“Contractor that came within our budget.”

So you answer shopped until you found someone who would lie to you about the price. And now there’s a problem with the project. Nothing unusual there.

Su€k it up and take it out of your retirement savings and finish the project. Consider it a TANSTAAFL lesson.

Or let the city revoke the CO and have the bank call your loans and go into foreclosure and bankruptcy. Walk away. Plenty did just that during the mortgage crisis when they couldn’t afford the cost of their poor decisions.

Just learn from it. Don't keep answer shopping until someone lies to you just to make reality seem like your personal HGTV fantasy.

Well, I think the previous poster is being a little harsh, actually a LOT harsh. This does sounds like a nightmare (not your fault) and I feel very, very, bad for you.

Anyway, I'll try to help rather than to criticize. Construction is booming now and material and labor prices have gone up considerably in the last 6-8 months which could be why you are getting such expensive bids. Would you feel comfortable hiring the subs yourself to get the job finished? Hopefully you already know who some of them are. Also the previous GC might already have the rest on board and you could deal with them directly. Depending on how handy you are, you might be able to do some of the work yourself. Best of luck.

Thanks. We are hardly newbies. I have over 30 years of design and construction experience in the commercial - not residential - world and we walk into nothing like this blind.

You may be onto something. The husband and I have been thinking about doing the GC work ourselves - just really didn't want to have to bring my work home with me.

You really should gc it if you have the experience. Get it dried in and then take your time. If you are flexible on schedule, you can often get things cheaper and slower.

You may be correct. I just don't know if the husband will survive it....

You could get a contractor to make the house air / water tight - finish the roof / sheathing / house wrap / windows. Gives you more time to find someone to finish the job.

n2desine.

Buy hubby alcohol. And arrange for 'play dates' for him. It's how my husband is (barely) hanging on. We haven't lost our GC, but we do have our own lion's share of issues on our build...

I don't think there is enough alcohol to dull the pain of this project.

If we could get someone to get us to the point of passing the county inspection it failed - framing, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing, we could take it from there. There's just a bunch of intertwined trades to coordinate.

ditto on being your own GC......You have ALLOT more experience than most and you 'should' get GC pricing with your background which would save you a good bit. Talk to the commercial subs you work with to get recommendations on residential subs.

It's kinda crazy, but I honestly think my background has really been a detriment on this project. The trades do NOT want to be questioned - and I will certainly do it, so that is one of the reason pricing has gone up. Combine that with a very high price area of the country and a vulnerable exposed house and it's disastrous. I may concentrate my efforts on getting everything enclosed. The dollars aren't there to finish the project now.

Before doing anything you should check with your attorney. The contractor's surety bond might essentially pay out the entire marginal cost for the project and you get a better contractor for the same cost.

If there is no assurety bond or EO insurance, and recovery seems unlikely then, how bad was your General Contractor? You might work out an arrangement with him to get the space enclosed. Just because he can no longer be your G.C. doesn't mean you can't hire him to "consult."

Right now you have the lawsuit card to play which probably has more teeth than you suspect but less real recovery power. An offer of indemnification for him personally in exchange for getting the house dried in might be in your best interest. Again check with your attorney.

Can you drawl? And look hot? You get away with questioning a whole lot more if you can do that. Or convince them that you're nuts but smart. Or make them feel bad by doing work nearby some of the time. :)

Construction guys either love a knowledgeable woman or just HATE it. There is no in between. I've managed to find folks who love it, from my tree people to my roofers to my weekend guy. But it takes time.

That's funny. My hot days have been long gone. Now I have to rely on my height which still frightens short lawyers. I usually get along well with the trades, just don't want to swindled and they know it.

What does your bank say? The one that is financing the house? And financing the renovation? Their money, their rules about how something like this goes down. They may want to take over.

n2desine:

You aren't the only loser here. The GC who came in 2nd place to your loser knew the job couldn't be done for his "competitor's" number and may have told you so and you didn't believe him. If enough people make your choice, and he doesn't step up his salesmanship skills, the guy who could save you will be out of business.

