If work was completed to accepted standards by both homeowner and contractor and contractor waited to bill final invoice as they were planning on completing an additional project, then once invoice was issued homeowner is refusing to pay what are our recourses? We are owed 40k. There are no disputes with the work. All expenses are documented and were previously agreed on. Homeowners only contention is that they were not billed in a timely enough manner and they forgot they still owed money.
First put a lien on the house.
Then sue them for owed funds as well as your legal costs.
Be sure you have all the proper documentation.
Yes place a lien on the property and sue. However I would check with your lawyer first to be sure all documentation is done in a timely matter. You may have to re-enter the property to do a final touch to bring the date of completion forward.
The home owner is completely incorrect, you could bill them a year later and it is still valid. However your contract should have billing requirements listed on it. You will get yuor money Sir, but if they decide to be stubborn it will be a long drawn out process and you will be advised to get a lawyer. Stay calm & Focus on other "honest" Clients and making money and proceed as follows:
-1st lien their house, also add in costs for filing fees, keep track of yuor time and also add in a fee for time lost from work etc.
-compile yuor documents, the more docs you have the easier to sue them successfully, compile pictures(always take dozens of pictures on "any" job you do throughout), compile eye witness statements of any sub-trades, employees who worked on house to conclusion
-usually a lien will be enough as it will actually "ruin" their credit rating
-Here in Alberta within 45 days you must sue them...do that if they do not pay you in time you allotted them, I give no more than "10 business days". After you sue them and deliver papers as per the laws in yuor Prov., this might work to get paid, if not then hire a lawyer, it will cost several thousand but worth it believe me and include the lawyers fees in any final judgement awards. Get as much info about these people as you can, if they gave you deposits previously keep their bank info etc ( more about that later)
-its now in the lawyers hands as they deal back and forth costing you all money. It may take a year or more but you will win and now you have to "collect"
-This is where as much info about them comes in handy as they now must pay you in 30 days, if they don't you can legally seize their bank accounts, assets and even garnishee wages if they have jobs.
Good luck! Its a sad fact like there are crooked contractors out there , there are also crooked customers and its part of business, deal with it and move on being smarter next time.
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