When you sign a contract with someone, this is a legal document that obligates both parties to do what is in the contract. Some states have rules about what can and cannot go in a contract, but from a protection standpoint, don’t assume anything. The general contractor is obligated to do what is in the contract. Only what is in the contract. He/she is not obligated to do what you want, wish, hope for, expect, dream, plan to squeeze out of him/her, unless it is in the contract. A good contractor will follow the contract, and a smart client will read and know the contract.
By read and know, this means read the fine print and the bold print. If you hire a contractor to change a light bulb, you cannot specify how he should change it unless it is in the contract.
If you tell a contractor a project is taking too long, they may not and more likely won’t care, unless it is written in the contract clearly how long it should take.
If the contract outlines payment terms, you cannot just change them later because you don’t agree with them or don’t like them.
And if you intend to rely on the courts and an attorney to fight on your behalf, you should review and know your obligations as the client. Have you met them? Have you paid your bills fully and on time? Have you fulfilled YOUR part of the bargain?
If not, you may be setting yourself up for a very expensive education in your local civil litigation system and a destroyed business relationship.
If you are unsure of a contract or what it contains, have a QUALIFIED (someone that handles construction contract law) review the contract before you sign it. After you sign it, you are as much on the hook for the contents that relate to you as the contractors are to those that relate to them…..
This concludes the first installment of this segment. However, I will leave this with one additional bit of advice-
Don’t sue someone, unless you are ready to be sued back.
