How do you monitor your contractor 2 states away?

[David London]

Contractor is a month past deadline and not even half way done with job. (Only demo..rough plumbing and some rough electrical).
On my last visit to the site about 10 days ago there wan no progress from my previous visit 2 weeks earlier. 

Looking for suggestions on how to monitor his progress from a distance making sure he even get to the job-site.

I found the GC through the PM I hired with understanding they will check on him periodically which doesn't seem to happen as often I expected (what I discussed with them originally) and they obviously don't seem to have any influence on him sticking to schedule...contract state the deadline but doesn't specify what happen if job is not done by then.

I know renovation often go off schedule...at the same time it's hard to finish job without showing to the site!

This is my first out of state investment and had very hard time finding contractors...had about 10 contractor come and bid...some forgot to even show for their appointments...two where literally on drugs...one gave a bid 2x higher then the rest and equal to the cost of the house.

Any advise appreciated.

[Chris K.]

@David London

In my opinion, you always risk situations like this when you work on "smaller" projects. For these smaller projects, it becomes very difficult to make the numbers work to hire a proper GC/subcontractors. So you often end up with a construction crew that has serious deficiencies. That's typically where you would have to step in as the owner to offset such issues.

Unfortunately, I think you are in a tough spot. Based on everything you wrote, I don't think you have a very good fit. The GC might be good when it comes to workmanship but you might be their least valuable customer. It's virtually impossible for a contractor to aim for 100% satisfaction from their customers. So if you are on the bottom end of their priority, that's generally not a good place to be. 

If you want the safest option, you may have to show up at the job site once or twice a week until the project is complete. It sucks but it is what it is. You may also want to start looking for an alternate GC since the GC may just decide to walk away from the job. 

Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney. What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us. I wrote the above for informational purposes. Do not rely on it for legal advice. Always consult with your attorney before you rely on the above information.