Incredibly slow contractor

[Elizabeth Seiferth]

Hi all- I would love some advice. We are in the end stages of our first flip. Our contractor has been insanely slow with minimal progress from week to week and already 2 weeks behind their timeline. We should be listed at this point and we have at least another 2 weeks left to get there (no point in fully pulling the cord on this GC at this point). We are about an hour and a half away from the property (it was a cheaper market) so I don’t have the ability to be up there every single day micromanaging the contractor. We have a small payment left on the contract which I am withholding until completion.

We did have to get permits and the city inspector has added work at every inspection so that has caused distractions (necessary ones) along the way.

Our visit to site today was more of the same, I immediately reached out to the GC with photos of every space - interior and exterior - asking how they can claim we will be done in a week when we are clearly not that close. He will be going out to site tomorrow to give me an update on their plan.

Has anyone ever dealt with this type of scenario? Any recommendations to light a fire under their asses and get a bigger crew on site to finish the job?
 

[Greg Scott]

Quote from @Elizabeth Seiferth:

Hi all- I would love some advice. We are in the end stages of our first flip. Our contractor has been insanely slow with minimal progress from week to week and already 2 weeks behind their timeline. We should be listed at this point and we have at least another 2 weeks left to get there (no point in fully pulling the cord on this GC at this point). We are about an hour and a half away from the property (it was a cheaper market) so I don’t have the ability to be up there every single day micromanaging the contractor. We have a small payment left on the contract which I am withholding until completion.

We did have to get permits and the city inspector has added work at every inspection so that has caused distractions (necessary ones) along the way.

Our visit to site today was more of the same, I immediately reached out to the GC with photos of every space - interior and exterior - asking how they can claim we will be done in a week when we are clearly not that close. He will be going out to site tomorrow to give me an update on their plan.

Has anyone ever dealt with this type of scenario? Any recommendations to light a fire under their asses and get a bigger crew on site to finish the job?
 

Does your contract have a defined completion date with penalties for being late?  I presume not.  Having a clause like that usually resolves delays.  Unless there is some extenuating circumstance, we enforce that clause.  Last summer a contractor that was building us two pergolas and grilling stations had to take $3K off his bill because he passed the deadline he agreed was easily achievable.

As for how to deal with your current situation, prodding is about all you've got.