Having a lein put on our house?
3/15/2018 at 2:57:29 PM
Hi - I've had a terrible contractor experience for a $100k renovation. The work was almost finished and he became extremely verbally abusive with me and also said he didn't work in winter, so would come back in the spring. He left us with no siding on the house and no flashing around the windows (which would have leaked and were letting in cold air) and he cheaped out at the end and didn't hire professionals to do the finishing. He did it himself... badly. He was overcharging us (for example he charged me $3,000 for an engineer who only charged him $700). He sent us a final invoice in December. We called to discuss it as it was ridiculous (eg he told us he would do something at no cost, but now decided to charge $500/day travelling time to do it). He's one of those guys who makes the profession look bad. We told him via email that we were not paying his final invoice because he had left us with a lot of stuff not completed and his new charges were ridiculous. I sent him a list of what was outstanding and what had to be redone (and I did not exaggerate). The cost was about 3x what he wanted us to pay him. I was tired of the stress so told him in email that we were ending the relationship with him and would not pay him any more money, but lucky for him, we wouldn't be suing him either. He got verbally abusive again. He asked some of his trades to visit me and tell me that he hadn't paid them and to scare me, even though he had paid them. He threatened to call the inspector to tell him the insulation in one room was only R13 so that we would have to tear the room apart. He didn't know we already had the inspections passed and I know it was the correct insulation because I had to check his work all the time.
Three months later, he's threatening to put a lien on our house until we pay him. And if we don't pay him, he will send us an additional invoice for things he didn't charge us before (he would likely make these up). He had already charged more than 50% more than his original quote.
The final invoice is less than $15k. Without deducting the money he owes us to finish the work, about $1,000 of that invoice would have been valid, but we have a feeling he charged us for that part before as well. This is not an exaggeration.
Someone told me it's $3,500 to put a lien on a house, but I just read it's $18 per year. I realize there's 45 days from the contractor's last day working here to file for a lien, but what if he lies (he does that a lot) and says he just left here last week? Does the court check with the homeowner before placing the lien to get proof? I have it in an email that we terminated our relationship in December and did not want him on our property after that.
I can't handle any more stress from this. It has been such a nightmare. We were too trusting.
Thanks!
3/15/2018 at 4:54:36 PM
G'Day Jackie,
Sorry to hear of your misfortune
First thing is that a Lien is roughly $1,000, plus costs. He also has to prove his last day in writing or the lien won't be in place.
I would also check with the ESA to make sure an electrical permit had been pulled.
3/15/2018 at 5:59:46 PM
Put some quick facts together and call a lawyer. They have a free no charge 1/2 hour consultation.
Remember, collect all your correspondence and financials. Facts and evidence usually puts an end to this type of thing.
3/15/2018 at 6:34:23 PM
Hello Jakie
I am sorry to here about your problem.I just hope you dont think were all like that. By the information you provided it sounds like he hasent a leg to stand on and hes blowing smoke. Dont let him bully you. My advice would to see a lawyer its money well spent to ease your stress. Even paying for his time might be less then what hes threatening.Its quite possable you might be able to turn the tables and go after him instead. Good luck let us know how it works out
Allan
3/16/2018 at 6:30:39 AM
Hi Jackie
Your experience with your contractor should have been a exciting time with all the new changes taking place with your home.
You were correct to terminate the relationship with the contractor back in December.
For your piece of mind it would be time to visit with your lawyer to go over your contract obligations and to terminate the contract.
My advise for the next time is to due your due diligent hiring a contractor, most contractors are professional trades trying to provide a good service for their clients.
Good Luck
Juergen
Renomaster
3/16/2018 at 8:55:25 AM
Sorry to hear you're having so many issues with this contractor. Usually when you start seeing these kindsites of issues popping up, it's good to cut losses and move on. But this can be hard to do if there is all this stuff going on.
So couple main items:
Did you have a contract which outlined costs and work to be completed?
If you did, this should give you all you need to be done with this guy.
If you didn't that will potentially cause further issues.
Also make sure and read all the fine print. Most contracts will have payment schedules, work schedules, warranty coverages, and any penalty clauses. If those are I'm your contract, you may have to pay him regardless, as you stated that you terminated the relationship.
Did you sign-off on any extras or changes which came with a price increase?
Did you keep a written record of any conversations, especially texts/emails?
These can sometimes be the best evidence to show a pattern of behaviors.
As far as a lien goes in my experience, they haven't required the property owner to be present to pUT in place. But as a lien is a legal matter, I don't think this guy will do it. He would be opening himself up to all kinds of counter suits and potential criminal charges. If he does put a lien on your home, you would have to go through the courts to have it removed.
Hope this helps.
3/16/2018 at 9:27:33 AM
Hi Jackie,
Don't stress. You can hire a paralegal and take him to small claims court.
Hire a neutral inspector to give a list of deficiencies and to confirm if work was to industry standards.
Good luck!
3/16/2018 at 11:10:14 AM
Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and great advice! We just had our final inspection yesterday and everything passed, so that's one headache gone. We do have a contract and he had already told us he was not going to finish the job before we terminated him. He said he couldn't "work under these conditions" - he didn't like to be told his quality wasn't what we were expecting. He told us he would work "till the end of the week" back in December, and he didn't even show up again. When we questioned his final invoice a week later (on the phone), he said he would come back and finish a couple of things in the spring if we paid him. That's why we terminated him in writing. I have a feeling this guy has no assets listed under his name, so if we turned the tables and sued him (which we could rightly do), it would be a waste of time.
I'm going to talk to a lawyer to get some advice as I don't think he's going to stop harassing us.
Thank you very much!
3/17/2018 at 11:05:07 AM
There are people like that unfortunately and they seem to get jobs all the time.
I would turn the tables and report his behaviour to the police. Charge him with scaring you and threatening and sending people to the house to intimidate etc
As far as the lien he can place it but he needs to perfect the lien which means show proof of his claims. The lien will stay on until court but if you want to remove it for mortgage reasons or whatever you can set it aside until court by paying the lien amount plus I think 25 per cent to the sheriff. The sheriff holds all this money until a court decides who gets it and that period is usually 2 years so the court case has to be compete by the. Otherwise you get your money back
Is sounds harsh but look at it this way , if all had gone well you would have paid him in full anyways so the only additional cost to you is the 25 percent which is returnable if you win so next time you speak with him ask him to send you his full and final bill and a detailed statement and you will review and will let him know if there's any issues with his accounting. When you receive the final bill then you have a document of the total liability so if he places a lien for more you can challenge it
Most of all make all comunications in writing and keep it professional no emotions and no personal attacks.
Hope this helps
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