Hired a contractor to work on my home. Having a dispute over the price.

[method115]

I have no idea what a "property lien" is

When you sell your house they'll take the money from the sell and give it to him. Well what you owe anyways. That's if it was even possible for him to do any of that. Without any proof of what the agreed upon price was he wont have any way of doing this.

 

[IamStryker]

When you sell your house they'll take the money from the sell and give it to him. Well what you owe anyways. That's if it was even possible for him to do any of that. Without any proof of what the agreed upon price was he wont have any way of doing this.

Ok thanks

 

[Smokes]

Burn Down the house and tell him he aint got a job now.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Ask for an itemised invoice breaking down the price, including what the labour hours were spent on exactly. If you wanted to look closely enough you could price materials as well as figure out how much each task would take. I used to estimate for projects and often had to do this with contractor quotes, they may get shitty at giving a breakdown request, this is because you can find out where they've hidden fat.

 

[JabToucher]

They're ripping you off. Issue uppercuts!

 

[Estemachine]

UPDATE!!

Apparently I am an idiot and didn't see these Yelp reviews until now. Check this out......

Had a few issues w service. I called ***** to have a few jobs completed (a very small hole in the living room wall, a bigger one in the bed room and a very few quick jobs including tightening a few bathroom towel racks, a wobbly faucet and stabilize the kitchen blinds. Honestly I was thinking the job would cost 150.00 or so. I didn't know I Would be paying 2 people at $55.00 an hour. His business says ****** home repair...not ***** and "the other guy." This was partly my fault. I should have asked more questions, I should have asked for a quote and quotes from others. The total was $350 and then said it would be an additional 160.00 the following day. A whopping $560.00 for mostly some minor dry wall repairs, quick odd jobs totaling 3 hours of work. ***** seemed knowledgable and a nice enough guy. Just seemed a little high in price. Also, after he fixed a wobbly bathroom sink it was leaking on the floor and inside the cabinet after he left. We never had this issue before. He fixed it without complaint but stated it had been leaking before. We check down there often and this is not the case. What was most frustrating was these jobs were a one man job. I ultimately feel ripped and I'm an easy guy to please and get along with. We will look elsewhere for a soon remodeled kitchen.

Apparently I am not the first person to have this problem with him!!

Pay him what YOU agreed on, and tell him to fuck off.

 

[IamStryker]

Ask for an itemised invoice breaking down the price, including what the labour hours were spent on exactly. If you wanted to look closely enough you could price materials as well as figure out how much each task would take. I used to estimate for projects and often had to do this with contractor quotes, they may get shitty at giving a breakdown request, this is because you can find out where they've hidden fat.

He did give me an invoice in the email today which is how I found out he is charging me the $45 an hour for his assistant as well.

I have no issues with his breakdown of hours and materials except for him basically charging me double for the kid he brought with him.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

He did give me an invoice in the email today which is how I found out he is charging me the $45 an hour for his assistant as well.

I have no issues with his breakdown of hours and materials except for him basically charging me double for the kid he brought with him.

Was the kid fully qualified? If he's an apprentice (or whatever you call them over there) that wouldn't be fair.

 

[IamStryker]

Was the kid fully qualified? If he's an apprentice (or whatever you call them over there) that wouldn't be fair.

I knew absolutely nothing about the kid. I certainly wouldn't have agreed to pay him $45 an hour because he didn't look at all like an experienced carpenter. He appeared to me like a relative of the guy who was helping him out.

 

[D Train]

I had a contractor come out recently and he gave me an estimate for the job, not an hourly rate. He said, “It’ll be 2k at the high end including supplies.” He’ll bring at least one person with him, maybe 2. But it doesn’t matter because all of that comes from the 2k.

 

[D Train]

I knew absolutely nothing about the kid. I certainly wouldn't have agreed to pay him $45 an hour because he didn't look at all like an experienced carpenter. He appeared to me like a relative of the guy who was helping him out.

I do some side work with a contractor. I’m mostly just labor. He pays me $20 per hour. $45 seems excessive.

 

[djacobox372]

This is common with contractors; they try to remain as vague as possible so they can up charge you at the end. At least you learned from a relatively cheap job.

What you should have done:

1) get all costs in writing, itemized with labor and materials--don't agree to an hourly rate, agree to a final price.
2) get assurances on the schedule, in writing
3) if they show up with extra help, ASK who's paying those guys immediately! The last thing you need is some angry immigrant worker coming to you directly for payment after the job is done.

 

[lowlife]

Always communicate, and double check with your contractor that you are on the same page about EVERYTHING. It's ok to go ask that mfer who this kid is and how much he cost and if you're expected to pay for him too. So much bullshit can be avoided by simply talking and asking questions. It seems people are really forgetting how to effectively talk to each other, especially "men."

 

[djacobox372]

I do some side work with a contractor. I’m mostly just labor. He pays me $20 per hour. $45 seems excessive.

Do you really think he's charging his clients $20 an hour for your time? Most likely he's charging them 50+

 

[Noveltymortar]

By the way his bill didn't include any kind of taxes. Is that normal or is that a red flag?

To my knowledge most states don't charge sales tax on services.

 

[Swiftie]

I always get three written estimates before I hire a contractor. I also check out their reviews on Angie's List and Yelp. Once I select my contractor, we both sign a written contract.

 

[JoshTehV]

Kill them both. Problem solved.

i agree bury them in your foundation young dahmer

 

[Uber_Noober]

Put the barrel of a loaded 12 gauge in his mouth and tell him to get off of your lawn.

 

[IamStryker]

Always communicate, and double check with your contractor that you are on the same page about EVERYTHING. It's ok to go ask that mfer who this kid is and how much he cost and if you're expected to pay for him too. So much bullshit can be avoided by simply talking and asking questions. It seems people are really forgetting how to effectively talk to each other, especially "men."

In my mind I had already asked what the job was going to cost when he told me $45 an hour and it would take about two days. It's ridiculous to me how immoral people can be.

 

[ToxicShocker]

45 an hour it is... Most contractors charge/bid $150 an hour, and that's to send like 3 guys @ 20 each, and they keep the rest as taxes, overhead and profit.

The guy probably isn't licensed and insured my area you aren't allowed to do work worth more than $500 without one. The contracts aren't enforceable beyond that.

If he's licensed he can put a lien on ya if not then fuck him

Not when the work is already done, and not without a written contract