Is it worth it to sue a contractor?
12/5/2020 at 1:10:23 AM
I hired a contractor to build a house in 2015 in Vancouver. He said it would cost $550,000 back then. We signed a contract. It took over 2 years to get the permit to build. In that time, we kept asking if the 550k was enough due to inflation. He said the amount was still fine. We didn't tear down our house until Jan 2019. He said he can get it done in 11 months. After paying up to 390k of the 550k in July 2019, he said that he now needs another 140k to finish the house. We refused to pay it, as he had said that he could do it with 550k. Since we refused, he has dragged his feet considerably in the house build. We had paid him up to drywall and exterior, but he's still nowhere near done even in Dec 2020. A friend of a friend, who's also a contractor, said that it's useless to sue, as he can always dissolve his current company and start up a new one. Is that true? Is it worth it to sue to contractor?
In summary, contractor wants to raise the price of the house halfway through the build even with a contract signed. We were told it was useless to sue. Is that true? How much would it cost and would we be able to get any money back or force him to continue?
12/5/2020 at 10:48:25 AM
Over a very long time period such as that. The contract should have been adjusted and re-signed a few times.the initial contract should have had a completion date in it. If that date was not met. And it was not due to the contractor then a new contract with new date should have been drawn up when plans and permits were finally approved. And yes over an extended period like that the square foot build price most definitely would have gone up.I wish you luck. The contractor was not diligent and you should have had a lawyer involved on your side from day one regarding the contract with the contractor.
Good luck with it all
Regards,
James Fram
12/5/2020 at 12:18:17 PM
The best solution for you is to sit down with your contractor and review all costs to date and review the costs to complete
I would compare these costs to his original budget and quotations to determine the actual cost increase
This will enable you to determine if his extra costs are reasonable
Get another quote to finish the home to compare if you are unsure. ( or for the whole house )
Did you change the scope of the work or make changes or add things that would have increased the cost ?
If so add that in when you are doing your evaluation
It is unrealistic to believe that the costs would be the same after 4 years
The legal cost to fight this could be as much as the cost increase to finish the home
Then you will still have to finish the home
If you have an honest contractor he should be willing to sit down with you to resolve this
It is possible for him to shut the doors and start over
but if he is honest he would not consider this
If you are unable to resolve this contact BC Housing, BBB and see what they can do for you
Good luck
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