Don't worry about it. We are not going into forclosure. Use you expertise for helping people not destroying them.

Make lists. What needs to happen to get this thing dried in?

Throw yourself on the mercy of the building inspector. Act like you are totally ignorant. But, have a note pad in hand. Get a list of what is wrong and what else needs to be accomplished. One foot in front of the other.

I acted as my own GC with our last down to the studs kitchen renovation. I had most of my subcontractors already. If I was missing one, I asked every tradesman for a referral. They always knew someone.

Good contractors and good subcontractors usually don't have a problem with women who want a good job. You just have to keep a sense of humor and have an understanding of what is possible or reasonable. They don't react well to crazy or indecision. Tell them what you want. Ask their advice and occasionally follow it.

The other option is to pay up to one of the general contractors you rejected. It's going to cost you a lot more. They are going to need a bonus to walk into the job half way. There is no way that they can know down to the last dime how much work will need to be torn out and redone. This is going to cost you a lot more than you budgeted. Just resign yourself to this fact.

Maybe be sweet and motherly, then. Iced drinks and an eagle eye!

"the pricing we are receiving to complete the project is just as much if not more as quotes we received from ground up"

Quite sorry to hear of your experience, but this is not unusual. Not that it should be that way, but it is.

My advice; get references for a GC from your architect, friends and family who are clued up on construction, go with one of them and try to move past the first GC.

It's a thought. The commercial world can certainly have some pot holes, but nothing on this level. As a FYI, I actually did contact the original second place, would you believe he said that the project was actually worth 40K more than what he quoted. So, he would have done the same thing as rogue contractor 1 ... so disappointing.

"As a FYI, I actually did contact the original second place, would you believe he said that the project was actually worth 40K more than what he quoted. So, he would have done the same thing as rogue contractor 1 ... "

Not necessarily. Any new contractor coming on the seen now has
1) higher costs due to higher costs of materials and subs due to the building economy/demand.
2) He has to take on all the liability of the faults in the build of Contractor 1.
3) He may very well have to dismantle and start over, part or all of the project. That is time and cost to him greater than if he'd had the original contract.

n2desine- listen to those who have said consult your attorney- now.

Did you do your due diligence before starting the project? As in verifying his financial/building references AND, importantly, his insurance rider specific to your project? Obviously, he had a license (at some point)- but did you verify that? Be smart and cutthroat now. If he's flaked out, then maybe in more than one way. So you need legal help-now.

Hiring another GC before sorting out these issues could put you in a very bad position. If he was flailing/failing, you might still have shoddy work that needs to be redone. Covering up fast isn't the best practice. Certainly, you might be at the mercy of another GC, but get ducks in order, first.

Meanwhile, you have a property in various stages of "undone". Which also means potentially, unsafe. Is this property in your name? If so, I'd also consult your insurance agent, since if something happens on lot that causes injury or worse, you could be on the hook.

Unless you have experience as a residential GC in your current market, know your way around the residential permit process/all code, and know reliable subs available and what are reasonable rates- I don't suggest it. You've experienced a very different level of construction, in commercial. But maybe, you have contacts that could help you?

Shore up the "wrong" that's gone wrong here,, first. Protect yourself and your property, and then work through the best channels to get it finished.

I'll throw in another vote for the attorney consult. My guess is the shoddy contractor wasn't current on bond and insurance however.

Make clear to follow up GC contenders that the first GC is completely removed from the project and that the structure has been signed off as sound by the structural engineer. That may help you find a willing contractor.

HomeChef59 is correct that most GC's and even subcontractors will be looking for extra compensation just because it is a mess. Some would rather not even touch it. "Will I someday be summoned to court to testify?"... "Will I be liable in the future to come back for a leak due to shoddy work that is not discovered or hidden for the moment?"... "What if the last GC shows back up drunk and P.O'd that he got canned from the job?" Life is too short and work too plentiful for quality contractors for them to want to get involved in the screwed up jobs unless there is a nice payoff. Hence the high numbers; and maybe this is behind the recommendations here to GC it yourself the rest of the way.

