I've got a mate who I helped out of the kindness of my boots and in the process I bought a flat that needed renovating, so I warned him one upcoming weekend my dad and another of my mates was coming to me to help, expecting him to offer to help, but no, and I'd have knocked him back anyway as I knew he had a lot on his plate with his own house, and in my 1 bedroom flat there was hardly room for me and the 2 that were coming anyway, but to add insult to injury he phoned on the Friday night and said I was stitching him up cos he couldn't carry on till I'd finished a few bits, I got the hump and said I've seen a yellow pages in your kitchen, pay someone, or don't take the mick and wait. Anyway we didn't fall out and I finished the bit I had to but didn't do anymore. Sometime later he bought a flat in Bulgaria and said didn't matter if it was his mum or a total stranger, no freebies, if somebody wanted to use it there was a cost involved, I said fair enough , how much work did your mum do on your house, shove yer flat where the sun doesn't shine, since then he's been telling me every time we speak I'll never have to pay, go have a cheap holiday which I will take him up on when I get bored of the grovelling. Never worked or done favours for friends or family since, I just say I can reccomend a good handworker who'll work for cash and step right back.