Bob, how's the house?

[brent]

Bob, maybe I didn't search well enough, but you never said if you built a new house, built a new studio, etc.

I know insurance can take forever to pay. A friend of mine had a fire, do to his wife leaving an attic light on. The light melted the plastic hook that it was hanging from, then it fell, ignited insulation paper, and it was gone. It was a full year before multiple investigations were complete and a check was cut.

If you rebuilt the studio, did you build for mixing in surround?

[Bob L]

The insurance was wonderful... unfortunately the Contractors have been the worst nightmare of my life... the house sits idle, with converstaions of lawyers and news investigations into the Las Vegas Construction industry on the table... we'll see what happens.

I'm still running the show from our temporary housing.

Bob L

[UpTilDawn]

How many lawyers does it take to get a house up?






I don't know, but it only takes one to hold it up. :D


Good luck Bob. Hope you get back to business sooner than later.

DanT

[Pedro Itriago]

Not cool. I had the idea (more like wishful thinking, I guess) that you were almost on your way out on that subject. Oh well

So, maybe I'll see you on 48 hours or 60 minutes. Maybe with Bill Curtis?

Here's hoping you all get that issue solved pretty soon

(BTW thanks for bringing up the subject, Brent)

[trock]

contractors everywhere are mostly disasters.

we have friends who are just putting on an additiion that was to take 4-6 weeks. now 4 months later they are still waiting, he got bigger gigs and left them behind, shows up once a week and does something so they can;t say he abandoned them

we did a bunch of work on our house and did the worst thing possible, hired family!

suffice to say, 2 years into it and still nto done, i did most of it and have finished on my own. fo course i paid him off in full before he was finished. never thought family would take the money and run

oh well

Bob good luck!

[Pedro Itriago]

Please, do not get me started about family

[Perry]

contractors everywhere are mostly disasters.

we have friends who are just putting on an additiion that was to take 4-6 weeks. now 4 months later they are still waiting, he got bigger gigs and left them behind, shows up once a week and does something so they can;t say he abandoned them

we did a bunch of work on our house and did the worst thing possible, hired family!

suffice to say, 2 years into it and still nto done, i did most of it and have finished on my own. fo course i paid him off in full before he was finished. never thought family would take the money and run

oh well

Bob good luck!


One thing to learn in life... NEVER EVER pay in advance!!!! Danielle just signed off on about $2,000 that she essentially gave to a promotion firm for doing essentially nothing. After over a year now, and about 6 months of just trying to have a conversation with the guy about it... she finally talked with the guy and basicaly told him that at thispoint, even if he did agree to do something for the money she gave him... she wouldn't trust him enough to want to work with him... so she walked away from it.

In the beginning he (and his firm) where all talking big picture about what they were going to do for her and were encouraging her to send more money to cover "expenses". Being the trusting soul that she is (or at least was) she sent them the money. Big mistake!

Basically I think it comes down to a lot of these guys that we come into contact with are expecting you to do something for them... not the other way around as you think it is! :rolleyes: Another thing I think is that they can smell a trusting soul from several miles away! :eek:

Use caution and assume the worst... then demand the best!

Perry

PS: Bob, I sincerely hope your house situation gets worked out to your satifaction... and soon!

[dhise]

Last year the wife and I added 900 sq feet to the homestead. I only paid up front the price for the materials to get the contractors started and they got paid as items on the contract were completed. Turned out that one of the contractors was peeved that he wasn't being paid up front and started dragging his feet. Nine very stressful months later, my beautiful house was finished. I don't care how you pay them their gonna make your life miserable either way! I don't know how they can make any money dragging out a project forever. I had a construction loan that was supposed to turn into a mortgage after six months and had to pay extension fees when the house wasn't done on time. I deducted those fees from their pay of course!


formerly frustrated,
-Doug
www.bigbblues.com

[soundtrack2life]

With home construction is a hard to find good contractors. But as Perry said never pay in advance. I alway work out a payment schedule and always hold 10 - 20 % in the end until I get final inspections & everything is done to satisfaction. There is always alot of excitement at the begining of a project but then most contractors fizzle out at then end. Like when they have then another big job to start and now you are not their main focus like in the begining.

