Contractor has tools stolen...my job to replace?

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Contractor has tools stolen...my job to replace?

Megan Dettenmaier
Reno, NV · Member since 2020 · 5 posts · 1 vote

New investor here - my contractor informed me yesterday that my house he's rehabbing was vandalized. They took many tools that totals approx. 10K. He's asking me to contact my insurance to make a claim, however this will obviously impact my rates in the long term. What would you do? He told me he was licensed and insured before I hired him. 

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Karl B.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y

He should use his own insurance as you didn't do anything negligent like leave the door unlocked; it's not your fault. 

This situation is no different than if someone breaks into a rental and steals from your tenant; it's not the landlord's responsibility which is why I urge tenants to get renter's insurance.

My handymen/contractors typically take the majority of their tools home each and every day - and always the expensive tools. Your contractor should have done the same.

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  • Dalton Smith
    Contractor · Henderson, TX · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 37 votes
    5y

    @Megan Dettenmaier I am a contractor. No, that is not your responsibility

    2Reply
  • Will GastonPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Columbia, SC · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Megan Dettenmaier I think the answer in situations like these is almost always "Find out more information".

    Don't commit to covering or not covering. Ask him questions about what happened, what he left, etc. Ask him to contact the police and meet with him and the police at the property. By the time all of that is done you'll have your answer on if you should do anything or not.

    More information provides the best odds are making the best decision. 

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  • Account Closed
    Member since 2020 · 983 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    You need a new contractor since asking you to claim his tools on your insurance policy sounds illegal to me. The only way you could get your insurance company to pay for the tools if when they belong to you. It is obvious your contractor does did not include his tools in his insurance policy. I've been running a fairly large construction company for 48+ years and never paid the additional costs to insure tools because the cost is too high and then there is a deductible. So, when tools are stolen the price I pay the insurance company would never cover the amount paid back to me. Maybe, I am wrong, but I think insurance want a premium every year that is 30% the value of the tools plus the deductible if they are stolen.

    Like other contractors, we never leave tools on job sites. So, don't feel guilty. Like everyone else on this planet, we've had thefts on jobs and in at our own properties where thieves took the stoves, refrigerators, dishwashers, built-in microwave ovens, washers, air conditioner condensers and had walls ripped open for the copper pipes and copper wires. Do you think your contractor has enough experience that he should already be prepared to protect  his own tools.

    Our office is less than 1 mile from Compton California, home of some of the biggest rappers, and on three different occasions we had our tools stolen by gun-wielding thieves in broad daylight with the homeowners inside the homes. My point is; getting stools stolen is an expectation and not an exception.

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  • Mike ReynoldsPro Member
    construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @John Stetson:

    @Mike Reynolds why take them with you? Bring a job box on site.

     Well, I do heavy commercial. My job box is about 3 40' shipping containers. Mostly for supplies though. I don't do residential anymore.

    1Reply
  • Mike ReynoldsPro Member
    construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Megan Dettenmaier:

    Thanks all - I appreciate all of you chiming in - we've all been new at one point or another and your perspective(s) are helpful. This is my first job with this contractor. If you are in St. Joseph, MO and come across any of these things for sale on Craigslist, etc. pls message me. 

    As to the question about how it all added up to 10K - here are some of the things he reported to the police as stolen:

    - washing machine 

    - oven (yes, an oven)

    - TexSpray ($5,200)

    - nail gun

    - $400 worth of fittings, shark bites

    - Dewalt 12 in. sliding miter saw

    - X19 Spray painter in box ($600)

    - 30 gallon Dewalt air compressor

    (lots of other random construction equipment)

    - 600 feet pex

    - 48 in. round fan

    I realize that shark bite is approved for behind the wall construction but no plumber I have had ever has will do it. The question in my mind is why use it at all on a remodel?

    One shark bite fitting= $7.00

    One ring fitting = $1.00

    From your list, I am assuming your contractor is doing it all including the MEPs. He is not a licensed plumber and doesnt have the tools to crimp Pex so he is using shark bite because it is "easy" to do.

    Are you building this without the need for a permit? Because if you do have a permit, this will bite you in the butt. 

    1Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Megan Dettenmaier:

    Thanks all - I appreciate all of you chiming in - we've all been new at one point or another and your perspective(s) are helpful. This is my first job with this contractor. If you are in St. Joseph, MO and come across any of these things for sale on Craigslist, etc. pls message me. 

    As to the question about how it all added up to 10K - here are some of the things he reported to the police as stolen:

    - washing machine 

    - oven (yes, an oven)

    - TexSpray ($5,200)

    - nail gun

    - $400 worth of fittings, shark bites

    - Dewalt 12 in. sliding miter saw

    - X19 Spray painter in box ($600)

    - 30 gallon Dewalt air compressor

    (lots of other random construction equipment)

    - 600 feet pex

    - 48 in. round fan

     Why would a contractor be carrying around a washing machine and an oven on a rehab? On the other stuff, only another contractor/sub is going to steal shark bites and pex; they're too much trouble to sell on Craigslist and have no pawn value. The spray gun, sliding miter, compressor, nail gun OK those can be pawned - but that's such a small amount of equipment, I can't figure why he wouldn't just load it up at the end of the night.

    In any case, I would do three things:

    1. Tell him to report it to his own insurance; he controlled the tools and where they were left.

    2. Watch his invoicing going forward carefully so that he doesn't either try to recoup the loss from you through a side door or stick you out of anger because you won't replace his tools.

    3. Think about finding another contractor, because a professional contractor that leaves his/her tools behind on a job site has a poor sense of judgment.

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  • Jennifer Williams
    Member since 2021 · 94 posts · 45 votes
    5y

    Big red flag. It's definitely not your job to replace the tools. 

    1Reply
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