Problems with Contractor - need advice - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Zeus · #16 03-20-2007, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

This is the first and last comment I will make on the subject, but be careful when telling someone to withold money from a contractor--depending on the laws in various states, the contractor may be able to go down to the courthouse and simply enter a lien on his home for witholding payment, thus clouding the title to the property and possibly harming his credit or ability to sell or re-finance.

Thorsen, check out contractors/mechanic's liens in your state and good luck.

I did state that exact caveat in my initial post, Mr. Doe, Esq.

cmac2012 · #17 03-20-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

They are in cohoots with lenders who convince the plaintiffs to re-fi their homes at stupid rates so they can put on siding to folks who think it is happening for free. Google the Money Store class actions relative to siding and Sears/siding has been hammered nationally as well.

Interesting.

There was a notorious case in Oakland a few years back where an older black matriarch was talked into a re-fi so she could get some badly needed work done. The contractor was past shoddy, all sorts of problems.

The loan had a balloon payment clause, not sure exactly how that works, but somehow she was required to pay the entire balance off after a year. The SF sharpie who set the whole thing up ended up getting the house, someone in his operation admitted the loan was virtually set-up to fail.

And the guy got away with it. I was thinking one of her kids should have offed the guy. Unbelievable.

Dee8go · #18 03-20-2007, 03:47 PM

Probably we will be seeing a lot more of these situations in the coming months. I don't know how people can do stuff like that and sleep at night. I guess not everybody has a functioning conscience.

Mistress · #19 03-20-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

This is the first and last comment I will make on the subject, but be careful when telling someone to withold money from a contractor--depending on the laws in various states, the contractor may be able to go down to the courthouse and simply enter a lien on his home for witholding payment, thus clouding the title to the property and possibly harming his credit or ability to sell or re-finance.

Thorsen, check out contractors/mechanic's liens in your state and good luck.

X2 BIGTIME....

Hatterasguy · #20 03-20-2007, 05:34 PM

Yeah but you can get the mechanic's lein removed if you take them to court. First talk to whoever is in charge and see if they won't just fix the issues; you never know the boss may just be away for a week on vacation and the mice are running wild.

If they won't fix it how do you get out of the contract? What does the contract say? I wouldn't pay them anything else, but get them to stop work as well. Then try to get a refund for the portion of the work they did not do, it doesn't sound like they are 1/3 of the way through.

I hate to say this but if they won't fix it, chances are you will lose some money. Contractors can be tough to deal with, and as said above the can put a lein on your house.

thorsen · #21 03-20-2007, 07:57 PM

My wife and I went to the show room to talk to the owner. We showed him pictures of our concerns and he agreed with us. They will be fixing the issues.

cjlipps · #22 03-20-2007, 08:11 PM

Looks like you have things heading your way.
I have one thought that might help. And the lawyers can chime in if I am misstating something here.
(In Oklahoma at least), a contractor must notify you in writing before he ever begins work that if you do not pay him according to the contract, he can and will file a lien against your property. If he does not give you prior, proper notification (before he even sticks the first stake in the ground or drives the first nail) he can not file the lien, period. (Well, he can spend the money and file it but it won't attach

)
I have first hand experience with this and my lawyer was the only one in the bunch (including the other side's two lawyers, two other lawyers and a judge) that knew this. Came in handy in my instance.

t walgamuth · #23 03-20-2007, 11:12 PM

i am not aware of such a law in indiana.

actually anyone can file a lien at any time. you just go down and fill out the forms and it will be applied to the record.

to collect requires court action to "close" (that may not be the right word) the lien within one year or it will expire.

the lien is effective on new construction or where the owner is planning to refinance or sell the property. if the owner of the property is paying cash and is content to sit on it a lien can be sort of worthless.

and an architect can file a mechanics lien too. i have a few times in 30 years of practice. sometimes it has worked like a charm ....other times nothing works!

the best policy is to only do business with reasonable fair minded folks. the trick is identifying them ahead of time.

tom w

#24 03-21-2007, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

This is the first and last comment I will make on the subject, but be careful when telling someone to withold money from a contractor--depending on the laws in various states, the contractor may be able to go down to the courthouse and simply enter a lien on his home for witholding payment, thus clouding the title to the property and possibly harming his credit or ability to sell or re-finance.

Thorsen, check out contractors/mechanic's liens in your state and good luck.

John Doe is 100% right, don't withold payment from the contractor.

My folks built a second home about 15 years ago, and the general contractor didn't pay all of the subs. Imagine that.

So, they all went down and filed liens on the house. My folks had to pay the subs(in effect they almost had to pay for the house twice), and then go after the gc for the money. It wasn't pretty, and it's no fun getting phone calls from some dork, telling you that he is going to own your house soon because he didn't get paid $1200 for garage doors and openers, as an example.

Take lots of pictures, and document arrival times and departures of the crew. Make sure these people have workman's comp, liability insurance, and are bonded. Get copies of the workman's comp and insurance coverage for your records, the last thing you want is for one of these people to fall off a lader or something.

raymr · #25 03-21-2007, 09:15 AM

Keep on top of them. You have to wonder why the owner has crews running around that are this incompetent, sloppy, and disrespectful of customers' property. If they are routinely bad, your's shouldn't have been his first complaint.

John Doe · #26 03-21-2007, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Yeah but you can get the mechanic's lein removed if you take them to court. First talk to whoever is in charge and see if they won't just fix the issues; you never know the boss may just be away for a week on vacation and the mice are running wild.

If they won't fix it how do you get out of the contract? What does the contract say? I wouldn't pay them anything else, but get them to stop work as well. Then try to get a refund for the portion of the work they did not do, it doesn't sound like they are 1/3 of the way through.

I hate to say this but if they won't fix it, chances are you will lose some money. Contractors can be tough to deal with, and as said above the can put a lein on your house.

Point of inquiry:

1. Have you ever owned property?
2. Have you ever contracted for work?
3. Have you ever been to court....for any reason?

Guess I broke my own rule.

Hatterasguy · #27 03-21-2007, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

Point of inquiry:

1. Have you ever owned property?
2. Have you ever contracted for work?
3. Have you ever been to court....for any reason?

Guess I broke my own rule.

And the point of this is? I simply said he should talk to the boss first and see if his concerns cannot be addressed. If this fails to work he should stop digging the hole, surely the work contract he signed must say something about getting out of it.