The problem with using most housing contractors or family is we all look for the best price possible. And usually the person with the cheapest price is unable to "bank roll" the project (labor & material). So that is when the money could get ahead of the progress.

For my day job I am the GM for a commercial general contracting company. Unlike housing I am bound to contracts with my clients & in most cases they require us to furnish a bid, performance and payment bonds (like an insurance policy to assure we bid and finish the project correctlly, If you mess up and have your bond pulled then nobody will bond you, then you can not bid & perform this type of work . . . catch 22 . . . you get the idea). Furthermore if I am not substantually complete according to the contract construction schedule I will be penalized with liquidated damages. These typically range between $500 to $5,000 per calendar day. And as for the money I can only bill what is complete on a monthly basis and then it typically takes 30 to 45 days to be paid on that invoice. So the entire job is "bank rolled" by the GC & the subcontractors typically for up to 60 days. As you can see in one way or another I have to be very motivated from the concept to completion to finish on budget and on time and to the clients satisfaction.

If some of these "standard" commercial construction practices where done with housing construction there most likely would be less horror stories. However this would also come at a higher cost for a contractor to do business and thus would cost the home owner more money. So it probably will never happen. So the best practice would be to go with reputable contractors. Good luck.

Joe

[AudioAstronomer]

I seem to be lucky, 3 of my closest neighbors (2 across the street, one next door) are all contractors. general, roofing and a plumber. My father as well has his license so it's been pretty easy thus far with all the construction here.

But alas.. getting a new kitchen is proving to be a pain in the behind ;( Bleh. good to know im not alone, and at the same time I truly wish I was the only one

[Mark Stebbeds]

With home construction is a hard to find good contractors. But as Perry said never pay in advance. I alway work out a payment schedule and always hold 10 - 20 % in the end until I get final inspections & everything is done to satisfaction.

Good advice.

I'm getting ready to take the plunge myself. A very good friend and very succesful contractor (who lives too far away to do the jog) advised me to pay attention to referrals. Ask for referrences and follow up. As you said, the cheapest guy isn't always the best. Check with your local building department and get a list of licensed contractors from them as well. They will be familiar with local codes and inspection schedules, regualtions, etc. Codes and procedures are different everywhere, and mistakes can hold up the job.


Mark

[trock]

Mark

not only follo up with calls but go LOOK at what they built

the friends i have that are in the nightmare they are now got a "reputable" guy with good references and checked his stuff out personally. they all checked out, i think they got him just as he went from small time to big time.

all in the timing too, if they are slwo when you get them you will be their main focus, if they get you and then land a new development you may be in for a long ride

[mikebuzz]

Use a geberal contractor and ALWAYS hold retention money * usually 8-12 % ) until the job is complete , also make your contract TIME based = loss of time = loss of income .

It may be harder to find somebody but your work will get done right and on time !!!

I'm on my second custom home and have done a large commercial buiding as well .

My current house should be done at the end of this month and we started in dec. last year ( including 2 months of bad rain and 1 1/2 month of county holdups )

LAter
Buzz

Bob if possible ( probably not because of lawyers ) negotiating is faster :mad:

[jeromee]

Whatever you do, make sure to find out whether they plan on taking off for bear season. I went a couple of weeks without electricity because of that. Watch out for deer season also:D

[Bob L]

Its all playing out like a big game... with the Mortgage company holding my money and the Contractors in it together... we'll see what happens next.

There is no longer any chance for negotiations... my Mortgage company will no longer take my calls... hows that for quality customer service... funny how when you call and go thru the menu structure on the phone they talk about how your calls will be monitored for Quality customer service... :mad:

They have frozen my account... effectively shutting down all chances of me continuing construction with someone else...

It looks like its time for the lawyers to duke it out... there goes any chances of getting back in my house for a long long time... if ever... we'll see.

Although at this time... being forced in a corner... I will probably sue everyone I have talked to involving this situation... both at a company level and a personal level involving the employees who acted with no regard to my concerns.

If this goes forward... keep an eye on the news... it actually could get pretty messy... with lots of heads rolling from all parts of the construction industry in Vegas... if things go as I hope... this may turn into quite an investigation... if I'm lucky... we may make 60 mins. :)

Bob L

[SoundSuite]

g'luck Bob.

