When contractors go wrong
Longtime lurker, first time poster. Here is the situation: Hired a licensed contractor for a full brownstone gut job, had a written contract which required a hefty deposit, Paid said deposit and more on a bi weekly basis, Contractor walked off job afer doing the most basic work and took more than half of my…
Longtime lurker, first time poster. Here is the situation: Hired a licensed contractor for a full brownstone gut job, had a written contract which required a hefty deposit, Paid said deposit and more on a bi weekly basis, Contractor walked off job afer doing the most basic work and took more than half of my money with him (way more than work done)–oh and he also didn’t file permits although it was his duty to under the deal. What to do now?
Check this out http://www.nyknowyourcontractor.com/cfmqstaticdocs/helpful_hints.html
New York State has some helpful hints about hiring contractors etc. I wish I had seen this before we hired our last one! I think para 9 is especially interesting–any brownstoners have any luck gtting your contractors to give you a brea out or to put the funds in escrow? It would seem that if anyone actually followed this protocol there would be alot less of this kind of behavior!
Contractors are required by state law to either:
Put your payments into an escrow account and use it only for your job until it is substantially complete (contractors are legally required to disclose where money will be held in escrow).
Prove they have bond insurance to protect your money. Ask for proof of which option they use before hiring them.
I agree with the above, report him to the DCA, and also have a lawyer call him and put some pressure on him – he might get scared into settling fairly with you… S.D construction might be able to help you – very reliable, fair, and they do great work. phone number 9174957120
A first time home owner myself I got screwed by my kitchen cabinet contractor. It took about a year to take her to court. We won, but still trying to collect. It’s awful how that feeling can consume you… so at the same time I took that anger and with my partner put our heads together and started a free local contractor review site http://www.goodpeopleguide.com/ We get the best references from our neighbor anyway… this is just a more organized place to do it. Please feel free to rant or rave about who you’ve worked with. Good luck.
Well, If you have before and after pics…including other documents such as payment etc… would be helpful (if you are going to take him to court). Also, since he is licensed, you should have some info with his license number, report him to the DCA (department of Consumer Affairs & call 311 and report his business).
If you are still looking for someone to finish the repairs, you can give us a call and we can try to work out a price that is within your budget. We are licensed and insured.
Sorry to hear what happened and hope everything works out for you.
Sincerely
Sooknarine Sookhai (aka. Dinesh)
Christine Stephen (Partner)
Eagle Construction
(347) 227-5834
I have just joined the the website as I plan to be an active part of the Brooklyn Construction community.My company (Titan Realty and Construction)and muself were the Design and Construction Company for the Smith N Court Condo complex as well as hundreds of Brownstone rehabs and retail fit outs in the Borough of Brooklyn. We just finished a project at 81 St. Marks Place. The moral of the story is and was said by a few members is that you should always see the work of other clients that the GC has done work for and speak to the owners without the GC present. I am sure anyone that has gone through a project would have no problem either praising or venting a little. I have received so many calls regarding this type of practice, hence the username “Project Saver” and although you are into the project already I would love to assist. Visit my profile page for company email address. Let’s work together to complete this within your time frame and your budget.
Sounds like you got way too far ahead in the payments. Sometimes, it is just too tempting for a GC to walk off with the money. 20% is about as far as I would go for a DP on a job of this size, and progress payments should be linked to work completed, not a timetable.
At this point, I can’t imagine you want the contractor back, just the money. If you can afford to carry a new contractor, do the job with someone new and keep close track of all your costs. Document the current state of things before you start (photos, video and the like). If you end up spending more than you would have under the original contract, the difference in cost is your damages. If the amount is large enough, you may want to consider a lawsuit. Unfortunately, this happens all too often to be news to the likes of Help Me Howard.
Who wrote the contract? What does it say?
As a general rule one never should let the money in a job exceed the amount of work that has been performed. Hefty deposits are often the sign of an under-capitalized contractor (though there are exceptions to this).
make a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs. They should be licensed.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/complaint.shtml
Contractors do all kinds of weird things…My philosophy is to be sure you know one or 2 people who they worked for in the past so you can know their way of working. How did you find this person?