Contractor Nightmare - New Jersey

[Marcos Torres]

Hello All,

I need some advice or guidance. I’m currently on the process of a rehab on a duplex. I hired a contractor who told me he would be able to finish the job in 2 months. I awarded him the $57,000 contract and work commenced. We are now on month 6 and he’s still not complete. I’ve been paying him little by little but he takes his sweet time. He still has significant amount of work, and i only owe him $10,000. I’ve expressed to the contractor that i will not pay him the remaining $10,000 until he completes the job. He didn’t like that i was holding the money and has walked off the job.

Any suggestions? I’m worried he’ll put a lien, but i need to finish this rehab and want to hire someone else. 

Can he argue that we didn’t have a concrete time line in writing, and I’m the one who breached by hiring someone else?

[Robert S.]

@Marcos Torres

Good evening... What permits were filed for the job? Electric, plumbing, HVAC, framing, HVAC? What town is the property in and what trades need to finish their work?

At this point, I would plan to remove GC from job, and go straight to the sub-contractors by yourself. Each trade fills out its own permit. Get the names of each company on their respective permit and find out if they are getting paid. Maybe they’ll come and finish the job without the GC.