Advice for Handling Threats from Contractor

[Mark J.]

<Warning-- Longish Post Ahead>

I'm thrilled by the challenges and new learning that real estate investing has brought to my life. It's truly fulfilling on many levels. However, the most consistently terrible aspect of my investing experiences so far is dealing with disreputable trades guys-- plumbers, electricians, tile guys, contractors, etc. I've been ripped off, over-billed, vandalized, and had terrible work done that needed to be fixed by others. This has been the hardest, most frustrating, and stressful aspect of investing so far. One thing I have gotten smarter (and firmer) about though is to cut ties as early as possible after I start seeing bad work. I usually start by giving simple tasks, observe the work, and then decide whether or not to continue on with that person.

OK-- to my current dilemma: I used a plumber who was recommended by a well-known local investor in the Tampa area. The plumber was nice enough at first (aren't they all!), but his plumbing work was really, really terrible. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm talking about basic plumbing that I could do, but don't want (or have time) to do.

After I told him (very nicely) that unfortunately we wouldn't be working together on the rest of the project, I received a bill for $1,200. That was surprising, giving the small amount of work done. After reviewing his vague bill (not itemized), I offered what I considered a very fair payment of $850 ($350 less than he billed). Here's an excerpt of his response to the email I sent which had an Excel spreadsheet documenting how I arrived at $850.

This was his response last night:

"If I had known you wanted top notch work I would of gave it to you along with top notch pricing. How ever, i gave you decent work at a decent price with nothing wrong with it. Calling another plumber to go behind me and fix something will always result in that plumber doing and saying more than necessary. How ever. If you don't pay me my full amount I will inform my plumbing inspector Associates and code enforcement friends and they will pick that place apart and make you rip out alot of work and you will pay fees galore."

Now clearly, there's some failures in logic here, particularly about top notch vs decent work (this is the first I've ever heard someone admit that they intentionally do ****** work because the job is small...but he set, and I agreed to, his fee @$73 per hr.) But beyond the defensiveness and faulty logic-- it's the THREATS that I find bothersome. They are likely empty threats, but I can't be sure. Although I'm a new investor, and it's important to me to maintain an excellent reputation within the local investing community, I also won't be bullied into paying for shoddy work which I had to pay someone else to complete.

So, that's my dilemma. Perhaps it's similar to the "Cash for Keys" argument I've often read here. Do I stand my ground, perhaps potentially wind-up in small claims court (or worse a lien), and inspectors suddenly showing up at my door or is it worth the $350 to just make him go away (without any guarantee he won't still do what's he's threatened to do-- which is likely just empty talk.)

Your thoughts?