Let our experienced real estate litigation lawyers take care of the wrong contractor. Contact us to arrange a consultation at (303) 688-0944. Even if you think you`ve hired the right contractor, your project can go wrong. But all is not lost as long as the entrepreneur has obtained a license. (They have virtually no legal recourse against unlicensed contractors, and some jurisdictions even go after landlords for hiring them.) Here are your options: The landlord takes the biggest risk when hiring an unlicensed contractor. You may be faced with this: mediation is another alternative. A neutral third party will find a compromise that requires hiring a lawyer. They will discuss things and agree on a solution. You should also note that the solution is not legally enforceable as it remains out of court and is not binding. Example: You hire a contractor to update your bathroom. It requires a quarter of the project costs in advance. Unbeknownst to you, your contractor has not paid subcontractors for other projects. He uses your money to pay off those debts.

But then it can`t pay the subcontractors who work on your bathroom. You are in the dark until subcontractors file a lien on your property for non-payment. These types of « fraudulent privileges » are rarely perfected by contractors because it costs them to perfect the privilege – to sue to enforce the property – and if the owner refuses to pay the contractor, he/she simply lets the privilege become null and void because the time to legally perfect the privilege has expired. Each state has different laws, what those deadlines are. If the contractor is completely gone, you may be able to raise funds from a state contractor collection fund, which consists of royalties from the contractor, or a bond that the contractor deposited at the beginning of your project, which is required in some states. The catch: lawyers charge between $100 and $300 an hour for these cases. So if you`re not dealing with a big project, you`ll probably spend more on the lawyer than you`ll get from the contractor. « We can`t thank Mr. Whitmore enough for his opinions, recommendations and legal services, » said one client. « We would not hesitate to seek The help of Mr.

Whitmore. » A « No damages for delay » clause allows a party to avoid compensation in the event of delay. For example, a contract may exempt the contractor from financial liability if it results in a delay. Finally, you can publish information about bad entrepreneurs (para. B Angieslist.com) on various websites. While leaving a bad review won`t necessarily resolve your dispute, it can motivate some contractors to resolve the issue so you can remove your bad review completely. At the very least, a bad review will call other owners located in the same way on the premises so that they are not victims of the same fate. So imagine that five people are suing a contractor and the total amount owed is $50,000, then they are out of luck. It is best for the owner to look for some kind of general liability insurance or builders` risk insurance that offers better protection to the consumer and the entrepreneur.

You can consider this additional insurance as positive when reviewing the contractor. To make sure, document whenever the contractor does not comply with the terms of the agreement. In addition, send a return letter to the business address and home of the contractor stating that the contractor is considered in breach of contract if the problem is not resolved within a certain number of days and you will put an end to it. I hired a contractor to pour a cement porch. and gave them a deposit of 2500. They never did the job. They said they would return my deposit. but they didn`t. What should I do before signing a contract: Charles recommends at least not to proceed quickly with signing a contract until you have fully understood everything written in it – what are your obligations, what are the obligations of your contractors, etc. This means not only what is contained in the contract, but also what is not. If you assume that your contractors are doing or providing something that is not written, assume that it will not be done. If there are enough negative reviews online, the state licensing authority can also revoke the contractor`s license.

It all depends on the quality of the reviews and the number that the contractors receive. * Warranties are limited to between $12,000 and $15,000 per contractor and not per incident or complaint. Unlike other types of insurance, where the risk is spread among all policyholders, the obligation pays up to the $15,000 limit, that`s all. « It`s rare to have a project that is on time or on time. Each project is usually longer than the expected time, » charles explains. So many factors are out of a contractor`s control with the schedule – unforeseen problems behind walls, bugs from previous projects that need to be fixed, or even weather delays. Complain. Since you have hired a licensed contractor, you can file a complaint with the government agency that authorized it. This body, whether it is a county or a state, should then help you resolve your dispute. Since entrepreneurs fear losing their license, the mere threat of such a complaint is sometimes enough.

You can also contact your county and/or state consumer protection agencies for assistance. If you have multiple options, try them all and see who is the most responsive. .