All Forum Posts by: Kristy F.

@Jack V. Ospina The portion on our contract about change orders says: "Extra work and change orders become part of the contract once the order is prepared in writing and signed by the parties prior to the commencement of any work covered by the new change order." 

The only thing we signed is the original contract. 

@Carl Fischer We didn't follow the draw schedule because of these change orders/additional costs. He would do something, then tell us a week later that this thing costed how much extra and that we needed to pay in order to proceed. Pulled this on us several times. 

@Thomas S. But he hasn't completed all the items in the original contract and some of the things in these additional work/change orders. Can I get money back for work not done?

@Lee 

@Lee Lockhart I have lots of pictures and videos. The change order would be verbally told to us. When we ask him how much, he would stall for a week on telling us the cost. During this week, he would quickly do the work. Then he would give us a written number that we feel obligated to pay to move on with the project. However, these change orders/additional costs were not signed by him or us. 

We have already sent him an email asking him to respond and if he is coming back. He has not responded to that or our phone calls. Should I send a certified letter as well? I planned on filing a complaint with the board on Monday. Do I need to wait and give him more time to respond? At this point, I don't trust him going forward and want to find a new contractor. I do want my money back for work that is not completed though.

@Matthew Paul Sigh, our contractor showed me pictures of his Porsche sports car, told us how in 2015 he made over $1 million. Back then I just thought he was good and successful... Now I know!

I hired a insured, licensed, bonded general contractor to remodel the bottom unit of our building. According to our contract, he was to be paid in phases until the completion of work. He kept collecting advance payments (saying he needs to buy materials and pay for subcontractors). In addition, he keeps request additional charges for "change orders" that are not signed by us. It appears that he has been making mistakes and is using "change orders" to get us to pay for his errors. Currently, we have already paid for the entire amount in the original bid, and about half of these "change order" additional charges. Only 50% of the project has been completed. The remodel was supposed to be done in 2 months, so far it has already been 5 months.

On Friday, he requested another "change order" additional charge, which we finally disagreed with. He then said he will not work until this gets paid and proceeded not to show up. I feel totally taken advantage of. I plan to file a complaint with the license board Monday and file a claim against his bond. Is there anything I should do? I'm worried he will say I fired him, also worried he will file a lien. 

@Eric Moore Tx Eric, what would you say is a good price per sq ft in Coffey Park? Any other neighborhoods I should look at?

@David L. $1000 below market rate is a conservative estimate and because the unit looks old and not taken care of. If remodeled, I would say I could get $1500-2000 more.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. Biggerpockets is now my favorite forum! I have sent the tenants a few nice but firm emails that seemed to have worked. Also talked to a lawyer today and got lots of tips.

Hello, I'm considering purchasing an empty lot in Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa that burned down in the Tubbs Fire. I have a contractor willing to do it for a low price since he is building three other houses in the same area.

My concern is, after I build this house in a year, will it be able to sell for a good price? The entire neighborhood burned down. Will buyers want to buy this house in a neighborhood of wasteland assuming not everyone will be rebuilding? 

Also, if many people are rebuilding now, they will likely finish around the same time as me. Will there be a flood of new houses on the Santa Rosa market early next year that drives down the price? It seems like a good opportunity but I'm a bit nervous because my profit margin may be slim. 

Hi all, I'm back again with issues with the inherited tenants I had mentioned in my last thread. To summarize, I bought a property with inherited tenants and the third floor tenants are problematic. They email me everyday, multiple times, with minor issues. The latest issue arose two days ago when the garage door would not lock properly. My contractors have lots of equipment there so they had to find a guy who could install a garage opener and solve the issue. The guy came at 9 pm, installed the opener and was about to leave at 10 pm when the wife came down, cussed and yelled at him because it was outside of normal working hours, and tried to prevent him from leaving because she apparently called the police and wanted him to stay until the police arrived. He told her she can take a picture of his license and left.

She did all this instead of calling me. Then a few hours later, she emailed me and said the strange guy was making loud noises and bangs, that she was alone and scared. Hm... the garage guy was installing an opener, no hammering, no drilling. He stayed in the garage and would not have even met her if she didn't come downstairs yelling at him. And if it was as loud as she said, the other tenants in the building would have said something too, but they didn't. She also claimed that he came at midnight when he, in fact, came at 9 pm and left at 10 pm. She continued to write in the email that the noise of the construction is causing her stress, all this is affecting her mental health. 

The way she exaggerates and the fact that she escalates conflicts gives me a feeling that she is trying to build a case against us. I'm already in touch with a lawyer, but our appointment isn't until next week. Does any experienced landlords have any more suggestions for me? I found the previous ones very helpful. Thank you all in advance!

Thank you everyone for all the advice. I went ahead and told them that we are only doing repairs for habitability and upgrades are not within our budget currently. They responded with a list of more repairs. I booked the handyman for another day to do this. When he is done, I will have them sign a form of what's been completed and that everything is functional.

So yesterday, the garage door on the ground floor wouldn't close (the garage is not part of their unit/lease/has nothing to do with them, they are on the 3rd floor). My contractors is keeping lots of equipment there and had to find a garage guy to install a new opener asap. Unfortunately, the garage guy came to do the work at 11 pm and finished at midnight. I don't think they were being excessively disruptive because the other tenants didn't mention anything. But this couple called the police! 

I'm contacting a lawyer now to be precautionary. Anything else I should do? 

Hello all, I'm a new landlord and recently purchased a triplex in San Francisco that came with tenants. One couple in the building has been there for 15 years and is paying $1000 below market rate. 

After I purchased the building, I asked them what needed to be repaired. The previous owners didn't seem to do much maintenance for their unit, and the husband gave me a two-page list. I hired a handyman to fix everything on the list, no questions asked. After repairs were done, the wife then asked for new windows and new blinds, and I agreed. Now she is asking for the cabinets to be replaced, window sill to be repainted, and new range hood (current one not broken, just old looking).  

Because they are protected tenants (almost impossible to evict in SF), they act demanding and entitled. The husband is rude to me on the phone and harasses my contractors who are remodeling a vacant unit in the building because he doesn't like construction noise. The wife emails me several times a day with the tiniest issues.  

From a financial standpoint, I know I should do the least possible and hope they leave voluntarily. But I'm conflicted because although I have completed all necessary repairs and habitability is not an issue, their unit does look run-down. Should I keep agreeing to their requests?  I would love to hear what more experience landlords would do in my place. Thanks in advance!