Thanks for the advise everyone. We sure did our due diligence prior to hiring - even more. Besides looking at an active license we also looked into criminal negligence and any cases pending, court proceedings, reviews, etc. The husband is a PI.

Lawyer? We were talking to a lawyer even before everything went upside down. Letters are being prepared and the husband will be filing formally with the state. We are not leaving this alone. The county, of all things, is also offering a helping hand - they realize the situation and said anytime we need inspectors - let them know. We already had the structural engineer come out and handed the report to the GCs for review before pricing.

The husband freaks at the thought of me being the GC since I actually do have a real job besides this. He works from home and gets too nervous if they ask questions. One more estimate to go. They all seem to be coming in close to each other. Just have to figure how to swallow this bitter pill.

30 years of high tech commercial design and construction - different dog completely. I am familiar with the sq. footage costs in this area - this initially came in at almost 3X the normal rate. In other words, it's a very good time to be a contractor.

"... In other words, it's a very good time to be a contractor."

As opposed to 2008, when it wasn't. We were the first to feel the recession and the last to be rehired. And people wonder why kids don't want to get into the trades. We've got a lost decade to compensate for. It's payback time.

"Payback time." You sound nice.

jn3344:

This is business, nothing personal. When your 401K contributions have been nonexistent for nearly a decade, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

And from a purely business standpoint, how do you talk people into dropping out of chiropractor school to resume framing additions? By paying them more money. Lots more.

Do you recall women being any less pretty during the recession? Me neither. Momma had no problem jettisoning her kitchen remodel and feeding the kids more mac 'n cheese, but the Mary Kay budget was nonnegotiable.

As opposed to 2008, when it wasn't. We were the first to feel the recession and the last to be rehired.

This is certainly one take on it, but not the entire picture. The airline and tourist industry were the first to feel the recession, next were parts of the banking and real-estate industry, followed by auto industry, and then construction.

In reality the construction industry wasn't hit harder or earlier than many other industries. However. the construction industry probably felt the downturn more because low barriers to entry create a market that is largely under-capitalized.

And people wonder why kids don't want to get into the trades. We've got a lost decade to compensate for. It's payback time.

You are heading right back to where you were before. Sure, supply and demand means you get to jack your prices up like crazy. It also invites bad actors into the industry. In ten years and the construction industry will be right back to where it was before, with quality contractors complaining that they can't make a decent living because the hacks are driving the prices down, and once again, kids with other opportunities will avoid the trades.

LOL- There's a lot of GCs (subs, too) who for some reason thing they're entitled to a much bigger piece of homeowner equity than ever before. As if nobody else in business suffered it HARD. Laugh again, and as bry just explained, your industry wasn't the first to feel. Just apparently the last to feel entitled to other people fixing their business decisions.

bry911:

I just emailed a potential customer today who wants a perfectly good undermount sink changed into an apron style. No one is holding a gun to his head (maybe his wife) to hire me to change it. He has to make me an offer I can't refuse by paying me. Lots.

Don't like my rates? Fine, get someone who doesn't have a portfolio of successfully changed sinks and overjoyed customers to go with them. I like my time here, at the library, and the beach. It's for sale.

First rule of holes...stop digging!

Joseph,

What does your emailing a customer have to do with anything I said?

Construction is a cyclical industry that has always been cyclical and yet the entire industry is always caught off guard by a downturn...

The construction industry wasn't hit all that hard and yet you argue felt it more. They didn't lose nearly as many jobs as the tourism industry or even the financial and accounting industry and yet they are slower to recover and doing it poorly. The motto of the construction industry could best be described as "get while you can and spend it while you got it."

You wonder why kids don't want to get into the trades, well it is because the trades aren't really great jobs.

