paying rent b/c contractor did not complete on time

I agree with all of the above advice. I’ll add that a contractor can be cheap, fast, and/or provide quality work, but you never get more than two of the three. You are in the endgame, and you want the finishes done right. You are better off keeping the relatiobnship good and trying to get to finish without threats. Perhaps you can move in with some work unfinished if it is confined and won’t get in your way (nor you in his). See if he will work with you to make that possible. We moved into our rental unit with no hot water while contractor finished up our unit and mechanical issues, including gas service. So move-in before completion can be done, depending on your and his tolerance. PS I don’t know the details but it is possible he took on the other short job because you were delaying a decision and he needed to keep his guys working without hemorrhaging money. He hasn’t abandoned the job, so you are ahead of a lot of people. Make sure your payments do not get ahead of the work — the finish is always slower than anyone realizes.

slopefarm

in About Brooklyn 11 years and 2 months ago

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thejbp | 11 years and 2 months ago

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We are currently undergoing renovations in a home that we purchased in February. Our contractor originally said he thought the house would be move-in ready by April or May. Once things got underway, he convinced us to hold off until July 1 so that he could be absolutely sure that the entire home was complete (including the basement and the yard). In the third week of June, it was clear that this would not happen. We are giving him a free pass on the basement because we held some of it up with the timing of our decision-making. However, there were several weeks in June during which no one was working on the house, as the contractor had taken on another job. Now, the house is not ready. It will be ready by July 15, or more likely, August 1\. We are currently paying rent and mortgage. I could go on, but the dilemma is that we feel our contractor should be taking responsibility for our rent this month and we aren’t sure how to bring it up with him or how to approach the subject. Has anyone dealt with this before? What is the most professional and fair way to handle a situation like this? Please advise.

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 2 months ago

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Without a specific contract that addresses these issues with penalties or rewards, you are pretty much out of luck. If it is August that you move in, be thankful that it’s not October. Just don’t pay him until the job is finished to your satisfaction. “we held some of it up with the timing of our decision-making.” is about the worst possible thing a client can do after changes mid-work, unless of course you have an unlimited budget and a lot of time leeway

majorhints | 11 years and 2 months ago

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Totally agree with DIBS, if you hold up contractor, that holds up the lead time on labor and materials. The fact that it is roughly on time is still pretty good. consider yourself lucky, pay the rent and hug him when you move in in August because it could have been much worse.

mozeeatupu | 11 years and 2 months ago

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Yup, you’re going to have to chalk up your rent as part of reno costs. You also risk having the contractor start charging for every small change/delay on your part and shifting the delay cause to you and it becomes a tit for tat thing where you would lose. Than being said, what does your contract say about delays?