How Can I Solve This Contractor Issue

Question

I hired a Contractor for a Rehab work , He gave me the timeline of 60 days to complete the rehab. On the 90th day work still not Complete. On the 100 day , I decided to split the Job and hired another contractor to do one part of the job and he will complete the rest. Which was mainly the Plumbing and Electric work in the house. The other contractor that i hired is almost done. The 1st Contractor has been telling me he has 6 hrs of work for the past 1 month and has been delaying the work Also saying the it is to cold outside. I do not know what to do because this 1st contractor has the Master Plan to the house and rehab and Permit to do the Plumbing and the Electric work was pulled by me and him because i am the home owner.

Any ideas on how to Solve this problem.

Bil Casimir · Answer

I had a similar situation last year. Contractor said it would take 30 days, 6 months later and more excuses. I fired him and had another contractor complete the job in 3 weeks.

Mark Brogan · Answer

I am a master plumber in my day job,I would get rid of the guy immediately if you had him sign the proper contracts when he started working,if not you need to work things out with him and get the job done,most likely he has ran out of money and will start asking you for money to finish

Do not pay this guy any money to finish,if he can't afford to finish most likely he will tuck his tale and disappear

Most all contractors are living from one job to the next,hire only licensed and insured guys

The idea of saving money flipping houses will only cost you more money in the end

Good luck @Dele Ola

Account Closed · Answer

What does your contract say?  What was the reason given for the delay?  Was it unreasonable? Is he a GC?  Did he pull the permit?

I think you should have first resolved things with the original guy before bringing in someone else.  Otherwise, it creates all kinds of problems for all the parties...as you're now seeing.

At this point, try to settle things with the first guy as best you can.

John Rogers · Answer

On line there are any number of free "project schedule" spreadsheets that you can download.

Next time, use this to assign time frames to segments of work.

Break down  the payment schedule and assign draws to phase completions and passing inspections. This provides an ongoing flow of funds to the contractor where he can do the work in more manageable chunks and get paid. You get the benefit of having the work completed in a timely fashion, and not have to pay for work not done.

Assign payment penalties to the phases... as they are smaller, the contractor can focus on that phase, complete it, get paid, then move to the next one.

Andy Luick · Answer

It's hard to know what's really going on here.  What was the scope of the project?  If you pulled the permit as a homeowner...you've already tried to sidestep the system and now have a problem.  If you hired a contractor to turn a large renovation and he isn't a GC, that was the beginning of your problem.  What was the initial scope of work and what was the cost?  Investors....all of us...tend to be too cheap on rehab and then, especially unseasoned investors....end up with huge problems.  I knew an investor in NY who did a huge rehab without the proper permits....the town waited until he was done and made him tear it all down and start over!  Can you imagine?

Putting two different contractors on the job like this is a mistake...one will interfere with the other and the finger pointing starts.  You can't really rewrite the contract.  Taking him to court is a waste of time for both of you.  Either sit him down and see EXACTLY what the problem is and what it will take to finish up his portion....write it up and sign off on it.  If you can't work it out with him, get him to sign off on a full waiver and release, return the architectual drawings/plans whatever you are referencing in the post....and part ways.  You are best to clear out the other contractor or get him to finish before bringing in another guy.

We recently got brought in to finish up a project for a flipper in atlanta.  The project wasn't overbid at all....the contractor had plenty of money to get it done.  The project was 6 months behind....the investor hired a relatively inexperienced contractor who spoke fluent spanish and ended up using whatever scab labor he could find off the street.  My group was brought in by the buyers to finish the place up so it could close.  It almost came down to a fist fight with the other contractor.  All kinds of issues...electrical outlets ungrounded, plumbing issues, flooring issues, a deck that was built wrong, a new master bath that didn't make any sense with a shower door hung wrong, a shower pan that had been nailed through, roof repairs made with 3/8" plywood, roof leak "fixed" by caulking the shingles.....new vent boot that wasn't nailed or seal, bath fan this venting into the ceiling....an unreal list.  The seller made most of it right but it was a ton of headache for everyone involved.  But the investor was new to the business and went with a personal referal that turned out to be a nightmare.

For this guy, the budget was correct for the scope of work...he just had the wrong guy on the job.  The permit was pulled by another GC but the other guy was the one running the job.  If your contractor shows up in a honda civic to do your work.....you might just have a problem and that was literally the case here.  Try to video the project at each draw so you can see the progression....the bulk of contractors work on draws so those saying "no money upfront" have no idea.  New construction is pretty straight forward...if it's renovation on an older property budget in 10% to 20% for unknowns.  We're on a project right now that had tons of termite damage and subfloor issues which we had no way of knowing or budgeting for prior to starting the work.  These kinds of things are unknowns until you start....and always put as much as you can into the contract from go.  Luck with it!

Bevla Reeves · Answer

NEVER hire a contractor for more than one job at a time, it's just too hard to fire them otherwise!

Bill Parsons · Answer

@Dele Ola

I think John is right on the money with draws for phase/task completion.  I am a GC in Cleveland and this is exactly how I structure payments and schedules with my clients.  Speaking from experience, it is precisely as John says, making the work far more manageable for the contractor if a particular phase can be focused on, and with the ongoing cashflow by way of draws it helps to eliminate any potential issues with the guy "running out of money".  And with regard to what you mentioned about it seeming like he was doing other jobs, unfortunately he probably is.  I have the same sort of problem with a few of my subs sometimes.

Donald Cherry · Answer

Dele Ola,

As a licensed master electrician & general contractor for last 22 years, I have licenses covering 7 states. Unfortunately, Virginia isn't one of those.  I'm currently in the process of licensing in VA, WV, TN, & OH now, as they all reciprocate with my Kentucky license.

I would need to look at how VA does it, but most states protect homeowners from these type of problems in one way or another.  For instance, St. Louis County, Missouri makes me purchase a $10,000 license bond every year.  If any customer feels they've been harmed by my actions, they can call the county and initiate a claim against my bond. Of course that would get my attention, as my license would be suspended until I repaid the bonding company,  then issued the county a new bond, which may be very difficult & expensive to get any company to write.

The State of Arizona actually charges every contractor a fee of about $500/year, and runs their own fund that allows any customer to collect up to $30,000 for damages.  Same thing, contractor loses license until fund is repaid.

State laws vary, but at the very least, you can always file a small claims case against the contractor.  Usually the amount is limited to around $3000 in damages, but it can do a few things.  First, your contractor will be served, letting him know you're serious.  If that doesn't prompt him to finish, he will show up in court and want to settle.  More than the money, a court loss will damage his reputation for the next 10 years, limiting his ability to do many jobs because he can't get the insurance and bonds.

Hopefully, this helps.  Talk to your building department official, they can tell you the best route to take in your area.  They deal with these situations all the time.  A few contractors like this make it difficult for honest guys to make a living.

Thomas Cardona · Answer

After hearing all that I feel lucky. It took two months extra but it finally got done. After reading this i realized that he was working on other jobs and ran out of money. But it's okay it was only empty for two months before we got tenants in (Thank heavens).

How Can I Solve This Contractor Issue

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