Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: unfinished work

I am a little confused, what have you been doing all of this time, sitting around admiring the work it has yet to be done. Why haven't you sat in front of the relive real estate expert attorney to find out what you could do to salvage this horrible situation with your house. Or, don't you care. Problems do not solve themselves and you must take immediate, yesterday, over action to protect yourself. Don't wait for written answer on the way and get hold of a real estate attorney in your area. Bring to him/her every bit of paperwork regarding this matter. Don't you get it, the guy ran out of money and is not going to finish her job. He probably has other jobs that are paying him so he asked the work on those before he doesn't finish those either. After 30 years in the business believe me, I can foretell the future and unless you do something soon I do not see anything but a bleak in yours. My advice, if you don't get yet hi there and attorney, human being in front of you, to help you immediately.i have been practicing law in this speciality for over 30 years in the san francisco bay area and if you wish to consult with me you can contact me at 925-945-6000.

Re: unfinished work

As frustrating as this all may be, you may best be served by being even more patient. Your original contractor is entitled to services rendered and possibly total contract amount if no date certain made a material part of the contract. If you retain new person you may be responsible for both bills and both can put mechanics lien on your home.

Re: unfinished work

I do not agree with the advice given by Mr. Olden. From your question, we do not know how much money this contract is for nor do we know the percentage completion. It is quite possible that you will spend a significant amount of money on an attorney in relation to the value of your risks. If you ever do hire an attorney, hire a construction law attorney, not a real estate attorney, because there are many protections afforded you through the Contractors' State License Law concerning contract requirements that a real estate attorney may not be familiar with. And, since you have not paid for any of the services, it does NOT sound as if this is a "horrible" situation. Considering the delay in start time, this may merely be a situation where the contractor took on too many projects at once. This is an extremely common occurrence in the construction industry.

On the other hand, Mr. Whipple has given you sound advice, which I would like to add to. First, make sure the contractor has a current valid license for the work they are performing. If they do not, then you do not have to pay them anything for the work they have performed (unless the licensed lapsed without their knowledge for some reason or there has been some sort of clerical error on the part of the Contractors State License Board). The Contractors' State License Law requires that the contract state the estimated completion time. It is unclear whether the 6-8 weeks was a verbal promise or a time written in the contract. If it was only verbal, then the contractor failed to meet the legal requirements of specifying the time in the written contract, so they would not be in a good position to refute the 6-8 weeks that you understood to be the time frame. They also violated the law by not commencing with work within 20 days of the promised start time.

In following Mr. Whipple's advice, try to get quotes from at least two contractors to finish the job should a letter demanding completion fail to bring the original contractor out to finish the job. I would not mention that you have not paid anything to the original contractor so that the replacement contractors are not tempted to overprice the remaining work. Get the completion quotes before you "settle out" with the original contractor should you get that opportunity and you would want a written addendum to the original contract reflecting the lower price you are paying for the completed work. Also, in exchange for the payment, you would want the original contractor and any of his material suppliers or subcontractors to sign an "Unconditional Waiver and Release Upon Final Payment� and your contractor should be readily familiar with these.

If the original contractor puts a lien on your property, do not panic because it will not affect you unless you are trying to sell or refinance your home. If a lawsuit is not filed within 90 days, then there is a procedure in court whereby you can get a lien release decree.

Re: unfinished work

Sounds like the contractor has breached the contract. Here's what I suggest you do:

1. Review the contract carefully, looking for anything that refers to "breach" "default" "right to cure" "remedies" "time for performance" "time is of the essence" or the like. Look for anything that might modify the rights and responsibilities of the parties in this situation.

2. Check at the county recorder's office to make sure there are no preliminary lien notices or anything of that kind filed against your property and in favor of the contractor.

3. If this contractor was referred to you by the vendor of the material (e.g. Sears), confer with the vendor.

4. Give the contractor written notice that he is in breach and that you intend to "cure" by having another contractor complete the work. Set a deadline for his response.

5. The greater your threat of loss due to storm damage, reduced property value, etc., the less time you need to give him. I suggest 10 days.

6. Call or write the Contractors State License Board and give a brief statement of the facts. See if the contractor's license and bond are intact. You may have a claim against the bond, but since you haven't paid your risk of reimbursable financial loss is small.

7. After the time set in your notice to the defaulting contractor, have someone else finish the work. Be sure this second contractor understands the situation.

You are still liable to the original contractor; not for the contract price, but for the fair value of labor and materials actually performed and furnished. The fair value is reduced by what you have to spend for the "cure" and other losses incurred as a direct result of his breach.

You would be better off to get a written sign-off by the defaulting contractor, settling the amount owed for partial completion issue. This could avoid litigation or its threat in the future.

This contractor may be having personal problems such as drugs, alcohol, family or money difficulties. It happens a lot.