Entries Tagged 'General Construction' ↓

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.

The end of 2010 is coming fast, and so are the tax credits for the energy efficient window upgrades. In this period, lots of retailers and vendors are and will be blitzing the market with “BUY NOW” info to get sales.

But there are a few things you should consider first:

1. There may and likely will be some form of similar tax credits next year (although the requirements may get a bit more strict), these tax credits existed before 2010, and they will be back in 2011 or 2012. The current lot of credits are popular because the qualifying product requirements are a bit relaxed and the applicable caps have been expanded. But keep this in mind, the Fed does not want to punish or stifle the economic recovery. Combine with that the fact that energy efficiency has not been nationally achieved (and really never will) as it is a moving bar. Once we achieve all 90% efficient heating systems and low-E glass in all our windows, other areas will need to be addressed.
2. THIS IS IMPORTANT- make sure the windows meet the criteria for the tax credits! Just because it is Low-E does NOT mean that it is tax-credit-approved. The windows that are approved generally cost more than those that are not. Any window upgrade in efficiency is a good one, but don’t get stuck with new windows that you thought would get you money back and find out that they do not. Your vendor should be able to answer this question, and the manufacturers are so keyed into the saleability of the eligible products that the windows will likely have the paperwork stapled to them if they are approved!

I am not saying that you shouldn’t hurry to upgrade your efficiency.

I am not saying that the tax credits next year will be just as good and seamless as this year – in fact I am not promising tax credits in 2011. But I am saying that the tax credits will be back.

The tax credits may not even return in their current form. They may return as a rebate from your local building authority or a local utility.

Just remember this- there is a “sale of the century” every weekend somewhere. If it were true, then each sale must be progressively better than those of the last ten years. I think of this every time I see a cheesy, high-pressure-sales remodeling company billboard that says “Last Year For The Window Tax Credits”…..

What do I care about the new lead law taking effect April 22? Well, if your house was built before 1978, you should care a lot. ANY work you do on your house where lead paint or other lead products could be disturbed are fair game for enforcement.

As a contractor, if we pull a permit for ANYTHING on a house built before 1978, we have to report it and follow the new rules. The new rules will roughly add 10-18% to the project labor costs to do the site cleaning and prevention that the law requires. And that is if we are not messing with the lead.

Let me be clear. WE DON’T MAKE ANY MORE MONEY ON THIS! Those extra costs cover labor, training, certification, and equipment for the law changes. That extra cost is passed on to the consumer and we don’t keep any. It is all to compensate for the costs this new enforcement brings about.

I am not against what the law is intended to do. Frankly, this should have been in effect years ago. But it is a polar change to the current remodeling law and it greatly affects cost.

Are you thinking “I’ll just sneak through and save that money by not hiring a certified contractor”? Think again. If you get caught, the per-day fines you can pay are up to $30,000.

No joke! And this is a Federal Law change enforced by the EPA, so don’t assume your local authorities won’t be enforcing it…..