" It's payback time." Really, Joseph- do explain."

Laurie Schrader:

Read the thread and you'll get it.

In 2008, the economy was so bad in Michigan for contractors, the community college enrollment surged and I was part of that. I took 4th place in the 2009 Oakland Community College Essay Contest out of over 1,000 participants. I eventually earned an Associate's Degree, but that doesn't pay the bills. I can't make a living from my professional writing. Yet.

My point is, contractors have a lot of lost time (money) for which to make up. It's tough to read about difficult it is for people who want work done now when we were so easily disposable by those same folks just a short while ago. And will be disposable again when the next recession hits.

If illegal aliens were taking the jobs of newscasters and politicians, we'd have a border securing us from unfair competition. We could build a more resiliant industry.

"...excess cash from current operations ..."

Bwahahahahaha. That's rich. There is no excess cash from current operations. We haven't even filled the 401K hole yet.

There is no excess cash from current operations. We haven't even filled the 401K hole yet.

LOL, we call that under-capitalized. You are literally making my point for me. It is a crappy industry.

We get it. You are owed, baby. Owed! And you're gonna get some payback!

From who? Your customers!

Omg. Lol?

Joseph- I have no idea why people like you assume others haven't read the whole thread, just because of disagreement. To be definitive:

Your attitude is palpable- recognizable on paper and I'd bet in person. I bet it existed far ahead of this last recession. And if you keep it up, you won't last the next downturn- and it's coming, in many areas.

Tip? Get rid of that rather large chip you have on your shoulder. We ALL experienced the Great Recession. Why does that make you think you can succeed by overcharging? Continue to rip the heads off your customers, if you wish. Remember, though- people talk. And you will become known as nice work but way too expensive.

And then the self-fulfilling thing- you will, in fact, be the last to be hired.

At the very least, you've given unsuspecting homeowners great insight into this sort of thinking.

This is certainly one take on it, but not the entire picture. The airline and tourist industry were the first to feel the recession, next were parts of the banking and real-estate industry, followed by auto industry, and then construction.

Actually the arts were the very first to feel it. I felt it a full 18 months before everyone else did. In fact, back in early 2007, after polling my fellow artists, I told my DH that we were headed to a recession because my numbers that year were off by over half. He poo-pooed my comments and then later had to eat his words.

Artwork is a luxury, not a commodity. People still traveled if only to see Grandma and Grandpa, but they definitely were not buying new pretties for the house. However, my how-to book, which came out in early 2008 did very well since people figured if they couldn't afford to buy original art, they could at least attempt to make their own art.

Speaking of who felt things first -- horse boarding and grooming facilities took it on the chin early on. Oddly, with the economy back, I don't see stables gouging....

One upside of the gouging Joe discusses with glee -- We have learned a lot of "trade" work and just do what we can ourselves for long time now. A lot of it just isn't that hard!

jn3344:

I am owed nothing. You are correct in that the shoe is on the other proverbial foot. I've waited a long time for that switch. My patience is being rewarded.

Laurie Schrader:

I give my readers the honest truth. I've earned a 4.63 customer satisfaction rating (out of a possible 5) on homeadvisor based on over 300 online reviews over a decade. If I'm overcharging I either just started or lots of people are nuts.

I tell other contractors that if you aren't getting 10-20% of your customers to complain about your rates, you're leaving money on the table. I am delighted if my potentials have this knowledge; it separates the tire-kickers from the serious.

By the way, I am rarely the first person on the job. I am repeatedly called to fix other contractor's screw-ups. I call them my "previously spanked" customers. Mr. Tough Guy beat up the previous sub, it blew up in his face, and one look at his wife tells me I've got this job if I'm anywhere near reasonable. Maybe even if I'm not, she wants this thing done. Right. If I get her, he's toast.

nightowl:

"Gouging" may be possible with gasoline during an evacuation, it is not in remodeling. There are lots of guys less expensive than I. If my reviews and reputation have no value to you, pick one of them, please.