@Bryan Burgett
Hey Brian,
You absolutely can go to an attorney....
If you are close with an attorney, or have an inside line to talk to one, do it.... not to begin immediate legal action but just to see where things stand and your options. You would indeed go to mediation first and if a conclusion that both parties feel good about Is not reached they it goes to the next level
He is a licensed professional, he is not allowed to perform to a non professional standards, and doing the work that he did with out ever pulling a permit or having anything inspected is ultra questionable, and depending on city specific codes and state specific laws, most likely totally illegal. Just because he did not pull permits does not mean he was trying to do something wrong, he can be a solid knowledgeable builder and have the knowledge and experience to do his duties well with no over site. I absolutely hate dealing with inspectors personally and in my own projects and at times, I would rather roll the dice and just go for it without out a permit ... but it is a dice roll .... you can potentially run into very sticky situations with disclosures were you to sell that place
We’re you to call the board of contractors and tell them about the situation, he would most likely be dead meat.. they would most likely decide he absolutely did not perform in a workman like manner, and if it progressed to legal suit, the judge would see his board found him guilty of wrong doing and rule in your favor
That being said.... I would make a serious attempt to communicate with him, try and get both of you on the same page, he miss bid your job and got it over his head it sounds like... and sounds like he really really wished he had told you 120k at the beginning ..... buuuut he did not. You guys signed the docs you signed and it is what it is now. Allowances can be made, and it sounds like you are making them. I would not threaten him or be hostile but communicate as transparently as you can what your upset about. See where that gets you. In my opinion the last thing you ever want is to involve someone else.... a mediator, a judge.... but if he is not willing to play ball and perform to the standards of the contract, and the no permit thing is absolutely not performing to the standards or his licensing.... you have no other recourse. See if you and him can reach a conclusion and if there can be amicable communication, if not, it’s time to begin mediation.
