I had to fire my GC. What, if anything, do I tell the contractors I'm now interviewing?

[Karin Crompton]

Hey all,

I'll try to keep this brief to start. We had to fire our GC on Friday and decided to take a deep breath and a couple of steps back and start from scratch. This means I'm calling contractors myself for all of the components of a very multi-faceted rehab. I believe that, although we'll have a temporary delay, it will wind up faster and more cost-effective in the long run.

We had started some work already, so when I bring new contractors in, they will see a house that's been partially gutted and a Dumpster in the driveway.*

Here's my question: what do I share, if anything, with the contractors I'm now bringing in for quotes? Do I inform them that I had to let the contractor go? I feel like I need to say something, b/c it will naturally be a part of my description of where the project currently stands. So what do I say, and how do I say it?

(*About the Dumpster still being there ... The guy who was acting as GC had brought us this deal and we agreed to split profit and give him the job, but he had to perform and was on a short leash. He has zero organizational skills, which is why we had to let him go as GC, but he does decent carpentry work so we will probably hire him for some individual components of the job as long as he can get us a coherent quote. He's the one who had ordered the Dumpster and will probably still use it. Hence, the Dumpster in the driveway.)

[Jean Bolger]

Personally, I don't see any harm-- and maybe some real benefit -- in saying that you had a GC and had to let him go because he was not meeting your standards. (no need to name names of course) This would  give a clear signal to the subs that you'd have no compunction about doing the same to them if they they don't do quality work and do it on time.