The real estate situation there sounds pretty sketchy to me too. I've bought and sold several properties, and never seen or heard of anything like that. I think

The real estate situation there sounds pretty sketchy to me too. I've bought and sold several properties, and never seen or heard of anything like that. I think a lot of issues are wrapped up in his "dream home" and "save the house" statement. There is no property that is so great that you should ignore basic principles to get it. Trouble getting a clear title sounds like a reason to run away fast. You can generalize it even further to say that you should never allow any business deal of any kind to reach that level of importance. Always find alternatives and keep them available, and if there don't seem to be any alternatives, then there is probably a serious problem with the market that you're in. There are still 2 real take-aways. If you're going to freelance, be prepared for cash flow issues. Have a buffer, charge more, structure deals to get money sooner in the process, and walk away if there are any problems with the money. Also, don't use freelancer.com. Not that I had ever heard of them before today anyways. Actually, I see "but I liked the project and the client" in there too. Does this guy have a history of accepting business deals that any reasonable observer can easily see are bad ideas, and making up reasons why he's doing them anyways? Is there maybe something in there about having a tendency to being taken in by con men? It seems pretty clear that, if you're having cash flow issues, you should look for a full-time W2 job first, or if you have to freelance, find a client who will pay you directly, up front.