I think the proper lawyer statement is:
Sue them all, let the jury sort it out.

[trock]

WOW!

good luck Bob! you are taking on some big industry's there?? but if you can beat them that would be great!

score one for the little guy then :D

[Jay Q]

There is no longer any chance for negotiations... my Mortgage company will no longer take my calls... hows that for quality customer service... funny how when you call and go thru the menu structure on the phone they talk about how your calls will be monitored for Quality customer service... :mad:

They have frozen my account... effectively shutting down all chances of me continuing construction with someone else...OMG, Bob, what a nightmare! It's hard not to become cynical when you suffer some tragedy but encounter road blocks along the way to recovery. It's both sad and outrageous that some people take advantage of others' setbacks. How apt the word "vulture" is.

Unless you're harrassing the mortgage co., I don't see how they can justify not taking your calls. I hope your lawyers mop the floor with their lawyers. Glad that your insurance co. was cool, at least. If you manage to get any media coverage for your story, please let us know.

Jay

[Mark Stebbeds]

. my Mortgage company will no longer take my calls... hows that for quality customer service...

<snip>

They have frozen my account... effectively shutting down all chances of me continuing construction with someone else...

One of the smartest things I ever did was get my mortgage through my bank, and that was by accident. The bank had a very short term special offer of low rates and no points to attract mortgage business and I got lucky. When I re-fied, they negotiated with me. Having all of my accounts under one roof gives me some clout over there.


... I will probably sue everyone I have talked to involving this situation... both at a company level and a personal level involving the employees who acted with no regard to my concerns.

[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry if I've ever posted anything to upset you. ;) :) :)

mark

[Pedro Itriago]

I'm sorry if I've ever posted anything to upset you. ;) :) :)

mark

OR, you can get your overall with a tool belt on and get ready to answer a lawyer's call :p

[Mark Stebbeds]

OR, you can get your overall with a tool belt on and get ready to answer a lawyer's call :p

Sued for Defamation of DAW :)

Mark

[Cary B. Cornett]

It looks like its time for the lawyers to duke it out... there goes any chances of getting back in my house for a long long time... if ever... we'll see.

Although at this time... being forced in a corner... I will probably sue everyone I have talked to involving this situation... both at a company level and a personal level involving the employees who acted with no regard to my concerns.

Bob L

As a general rule, I am not a "sue thy neighbor" kind of guy (I think the lawsuit option is grossly abused in this country), but in this case I am ABSOLUTELY rooting for you to go after they guys "Hammer And Tongs" !!!!

I think that your situation is a classic case of what the lawsuit option was intended for. I would love to see this situation make the Big Media News, as the kind of stuff these companies are pulling should be exposed to the glaring light of day as publicly as possible!

[Bob L]

Well... my hopes are not really too high... unless I can find the right guy for the job... most lawyers I have had experience with seem to just get lost in quoting the laws and explaining everything us non-lawyers did wrong... instead of focusing on the guys who really did the wrong... but we'll see. :(

Bob L

[trock]

so if the house it at a standstill where have you set up shop??

[Bob L]

We are currently in a rental home... been here since the fire 7 months ago.

It was all supposed to be temoprary... but who knows now. :(

Bob L

[Jay Q]

I think the lawsuit option is grossly abused in this countryYa think?! ;)

Bob, maybe you've already tried, but some local tv news stations have some kind of consumer watchdog group. A couple of local stations here do frequent spots on consumers they've helped right wrongs. If you can't get a decent lawyer, try that option.

Jay

[Bob L]

I have that an some other ideas to get the word out to the public... but am holding off in case a lawyer says that will interfere with the case... but... if we don't happily settle on a lawyer we feel confident about, the news and internet will be our direction.

I'm hopeful the contractor will do the right thing in the meantime as we are still negotiating the details.

Bob L

[trock]

seriously Bob good luck, with what must be a constant and daily headache we are still very glad you can stop by and help us along the SAW way here. however if you needed to take some time off and get re grouped i for one would def understand.

whatever happens there in vegas during the day this is def a haven you can come and get away from it all :)

hopefully we don;t drive you too crazy :)