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Does anyone know the legalities or if their are any legalities on coming in to a job that has been abandoned by a contractor and finishing it. I live in southern CA and I’ve heard that the homeowner can’t hire another contractor until the dispute is settled. Also have heard it’s a gray area for the new contractor because of the liability of taking over work done by another contractor. If anyone has any experience or knows anything about a situation like this please let me know how you dealt with it and what the outcome was. Thank you.
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One thing that I can tell you that crosses state lines is to watch your money and know the customer like a book. Best of luck.
*If a contractor abandoned a job, I'd see that as a significant warning sign that This may not be a job I'd want.
*You may want to run this one pass your lawyer if you've never run into a problem like this, before.He could draw you up a contract with provisos to cover any liabilities on your part. The danger is always to determine which contractor did what work whenever deficiencies occur. So you will want to specify exactly what work you will be doing and which was done by the other.As indicated by others, there is always the chance that it's the owners actions that caused the other to leave, so watch your back and don't take a friendly smile and stories as fact.Not always a simple thing.Gabe
*Many years ago I was contacted by an insurance adjuster who I regularly did insurance renovations referred to by him. He had an insured who suffered a substantial fire loss, and about 1/2 way thru the reconstruction, fired the contractor. In this case the workmanship was not good. I told the adjuster I would only take the job on a basis of giving him only a very high ball park. No fixed price and no T & M price. the contract I created was basically to do what had to be done and make the insured happy.My 1st assumption, 9which ended up being correct) was the attitude the owner had was one of this:"The next $%#* contractor that comes in here better do perfect work, and I'm going to watch him like a hawk." That's what I told the owner his was thinking, the adjuster, and my employees and subs, and was the approach I took in redoing what had to be redone, and to complete the job to the owner's satisfaction. My contract also stated my guarantee only covered what I did, and not anything the previous contractor did that was already acceptable to the owner, or that would effect our work.Surprising to me, it went smooth (why not when given a blank check by the adjuster?), to the point that the owner later hired us to build an addition for him.For sure yours is a lousy situation. If you end up taking on this project, the only way to do so is as suggested by Gabe and have a lawyer make the contract, with you as the constructon professional, advising him about the pros, cons and nuances of our industry and this type of project.Personally, unless you're desparate for work, I'd pass. I've said before that each of us "un" knowing place ourselves in, or create, compromising situations. Why knowingly do so with our eyes wide open?
*Thanks Calvin, Ryan, Gabe, and Sonny for your input. I got a call this morning about this situation from an architect I know. I told the architect I would go look at it, so the least I'll do is that. By going to look at the job I'll get a feel on what's going on too. From what the architect told me it sounds like the guy just bid it too low and cut his losses and walked. I'm not hurting for work so I feel no need at all to take the job. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again. Rich
*Rich, I gotta sound in on this one too, I'm curious to here everyones thoughts on my perspective.When fielding calls for work, I try to establish if my company will be able to help the customer and if it will be profitable for me to do so. To some degree I feel that as professionals, we have to take all comers. After that I can consider other factors such as proximity to my work area, type of work, etc.This makes the second time I have seen this topic come up on the board when at the same time I was looking at this type of project. I am far from hurting for work, but I will almost always consider new projects. I call this a "bail out" job. I would run it through the pipleline like any other prospect. You must have the business systems in place to deal with this scenario as the others have stated. If you are confident that you do, and that your skills in performing the work are extraordinary, I wouldn't have any unusual reservations about this type of work. I would be looking for completed honesty up front, from the client. I would have no problem asking for any information that would be helpful in evaluating my risk. I think you have some liberties in this type of situation that can make it an attractive prospect. I'm kind of applying your situation to mine, a six figure remodel. If its a re-roof, or a low end job, you could probably disregard what I've said.My thoughts,Tom
*Get in touch with the original contractor, if possible. We have done this in the past and avoided a couple of nightmare clients. And it also may be just as the architect suggests.
*Rich,I took over another contractors job years ago...The contractor spread himself too thin and was a crook...The job came out fine...The big thing is to make sure your verbal and written words warn the owner that you are there to make a profit and are not doing any work for no charge and that is not listed in your contract. I also said I would not be able to discover all items that would need to be done or redone before the job started...And that they should plan on many adds possibly to the job.Do super work, bill timely and stop work the minute you are not being paid on time...No, "We will be going on a four week cruise and will pay you when we get back"...Also do not do this job if the customer is a doctor, lawyer or has free access to a brother in law lawyer!near the stream of possible nightmares,aj
*You know I don't understand the problem here at all. So you get called in in the middle of a job. So what? What is this "I heard.." You are a professional. A professional gets professional advise and doesn't act on rumor. So, get professional advise. That said.The only two possible flies in the ointment is getting a clear definition of which is yours and which is his and being sure there isn't any preexisting liens or mortgages that could put you in a bind. The lien thing can be handled by a search of public records and the contract. The work definition can be handled by any method you both are happy with that clearly describes it. A good lawyer who is familiar with the legal potholes in your area is worth his weight in gold for this. He'll probably charge that much too. But, his cost is put into the bid on the project so the customer is really paying, not you. As for this possibly being a "client from hell", I think there is a lot of anger directed from some of the posters to the people that feed them. A personality disorder perhaps? When there are problems it is very seldom an one way street. Lots of times the contractor was just as much at fault as the customer. So, make your own decision about the customer. If you feel good about it and the facts back you up, go for it. Lets' face it neither of you need to like each other. This isn't a social occasion. It is a business deal. As long as there is mutual respect and the check is on time and good you could care less.Just be sure you have your costs down cold. The question isn't whether you do the job. It is at what cost and with what contracts?
*This is way off track, but it is an unfunushed project that sure looks interesting.....Joe Hhttp://www.glacebay.demon.co.uk/
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Does anyone know the legalities or if their are any legalities on coming in to a job that has been abandoned by a contractor and finishing it. I live in southern CA and I've heard that the homeowner can't hire another contractor until the dispute is settled. Also have heard it's a gray area for the new contractor because of the liability of taking over work done by another contractor. If anyone has any experience or knows anything about a situation like this please let me know how you dealt with it and what the outcome was. Thank you.