All Forum Posts by: Ray S.
Ray S. has started 33 posts and replied 122 times.
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Unfortunatly , you cant stop the subs from going after you , its their right . You have the benefit of their materials and labor . It doesnt seem fair to the homeowner , but it was put in place to protect the working man .
I have a customer who built a commercial building , he paid the GC $150,000 for the paving , curb and gutter .The general didnt pay the paving guy . So the paving guy placed a lien , My customer had to pay another $ 150,000 to the paving co , then sue the General , who naturally filed bankrucpy , That hurt , but he survived .
I feel like I may
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Right, that's the issue I'm having. I will go after him for the money he owes me, but how do I keep his subs from filing a lien against me when he's the one who hasn't paid them? Why kind of protection is there for a homeowner if the contractor doesn't pay their subs? Seems like he can just dump this on me and I have no recourse other than to sue?
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Originally posted by @Ray S.:
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
If I am the contractor , and I pull the permits , only I can call in the inspections . It is set up like that so the homeowner cant bypass the contractor and get a final with out paying in full
But what if you screw over the homeowner? Or walk off the job? What can they do?
It all has to do with the wording in the contract . A professional contractors contract has 99 percent of issues addressed in the agreement . ( mine is 4 pages before we get to the scope of work ) Why would a contractor walk off a job ? The main reason , not getting paid , in a timely manor , or at all. If there is a dispute , there is arbitration , ( in the contract ) and in Maryland there is the Md Home improvement commission. Both take months .
Professional contractors rarely screw over their customers , we are businesses , this is how we make a living . Unfortunatly customers dont read the agreement , and when problems arise that are outside the scope of work , the customer usually assumes it was included in the price and becomes upset at the additional charges .
I have had small disagreements in the past and they have worked out . I do know of a few projects that disagreements caused the project to go a year or so over time frame and way over budget .
"Chuck in a truck " is a hired hand , not a contractor .
I understand what you're saying, but the agreement is clear as day, and he is clearly in violation of the terms. He was paid in a timely matter. He got in over his head and is now trying to put his mistake on me. I'm changing contractors now and speaking to a lawyer, but my concern is what his subs are going to do if they don't get paid.
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Wayne Brooks:
@Ray S. I'm guessing it's not that clear cut. "The contractor leaving them out of the budget" sounds like they were never in the scope? The scope should be done by the owner, who is the one who's supposed to know what they want. If you had an actual scope, included in a contract, and the contractor then left them out, then yeah that's on him.
He left off things that I wouldn't know we needed that he should have known. But regardless, I agreed to the overages, that's not the issue now. The issue is he says I owe him money that I clearly don't, it's all documented, and he won't pay his subs or call for inspections until I pay him.
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Matthew Kreitzer:
Originally posted by @Ray S.:
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
If I am the contractor , and I pull the permits , only I can call in the inspections . It is set up like that so the homeowner cant bypass the contractor and get a final with out paying in full
But what if you screw over the homeowner? Or walk off the job? What can they do?
Generally speaking? They can lawyer up with a local attorney. If you have a dispute with a contractor and you feel they are exceeding the scope of your agreement with unreasonable demands not envisioned in the contracting agreement, contact local counsel.
I will be contacting a lawyer, and am changing contractors to finish the inspections. I spoke to the city and they gave me the forms. The problem is that the contractor still owes money to the subs, which I already paid him for. In fact I over paid him and he owes me money. But now the subs are threatening to enforce the contractor lien. How do I get them to go after him instead of me?
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Wayne Brooks:
We don't know why there are overages. Is it because the scope was not complete, and additional work beyond the original contract had to be performed, or was the work was just more difficult that the contractor anticipated? I'm guessing the former.
The overages are his fault for leaving things off the original budget, total incompetence. But that problem is now is he says I owe him money and he isn't paying his subs until I pay him. In reality I don't. I'll probably have to sue him, I'm just trying to figure out how to get the project done first. I will talk to the town today.
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
If I am the contractor , and I pull the permits , only I can call in the inspections . It is set up like that so the homeowner cant bypass the contractor and get a final with out paying in full
But what if you screw over the homeowner? Or walk off the job? What can they do?
Post: Contractor won't call for inspections
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
My contractor has gone above and beyond on overages, both time and cost. Now he's demanding I pay his subs that I already paid him for, or he won't call for final inspections. I've had enough of him. Is there any way I can do the final inspections myself, or hire another contractor? What's the best way to proceed?
Post: Shady unit split
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
The actual conversion of the unit is easy, it's just a matter of putting a temporary wall up. Each unit has a full bathroom and their own entrance. I also have an extra mailbox as an "owners" box that I could use. I could put a compact kitchen in the mini-studio. The two units were like that before I bought the place, but I had to convert them back to 1 unit because it was done illegally. That part isn't the problem. The problem is whether I would get in trouble for doing it, and if there were any legal ways to do it or precautions I could take to not get caught. And if I did get caught, what would be the consequences?
Post: Shady unit split
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
I have a multi family home. My studios get rented the day they become available. The 1& 2 bedrooms take longer, and generally can't get as good of rate per SQ compared to the studios.
The 1 bedroom 2 bathroom can be converted into 1 large studio and 1 very small studio, just by putting up a temporary wall where the bedroom door is. They would both have full bathrooms, but the smaller one wouldn't have a full kitchen. I can probably get 40% more in rent as studios. This wouldn't be a permitted change in the building though.
Is this worth doing? Is it legal? Can it be done legally without updating plans? What are the chances I'd get caught? And if I did what would be the consequences? Any suggestions would be appreciated.