ALTON, IL · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 3 votes
Hi I hired a Manager/Contractor to replace the roof and other work...I wired him $7000 and have not heard from him for over 2 months now. I have his address and contact number, he does not answer my calls and I am oversees, so can not go knock on his door...
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 20 posts · 5 votes
8y
Try contacting the state's contractor licensing board and go from there. Hopefully, you have a contract and he's got a bond that you can sue, if necessary.
Rental Property Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 12 votes
8y
If you have a contract and receipt ( which may be unlikely since you wired the money) you will have to go to small claims court in that county or pay to break his legs, haha. But it is not easy either way.
Lender · Granite Bay, CA · Member since 2014 · 456 posts · 454 votes
8y
I don't give anyone money until work is completed. I also never hire a GC. I always pick and choose each person for each job. We also now do most work on our flips ourselves. Good luck in getting your money but I think it's gone.
Flipper/Rehabber · Montgomery, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
@Hilly Fricks do you have anyone on the ground where the house is? When I google the name and area I see a "connected investors" website where a JD Services stated to be owned by a Dalton York is looking to investment deals.
Why not have someone local to the house you have call and get in touch by having a deal. When he arrives that person can speak with him. Obviously the lesson here is not to wire someone $7000 when out of the area and you have no contract, no license info, no anything on that person.
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
8y
The minute you were requested to wire money you should have said "uh, no." Requests to wire money are essentially a statement "I'm about to screw you." Is the address even real? Do you know anyone local who can go bang on the door?
I have a new roof on my house. And gutters and two doors. But the windows covered in the same contract are not yet in. As we agreed, I've not yet paid the contractor a dime. I have siding being done in the spring and choose the company over another that was slightly cheaper specifically because the other guy wanted a third up front.
Adam thanks, I don"t have a contract or a receipt but I have it all written up on our email correspondence. I wonder if there is a service that could take care of it...I will pay $1000 commission/fees to anyone who will retrieve it...
I have NEVER heard about a contractor having money wired to them . . With no contract and no receipt , you have no proof whatsoever that you ever had an agreement with him with no proof you have no case . Sad to say but that money is gone .
Rental Property Investor · OK · Member since 2015 · 316 posts · 216 votes
8y
Hilly Fricks
You’ll almost certainly never see that money again. Save that $1,000 and focus on putting a {trusted} team together that can execute on your long distance investments.
Rental Property Investor · Brook, IN · Member since 2017 · 69 posts · 12 votes
8y
I see his name pop up on Real Estate Investors Facebook site and Indiana Real Estate Network site. Looks like he has legitimate business. Pm, buying, selling, moving, contracting...
Have you tried contacting through Facebook?
Realtor and Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
NEVER Wire money.
NEVER pay for work upfront. If the contractor can't carry the load until the work is completed, then he isn't worth his salt. This is the cost of business. IF you were going to pay anything upfront, I would've offered to pay for the roofing materials DIRECTLY to the roofing materials store. Then it would only be about labor, and he doesn't get paid for that until he has actually labored!
Go to small claims court. Getting a judgment against him will be your only option for recouping. Then get a skip tracer to go after him for the judgment money. You will have to split the recovered funds with the skip tracer, but you will only have to pay if funds are actually recovered (don't prepay them either).
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
8y
Unfortunate situation but it looks like your out of luck on this one. Consider it a lesson learned. Investors reading this should take note of this situation & proceed with caution. This type of stuff happens all the time. You have new investors scouring sites like Craigslist looking for the cheapest guy to do a job for them. This is the type of stuff you run into.
My suggestion to all would be to hire a vetted & professional company for all jobs. You want a company with a well known name, infrastructure & reputation. You'll pay more but you know the job is going to get done. There is a reason that established companies charge more than random guys from Craigslist.
Pomona, NY · Member since 2016 · 375 posts · 217 votes
8y
@Hilly Fricks I would contact the local consumer protection, or licensing board. If they are anything like the licensing board here , if hes operating without a license he will face jail time his equipment can be seized and so on, if he is licensed they may be able to suspend his license pending a complaint. By me it is a criminal offense to take money from a how owner and not start the work. As a contractor myself I always get a deposit upfront upon singing contract, I would never do work for someone who will not give a deposit. Next time make sure you have everything in writing with every detail possible. Good luck
Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
8y
This sucks. I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. I'd look at this $7k as a class you took on hiring contractors; you got an education for the money. Hopefully you can track this dirtbag down and get the money back.
ALTON, IL · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 3 votes
8y
Well I'm not going to sit back and not try to get it back...I got done trying to cut corners and costs...wont happen again... Regardless sitting back doing nothing is probably not the right approach... In addition he is still out there, and helping others not falling into his trap or others like him is also important...