How to Find a Good Contractor and What to do if You Hired a Bad Builder

Finding a Good Contractor

To avoid be ripped off by a building contractor as I was (you’ll hear about that later), always check the credentials of a contractor by calling the Better Business Bureau and the building inspector in your county. Never just accept references provided by the contractor. The contractor will only provide you with information from those who were satisfied with their work. References are basically useless.

Don’t just pull a contractor’s name out of the newspaper or off a bulletin board at the local building supply store. Ask your local Building Inspector to recommend someone. The inspector is the person who is the most knowledgeable on the quality of work and the professionalism of the contractor.

Contracts

Make sure everything is in writing on your contract. Insist that the building contractor list every detail of the job to ensure you’ll get what you expect. Don’t assume that because someone seems like a nice person they will keep their word. Crooks are good actors and actresses. They are professional liars and know how to scam honest people.

Have the contractor write a date of completion on the contract. Some contractors say they don’t like to do so because weather can be unpredictable, but a reasonable date should be determined. Demand a clause that provides refunds if the work is not done in a timely manner.

Never ever give a contractor more than half down on a job, even if a bank is involved. When it’s all said and done, your bank will probably not back you up. When you sign for the loan, you are responsible for seeing that the job is finished. If the contractor walks off, you are more than likely required to pay the loan payment anyway. The bank lent the money to you, and you will be required to pay it back no matter what the contractor does or doesn’t do.

If You’re Unhappy With a Contractor

If you aren’t happy with the work or the time frame in which the work is being completed, don’t wait to involve an attorney. Crooked contractors will try to talk their way out of anything, and they have as many excuses as they have nails. If you feel you are going to be taken to the cleaners, contact your prosecuting attorney as well as a private attorney. The contractor may be stalling for time in order to either skip town or file bankruptcy.

Don’t count on your local prosecuting attorney for help. Each county has a different opinion on what is and isn’t theft. My county thinks it’s okay to take money for a job and not complete it. You might find yours has that same opinion and be left emotionally drained and financially devastated.

My Story

In March of 2004 my now ex husband and I hired a contractor from Albion Indiana. We hired a company I’ll call “Home Destruction” to build a 24′ by 28′ two-car garage and an 8′ x 14′ attached breeze way. Hiring that man is one of the costliest mistakes we’ve ever made. I’m sharing my experience with this crooked contractor so others may learn from my mistakes and be spared stress and major financial loss.

My now ex husband and I were still married when the decision was made to refinance our home so we could finally get the garage and breeze way we had waited so long to afford. I was hesitant to hire the Albion contractor because he had worked for us in the past and took approximately four months to complete a room addition in our basement. I was afraid he would take an unreasonable amount of time to do the next job, but my husband at the time insisted on hiring him. He felt the man would get the job done in a reasonable amount of time, and since we used his services in the past, my ex husband was sure the man would do a good job. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

The first bad feeling I had came upon examination of the contract the man had proposed. He wanted all but $2,000 down on a $15,700 job. This sent up a big red flag, but because our bank was financing the money, and they okayed the transaction, we went along with the proposal. The Albion contractor wrote up the contract to say the $13,700 paid up front was for materials, and the rest was for labor which was to be paid upon completion of the job. The contract we signed with the bank stated they would impose financial penalties on the rest of the money in the construction account if the job took longer than 120 days. Every three months thereafter, they would impose a penalty of ½% of any money left in the account. In other words, the contractor would lose money if the job took more than four months. This clause further increased my belief that the contractor would finish the job in a reasonable amount of time. Although the details of the contract had initially sent up a bright red flag, because a bank was involved, I didn’t think there would be a problem.

Months after the contractor accepted the money to start the project, he still had not started it. Summer had arrived before a truckload of materials was delivered and dumped in our back yard. The wood remained there uncovered all winter long, warping and blackening from exposure. We contacted the Albion contractor repeatedly, and he had excuse after excuse as to why he had not started the job. Most of the time he used the weather as an excuse. Eventually his excuse turned into equipment failure, but during spring, summer, and fall, rain and the slightest possibility of rain was often his excuse for not getting started.

Finally, five months later, the footers for the foundation were poured. By now my now ex husband and I were having personal problems. The fact that the garage and breeze way were not finished caused many arguments. He had insisted on hiring this contractor but kept holding out hope the man would do the job he was paid to do. The contractor became aware of our personal problems, and he began using the impending divorce as a reason for not doing his job. Ironically, the excuse he used was the source of many of our disagreements. At first I believed the excuses and felt somewhat sorry for this poor unfortunate man, but not long after I realized he was a con and a crook.

