Thanks for all the comments. My husband is a softie and agreed to give him the extra $ he was looking for. He has done a lot of things that were not contemplated as part of the job, but then he never said he was going to want money for those things. As I said, this is my first time working with a contractor, so I guess you live and learn. He did do a very good job though.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at April 16, 2009 9:46 AM in response to Question about Contractor

Hi, sorry, you never know who reads these things so I was purposely vague. Just so you know, I did not play any contractor off another. I had 3 legitimate bids but my husband liked this particular contractor the best so we were open and upfront with him. We told him we'd like to go with him but price is an issue and if he can't match the other's price we would go with someone else. there was a large discrepancy in the prices and I was fully prepared to go with someone else. I guess he was hurting for business so he took the job.

We do have a contract but it's pretty vague. We've added some stuff outside the contract and agreed to prices for those things. Now he wants more. The problem is in the beginning he would find all kinds of things around our apartment that were either broken or not done right and he would offer to fix them. He never said he would charge for them and I probably wouldn't have agreed to let him do them if I knew he was charging. For instance, he's building a closet and he suggested that we really should put in 2 closets. He offered to do it at no extra charge. Now he's complaining and wants us to pay for the materials he used to build both closets (materials are definitely not our responsibility in the contract).

He's almost finished so even if he walks now we could probably finish up the rest ourselves. I don't want to be unreasonable, but I could have (and ultimately should have) gone with one of the lower estimates in the beginning.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at April 15, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Question about Contractor

Great, thanks much! I'll check back after May 1.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at April 7, 2009 9:41 AM in response to New Conforming Loan Limits?

Nope, definitely not a broker. The offer that we made was still well below asking, and what we thought it was worth. I hated the fact that we were told the developer would accept a certain price, and even though we thought it was too high, we agreed to it after much agonising, and then were told nope, only full asking will do (which was significantly higher than what he had said he would accept). Asking prices are still way too high, given the high maintenance. We decided to go with much bigger unit in a condo building that was less than 5 years old, also with a parking space and private outdoor space, with common charges of $500 a month, that was $50k LESS than what the developer was ostensibly asking on this unit in the Heritage.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at August 5, 2008 1:58 PM in response to Closings Begin at the Heritage

The unit we were looking at is "unlisted", whatever that means. Common charges were in excess of $1000k a month, which, I'm sorry, is HIGH on a unit around $900k. The amenities are not that great. No doorman as i said, plus you can't include the garage because you pay EXTRA common charges for that of $67 per month. The kid's playroom is tiny and the outdoor part of it is all concrete! Maybe I have sour grapes, but if someone tells me a number that they would accept, and I then raise to that number and they say they won't accept it anymore, that is pretty obnoxious negotiating. The unit is still available, so I know they didn't have a higher offer. They were just trying to squeeze us for every last penny. Sorry, I'm not playing that game in this market.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at August 5, 2008 1:48 PM in response to Closings Begin at the Heritage

Sorry, I got to agree, common charges are high on this one compared to others. No doorman, the garage is deeded parking so it is extra, plus the spot incurs an EXTRA common charge, so that should not be factored into the regular common charges. Plus taxes are high as well, even with the abatement. Personally I think the broker here was an a**hole. I saw him turn away two older couples who asked about one bedrooms. He told them they didn't have any one bedrooms available with no explanation, even though they clearly did and he was showing them to us! We made an offer here and were completely jerked around, first told they wouldn't accept it but if we raised $40k they would, so we raised $40k and then they said they wouldn't accept anything short of asking. The place is nice, but it's not THAT nice, and it's still far from the subway and the park and the units are SMALL! They definitely play some games with the square footage in this one.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at August 5, 2008 1:25 PM in response to Closings Begin at the Heritage

OP here. Wasn't trying to offend or cause any kind of controversy here. I certainly sympathize with disabled persons, however that does mean I want to buy a spot which could potentially be taken away from me. Just trying to figure out how long that regulation remains in effect (which I now realize is forever) and how likely the possibility is that I would have to give it up (which you all seem to think is pretty likely). After further inquiry turns out there already is a disabled person living there who uses a different spot which they are going to re-designate as the disabled spot, so my problem may be solved. Thanks for the help!

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at July 11, 2008 5:02 PM in response to Question About Handicapped Parking Space

Thanks for the responses. Yes, parking is bad around there and one of the main selling points of the apartment is the parking in the basement. The only thing is the building has 14 units and 11 parking spaces, so presumably the risk is only that someone buys or moves into one of the 3 units that did not purchase a space. If someone disabled moves into one of the other units, presumably I could swap my space with them. Still not sure if it's worth the risk though.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at July 11, 2008 2:19 PM in response to Question About Handicapped Parking Space

It depends on why the job is over budget and over time. Is it because you added work to the scope and/or unexpected things came up that had to be repaired? If so, its reasonable and not the contractors fault.

If its over time and budget because your contractor is just asking for more for essentially the same job, that is unacceptable. Sit down with him and explain you have a budget and he has a job to do - its got to get done at the agreed price.

