Contractor Not Performing Work Over a Month Aftr Signing Contract
I closed on a 3/2 SFH fixer-upper in Columbus, OH on 6/10 and signed a contract w/ a contractor on 6/13. My agent recommended him and said he can get the mostly cosmetic rehab work done in 45 days (which is in the contract and there is a $75/day fee for every day after if it is not completed on time). My agent is also an investor and she has worked w/ him many times in the past she said. I paid an initial 19K deposit (1/3 of the 56K total SoW). The demo was was done early on and I have been in touch w/ the contractor at least 10 times and each time he said the project will be fully completed in about two weeks and before the deadline, but he never sent me any photos as I kept asking for. I asked my agent to go to the property to see what's going on and it turns out there's barely been any work done at all since the demo. She is saying to contact him to see why he hasn't been working on it and if I can get my money back but she doesn't want to be involved. He's done only about 7K worth of work in over a month and the 45 day deadline is just a few days away so he owes me about 12K. Please advise me on what the best move is to make in this situation
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@Sam Tavakoli Unfortunately this happens all of the time and gives good contractors a bad name. It's good that you're getting an attorney involved. I do hope you are able to get your money back. Moving forward, one way I structure my payment with clients is I get paid at the end of the week for the work completed. Another investor I work with, he buys the materials and I charge him for labor. After each week he pays me for work completed that we discussed prior to contracting the job. Hope this helps.