All Forum Posts by: Kj Rustom

@Rick H. 

Notice is the biggest issue here in PA also.  In one case even though the certified mail was restricted delivery, must be signed by the named individual, the wife signed both her notice and her husbands.  Under oath in court she said that she NEVER told her husband that their free and clear house was going to be sold at tax sale.  The tax sale was overturned, case dismissed. 

In PA there are 3 notices, (at a minimum) required, posting the property, newspaper publication and either certified mail or some other notice.  Cases have been argued successfully where the owner admitted to getting 1 or more notices, but not all 3, and the tax sale was overturned, case dismissed.

In another case, the posting for the property was on the front door, but the owner said under oath in court that they never used the front door and only used the back door and never saw the notice. Tax sale overturned, case dismissed. 

I'm going to agree with @Ryan Normand As a longtime (many decade) Contractor, I would never use a customer's contract. As much as I respect @Chris Seveney, maybe not even his... :-) unless he signed mine as well.

Your mission is to just find a great Contractor....forget trying to control and manipulate a GC, it will never happen....and if it does, it means that you got a bad or rookie GC. Just find a great GC, clearly define your Scope Of Work, and then you get the heck out of the way and let them do their thing....

When I had a customer try to set a penalty clause, I would just want the same deal in reverse. In other words, you want $500 a day for every day I go over the schedule? Ok, fine, but then I get $500 for every day I finish early....and trust me, I will set the finish date and stay on this job so I make a killing off you.

Oh, and you will need a contract that is specific to your own state.

@Bruce Woodruff

Yes liquidate damages of $500 is probably a joke depending on the project / $15,000 a month… unless that is a $4M home or commercial property yes that’s insane.

I bet you would use my contract :)

Key is it needs to be mutually agreeable with realistic terms.

We typically use AIA 105.

2 cents from a GC, curious to see what others have to say...

Contractors generally provide the customer with the contract and SoW, not the other way around. If you force your own contract upon contractors during the bidding process you are likely to scare all of the good GCs off and only be left with guys who are desperate for work. If it makes you feel better, have a lawyer on standby to review and redline their contract. 

I see and hear a lot of investors talking about how they are going to utilize all sorts of penalties and additional requirements when working with contractors, but IMO that's not realistic in this market. You only get that sort of leverage if you're doing multiple projects and providing 100's of thousands or millions of dollars + worth of revenue. You probably won't get that sort of leverage with a one-off build unless it's worth A LOT of money. It would be like calling Apple HQ and telling them how to make your iPhone - they won't care unless you're ordering a million of them.

Hey @Kj Rustom Yes I'm a builder here in Atlanta. I'd be happy to discuss. Shoot me a text and we can line up a time to talk (229) 407-0400