Help firing General Contractor

[Tom Feret]

I'll have to start off by saying that for a first project I've definitely made all the possible mistakes and have to accept my current situation.

I will be firing my GC and want to make sure 1) I have all my bases covered and 2) help with guidance or anything that I might be missing/exposing myself to.

The contract itself is where my first issue begins. I realize now that the contract I signed was my biggest mistake and even though I had provided a SOW on the initial walk through, I made the horrible rookie mistake of not having it signed/included in the contract. His contract provides a rough outline of the work to be done and the requested itemized portion is not much better in retrospect.

Secondly, I trusted too much in the draws leading up to work instead of paying upon completion of the different tasks. Stupid, I know...and I prepped myself with all the BP material on here and still made all the blunders!

I've seen the red flags along the way but today I've had a long chance to review the work done, what was agreed to be done (although much was verbal...again, I know) and the quality of the work. Let alone the time frame exceeded (again, not in writing. Stupid), essentially being bait and switched on, etc etc.

I could go on and on, but ultimately I'm ready to bury my loses and take this as an expensive lesson.

Which brings me to my questions:

• I'm going to ask him to sign a lien waiver, but what to do if he doesn't?
• His contract and draw schedules are vague, suggestions for coming to an agreement of how much is actually completed?
• How much leverage do I have regarding work that was agreed on but not actually done? (I feel I know the answer already - had to be in writing).
• Contacting a construction lien attorney - am I missing out if I can't contact one in Dallas on a weekend? Should I wait to fire on Monday?

I will be videoing and photographing the project. Should I get another 2-3 GC's to bid the remainder of the project? We're actually close to the end that I would much rather sub contract and do the work myself than bring on another GC at this point. Therefore, just get sub bids on the remaining work?

Anyone with suggestions for an attorney in the DFW area and any other guidance would be greatly appreciated. Going to really take my mistakes and apply them accordingly to the next project.

[Mark Allen]

Oh buddy. Scott Horne is your man if you need an attorney for this situation. I've fired and settled with a GC and he tried to sue me, so Hopefully you're not dealing with a bad person like I was.

Whatever you do try and be fair and come to agreement with this GC. Explain why you're unhappy and be sure to listen to his frustrations, because getting sued is unnecessary time, money and stress.