Screwed by contractor, advice appreciated

[Doris Jin Huang]

We hired a GC to renovate our two family house in Bronx, NY, which was supposed to be finished 6 months ago. Not only was the project dragged very long, many things have been done wrong and the GC is not honest to us. We have already paid him a significant amount of cash (almost 90% of total), but now we feel he will never complete the project. The GC has pulled the renovation permit. We are thinking about firing him but not sure if it's the best option. A few questions we have are:

1. If we fire the GC do we need to pull a new permit? 

2. If yes, are we able to pull a new permit ourselves without hiring another GC? We are the homeowner and plan to live in one of the two units, and we have contact information of the GC's expeditor and architect (who drew the existing plan)

3. Do we have any leverage against the GC since he has an open permit?

4. Any other advice on how to deal with the situation is appreciated.

Thanks,

Doris 

[Brian Ploszay]

You most likely should get an attorney to handle this.   Always avoid lawsuits, however, having an attorney at your side can help this contractor understand that he needs to negotiate his exit.   

Don't feel too bad.  One of the hardest parts of real estate is finding contractors that are reliable, yet affordable.