy of his license.

Best of luck!

Nancy