April 4, 2005 had arrived, and after my father examined the work that had been done thus far, he contacted the Noble County Building Inspector. The inspector was unavailable, and after a substitute inspector examined the project, he put a “stop work order” on the job. The contractor was ordered to correct areas needing attention and to call for another inspection when ready. Many things were found to be wrong with the job. A firewall hadn’t been installed between the living area and the attached garage, a sagging floor joist was used for a ceiling beam, and our propane water heater was discovered to be venting carbon monoxide under the floor of the breeze way. These were just a few of the problems, but worst of all, the contractor knowingly endangered me and my family with no care or concern. He was made well aware of the ventilation problem, and made no attempt to correct it. Matter of fact he tried to hide the ventilation pipe from view beneath the breeze way by placing scrap material in front of it. It was clear the contractor did not care about the job, and he wasn’t going to do any more work at our home. We were forced to hire a plumbing and electrical company to properly vent the water heater before we became seriously ill or worse.

On April 11, 2005, the foundation was finally inspected. It was a block foundation rather than the poured foundation we were led to believe we were getting, but unfortunately it was not specified in the contract. I wasn’t surprised because we had then realized we were dealing with a very dishonest individual. At this point we just wanted the job done. The house was now up for sale, and that sale depended on the completion of this lingering nightmare of a project. In hindsight it’s good that our home didn’t sell, because knowing what we know now, the new owners would have surely brought suit against us.

The contractor never did call the inspector for another required inspection. Instead he had the concrete flour poured without an inspection of the ground. The Noble County Building Inspector came out at my request. He was very disturbed that the contractor did not call for an inspection before pouring the floor. The inspector used a large rock to tap the floor and listen for hollow spots. He realized then the ground was not properly compacted before the contractor poured the concrete. We are now stuck with a concrete floor that could eventually fail.

Shortly thereafter I had to go out of town, but there were important issues to deal with regarding the garage and breeze way. My parents, whom I gave power of attorney, went to the office of the Noble County Prosecuting Attorney. I had been made aware that the contractor was having an auction, and I wanted him stopped. The contractor hired an auctioneer to auction off his house and personal property. It was my belief the contractor was going to skip town. I already knew he had no intention of completing my job. My parents took the documentation of the unfinished job, and they provided our prosecuting attorney with valuable information regarding my situation. The lady who was second in command listened to the case and told my parents what the contractor did was “bad,” but it was not a crime in Noble County.

How could this not be a crime? A contractor took money for a job he didn’t complete. Not only that, the work he completed was extremely shoddy and much of it didn’t meet code. How could this not be theft? I paid for something I didn’t receive. I would not be receiving any help from the prosecuting attorney. This crooked contractor would be allowed to cheat me and go on to cheat other people as well.

On the 19th of September 2005, I sent another letter to the Noble County Indiana Prosecuting Attorney. My father also sent a letter, pleading him to uphold the law and “stop this man.” Neither my father nor I was even given the courtesy of a reply. The prosecuting attorney turned his back on me.

My ex husband and I gave this contractor every opportunity to do the right thing and complete the job he was paid to do long ago. Almost two years later I am remarried, and my new husband and I are still fighting for justice. We ended up hiring an Attorney to represent us in an effort to try and work with the contractor to resolve this problem. The contractor gave the attorney excuse after excuse and never kept his word.

I won a default judgement against the contractor in the amount of $13,100 because he never answered the court’s allegations. I have yet to see a dime of this money. We have to pay someone else to complete and correct the work this man did not finish and do correctly. A hearing is set for the 20th of January to determine how the former contractor will pay this debt, but he may be in jail by then.

The former owner of “Home Destruction” was arrested for doing the same thing to someone in Whitley County. He was allegedly arrested on a class D felony for a “fly by night scam.” He is out on bond awaiting trial. I was made aware by Whitley County that charges are pending against him in Huntington County for doing the same thing to yet another person.

If the Noble County Prosecuting Attorney had listened to my pleas for help, these other people may not have been scammed by this contractor. Not only that, I went to the prosecutor before this contractor auctioned off all of his belongings. If something had been done at that time, I could have recovered my losses. Now there are at least two other people who have been scammed, and I may never recover a dime.

I no longer feel safe in Noble County. It is clear to me that crooks can get away with scamming people here. If it wasn’t for the admiration I have for the Central Noble School system and the wishes of my children to continue their education there, I would move out of this county where contractors are allowed to get away with stealing the money of its citizens.

Reference:

• Contact your local Better Business Bureau to check on a potential home building contractor. Don’t rely on the Better Business Bureau alone when deciding who to hire. Also, contact your local building inspector for names of reliable contractors. www.bbb.org/