Whether or not he makes a lot of money on the job shouldn't even be discussed. That is his job to figure out. Its not his problem where you find the money to pay him either.

Posted by: MrsLimestone at April 15, 2009 4:44 PM in response to Question about Contractor

There's nothing wrong with negotiating the price of job, it's the smart and correct thing to do. The contractor could have walked away if he didn't like the price or the situation.

It is also not the homeowners fault that the contractor hired a guy who was too slow. It's THEIR responsibility to know who to hire, and which materials to buy at what price, etc. Doing a good job is MORE than just building properly. Meanwhile the homeowner has to deal with the annoyance of having the job go on too long. That's a pain in the butt, regardless of whether renovations "always take longer and cost more"

If the contractor is nice and doing a good job otherwise and you want to work with him on the price, that's very generous of you. But it really sounds like he's not organized and not very professional if he's coming up against these types of problems and expecting you to bail him out. If you have a contract then you're OK, you have some wiggle room (even to refuse him), but it almost sounds like he's taking you for a bit of a ride...

Posted by: herkimermaid at April 15, 2009 4:59 PM in response to Question about Contractor

Posts like these puzzle me. What exactly is a vague contract? Vague for you, but not the contractor? Vague for the contractor, but not for you? Was the bid vague too, was it itemized, or even in writing? From one contractor to the next, did the bids look essentially the same? Where were the discrepancies in line items and pricing? Were subsequent change orders and related charges committed to bid and writing? What were *your* efforts, work-, price- and material-wise, to clarify terms when the contractor suggested changes and additions or discovered unknown conditions? At what point does keeping things vague inevitably lead to dissatisfaction?

We liked the contractors we hired, too. But how much we liked them on first meet was very much a lesser factor in our decision-making of who to hire than the contractor's willingness and ability to present references, itemized bid, license, insurance, and thorough contract before work began. As it happens, we like and appreciate most of our various contractors even more after the fact, after weeks and sometimes months of exposure to their hard-working crews, high standards, admirable work ethic and finished products. We're learning a lot on the job, and the more and varied work we've had to undertake, the better we've learned how important it is to approach the bid and the contract as strictly business and fundamental to getting work started on the right foot. We bring the "liking" part into the equation once work has commenced. While we consciously strive to make the jobsite comfortable and workers welcome, everyone's focus remains on the work in question.

Posted by: vinca at April 15, 2009 7:06 PM in response to Question about Contractor

I don't know how many times I've misestimated something - usually time - and I never let the customer know. His goal should be to complete that job in a professional manner so you give him more work (and the chance to make this up a little) or refer him to your friends. The only time I ask for more money is when the customer asks me to do more - and sometimes - if it is something small and they are nice to work for - I will charge only for materials.

We should all be gratefull to have the work in this economy.

Steve

Posted by: thetinkerswagon at April 15, 2009 9:07 PM in response to Question about Contractor

All contractors are disorganized and a royal pain in the ass. There math skills are even worse.. There great at tap dancing through your wallet.

Posted by: Ysabelle at April 15, 2009 9:32 PM in response to Question about Contractor

All customers are disorganized and a royal pain in the ass. There math skills are even worse.. There great at tap dancing through your wallet. THEIR grammar skills are lacking as well :-)

Posted by: denton at April 15, 2009 10:38 PM in response to Question about Contractor

You have no obligation to pay him. If you choose not to pay him:

You should read the requirments of a contract for home improvement contractors on the NYC DOCA website. If he has not executed the contract with all the points they set forth, there is a very good chance a judge will dismiss the suit.

If there is no contract, he CANNOT put a mechanic's lien on your properoty - the judge will dismiss it nor can he sue you because that too will get dismissed.

If he is not licensed, any suit will be dismissed, the same with a lien. And DCA will be all over him.

DCA makes the requirements pretty plain.

Steve

Posted by: thetinkerswagon at April 16, 2009 7:40 AM in response to Question about Contractor

If your contractor is licensed with dca he can put a lien on your property and so can his suppliers if he doesn't pay them.
The subcontractors can do the same.

If you have a contract and the contractor is not licensed and you end up in court you might not have to pay him. it is up to the judge.

There is a two sided sword going on with the profession, licensing and the court system.

call dca and get a copy of the requirements for applying for hic lisence. It might be on the internet. it is a fun read.

you will learn all sorts of interesting things. now that is the gospel according to ysabelle.

i wish you the best of luck.

Posted by: Ysabelle at April 16, 2009 9:40 AM in response to Question about Contractor

Thanks for all the comments. My husband is a softie and agreed to give him the extra $ he was looking for. He has done a lot of things that were not contemplated as part of the job, but then he never said he was going to want money for those things. As I said, this is my first time working with a contractor, so I guess you live and learn. He did do a very good job though.

Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at April 16, 2009 9:46 AM in response to Question about Contractor

Who is this contractor???

So we know to stay away!!!

Posted by: Misty B at April 16, 2009 12:20 PM in response to Question about Contractor