House remodel gone wrong

11 years ago

Well, we messed up. We hired a man to do some pretty hefty work in our house. He came highly recommended by two friends and I trusted their judgement.

Unfortunately, the job in my house was a much larger job than he had done in theirs and he was not capable of doing a good job. Anytime we pointed out mistakes he would say, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna fix that, I know." But he wouldn't finish that before moving on, saying he was in the middle of the next phase and would go back to it.

After 13 weeks in our house for a supposed 3 week job, we asked him to leave our house and never come back. He has ruined too many things and his "fixes" were no better than his original work.

He is now sending us the bill for the remainder of the work done. I am sick about paying him more. But I don't want to have a lien on my house either.

Does anyone know what my rights are in this situation? I keep reading that people don't get far for bad jobs done and have to pay anyway because the contracts don't list quality of work.

His new contract states that we owe him another $9K. Originally we owed him an additional $7K, but my guess is that we will need to pay someone at least $3K-$5K to fix his mistakes.

I am reading that since he DID the work, just did a bad job of it, we don't have legal recourse.

Has anyone been through this?

Thanks.

Featured Answer

mepop

11 years ago

Dawn:

I'd love to give you some free legal advice here but I'm not a lawyer, don't know your state laws, don't know all the details, two sides to every story, don't know your tolerance for the fight, what you can afford, etc. etc. etc.

You hired someone incompetent to do work on your home based on what some friends recommended. Please don't get incompetent legal advice based on what some total strangers recommend.

Find a good attorney and pay them to advise you and send the notices to the contractor. It will save you money and aggravation in the long run.

Good luck,

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Comments (10)

jellytoast
11 years ago
Is he a licensed contractor? If so, notify your state contractor's license board and file a complaint. They may also be able to advise you about how to proceed to resolve this. Personally, I would explore my options there, as well as getting the advice of an attorney before I paid another penny. Regardless of whether or not your contract lists "quality of work," there are standards of workmanship that all contractors have to follow. You cannot just go into someone's home and do whatever you want and then hide behind lien laws. Lien laws protect contractors from non-payment, but there are laws to protect consumers as well.
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harry_wild
11 years ago
Need to get a good lawyer on your behalf! They will end up either negotiating a lesser amount or they will tell you to take it to court!
Dawn2298
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, right now he has just sent us an outrageous bill for work he hasn't finished, has ruined, or has otherwise not fulfilled.

We are planning to counter-offer with what we feel is equitable, but we have a feeling he won't go away quietly.

We have spoken to a lawyer but haven't fully hired him yet as he is $200/hour. He has said that it sounds like we have done our due diligence and given him ample opportunity to "cure" the mess ups, but we will have to go further to know the details of all involved.

What a mess.
carabubble
11 years ago
Take lots and lots of pictures before having anyone else fix something. Make sure the pictures are very clear. Keep ALL communications.

And use a lawyer. Good luck.
pprioroh
11 years ago
What does your WRITTEN CONTRACT say?
roof35
11 years ago
Talk to an attorney. However, be aware courts frown upon wrongful/fraudulent liens. In many states, contractors can serve jail time for filing a false lien. You probably want to look this up for _your_ State.

Hopefully you documented with pictures the work in question. And, documents proving what it will cost to resolve the work in question. Guessing does not count in court.
User
11 years ago
National Center for the prevention of home improvement fraud
3525 Piedmont Rd Bldg 7 Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30305
404 902 6100

Maybe they can help, just found the a few min ago.
Good luck
My advice is take pics and don't give up more money until you have
No other choice.
Home builders association? Before you hire a lawyer.
Josephene
User
11 years ago
Ncphif.org
Jo
millworkman
11 years ago
AKA Spam.com