All Forum Posts by: Heather Luu

 Hi Matthew, my property is literally two exits away from where I live so it is local? No where did I say I invested in a property out of state. Whether I had bought my investment property locally versus out of state, that isnt the issue as people invest out of state for all kinds of reasoning. Im originally from DC area so buying a investment property there isnt as friendly as buying it in TN for an example. It's not a common thing that people go through when a tornado hits your house unexpectantly and having to do a total renovation. We all start from somewhere and you learn and grow from your mistakes. So yes, this is my first time having a contractor leave towards the final stage of a project as other work that I've done are minimal like fence repairs, deck replacements, sink repairs, hvac etc. I've been doing this since 2021 and this tornado is a big project for me that I've havent experienced before. If you have any tips for me that's greatly appreciative but if you dont, then no need to bash someone who's asking for help. I know real estate is no easy job and never said or expected things to be rainbows and sunshine. 

 Will do! I recently called their insurance and within 30 minutes later we got a response from him :')  "We are swamped with this new massive storm. But can get the project completed for you. Give me til Friday to get things situated. I will call Thursday or Friday to discuss rest of work and cost."  Hopefully, he'll hold his end of the bargain and actually gives us a call for the remainder of the work but will definitely do this if we dont hear from him. I appreciate your input, Bruce! Im so glad I got helpful tips on here. 

 Hi Bruce! Yes, this is a licensed contractor. I have his business license and insurance copy. Im just unsure what to do with that. Im looking in my folder with all the stuff they gave me and there's nothing in particular that states what happens with "Non Performance." I'll do some research today about how to go after their Bond.

 Thank you for your time and your response, Rachel! It looks like I do have their license and insurance. Im just unsure what to do with it specifically.

 One more thing, is this something I need to tell my insurance company?

 Hey JD, thank you for your response! Definitely a lesson learned. I will file the complaint

 Hey Luke! Appreciate the response. We had previously paid the contractor after work had been finished and after some time, we paid the fourth one in advance. We discussed with the contractor and after this fourth payment there was one more payment left to give which I planned on not giving until the house was completely finished. Definitely a lesson learned to not pay in advance no matter what stage we are in the process/relationship that has been built.

Luckily, I already met with three different contractors and all of them are wanting to finish the project within our February deadline. It's just a matter of what to do with the payment we gave to the contractor who left with our insurance money. Based on some of the responses. I'll give it to the end of the week to try to work with them as we've been trying since July but then we're going to have to move forward, if we're going to make our deadline. I'll follow the rest of your steps and contact an attorney to see if its worth suing.

 We gave them four payments. The fourth one being the $45K to fund the next part of the house which was our kitchen and exterior work. Yes, this is insurance company funds. Initially, we didnt give them they money until work has been done but based on the work and relationship we built, we decided to pay this one ahead for the next project. Definitely, a lessoned learned to not do that at any point of the project.

Our first investment property was affected by the December 2023 tornado outside of the Nashville area. Luckily, our insurance is covering our rent and utilities until January 2025. My fiance and I were able to find a contractor who was able to do all the work for the house. We did our research and the person we picked had great reviews. We paid him in installments and we're at our final stop of rebuilding our entire kitchen and finishing up small details like filling up nail holes, bathroom vanity installs and etc. After we paid him our next installment of $45K, he basically disappeared in July and after reaching out to him and his wife who also works with him, we've gotten minimal contact back/excuses/delays of when the final work is going to be done. It's been a couple months now and we're trying to figure out what to do as we are at the near end of our insurance coverage. Right now, I believe they're in Ashville, NC and that's why they haven't been as present in our area. They're based out in Georgia and it seems like they move from one storm to the next.

We've given this contractor about $255K, $45K of that being funded towards the next project of the kitchen and now we have about $60K left to finish the house. I would love some advice on what to do. File a Lien? Get a contractor law attorney? File him to the insurance board of TN? File them on BBB? Or take the $60K that we have to finish out the rest of the house and let them walk away with $45K? Or a combo of one of the followings I mentioned?

We have until the end of January 2025 before rent and utilities come out of our own pockets. I already met some new contractors who said can finish the work within the $60K budget, however, they did mentioned some things the contactor did wrong with our house that they would have to fix (leak in our roof from our chimney, new gate hinges because they put the wrong ones on there and other small things). Ideally, I would like the old contractor to finish/fix his work that they did but Im not sure if it's worth the hassle given our time constraints. If anyone has any advice that would be greatly appreciated. If there is any information that I missed, please let me know I can explain our situation further.