[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house thing. When you go out and get a bid, and this is a controversial subject, I want to make sure that everything is written out. And if you have to pay for that, I'm okay with that. So hear me out. If you're hiring a contractor to come out and they're doing a kitchen remodel and they say, it's going to be an average one.

[00:00:23] Eric Goranson: So I'd say, let's say 70, 000 bucks. And I want to see every bit of that spelled out. Now, I just, I don't want to see new kitchen, this cabinets, this. 70, 000. I want to see a detailed estimate because I want to see the level of finishes that are broken down And that's where really this makes a big deal because if you go through When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know Well, we've got you coming This is around the house.

[00:00:53] Eric Goranson: Welcome to the round the house show This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. [00:01:00] Thanks for joining me today We've got a big jam Show here to be talking about and today I wanted to talk a little bit about how to hire And when to fire that contractor for 2020 before I get all the hate mail from the contractors out there I love you guys and there are Most contractors out there are really good people, but I'm talking about those ones that maybe you realized you hired the wrong one Maybe they're that Chuck in the truck that you should have never hired.

[00:01:27] Eric Goranson: That's not licensed bonded insured or whatever But I want to make sure that we get you the right one And if things are going sideways then how do you deal with that correctly? And of course the big one is legally. First off, if you've got a question or comment, make sure to reach out to us. You can give me a call here in the studio at 8 44.

[00:01:50] Eric Goranson: That number again is 8 3 3 2 3 9 4 1 4 4. Now, one little thing I've tried calling a few people back here that had left messages, make [00:02:00] sure your voicemail box is cleaned up so I can leave you a message. If I miss you. Because if you call here and I'm not in the studio or I'm not shooting television, I will call you back.

[00:02:09] Eric Goranson: But sometimes the last few people I've called, I have tried to get it back ahold of you. And I've had no luck because your voicemail box is full. So check that voicemail box and I will get my, do my best to get back ahold of you. And if you want to find out more about us, head over to around the house online.

[00:02:24] Eric Goranson: com for more information about the radio show, which is Two hours of radio that broadcasts out on the talk media network. Of course, the podcast, which cares out those as well, as well as you can see that we've got the, the midweek special that airs, and then of course my television show, which is around the house Northwest that airs one hour a week, 52 weeks a year over on Fox 12 plus in Portland, Oregon, and you can find that all over and around the house online.

[00:02:51] Eric Goranson: com. I wanted to talk about hiring the contractor and getting the right one. So the first thing is I want to talk about, and we've talked about this before, but [00:03:00] we're going to take a look at this at a different lens. We've had a bunch of people request this subject, and I just wanted to see if I could give you the comprehensive one time show with this, that really helps you.

[00:03:11] Eric Goranson: So first off, many people are like, Hey, I cannot do this project by myself. I don't have the time. I don't have the skill to do it, or I never learned the skill, nor do I want to. It's doing something that I hate doing, and I'm going to hire somebody to do it. And there's nothing wrong with that. But the first thing I want you to do is to figure out, okay, what is my scope of work?

[00:03:32] Eric Goranson: What do I need done? Is this a bathroom model, a kitchen remodel, a roof? Are they doing some drywall repairs in your house? What are they going to tackle and figuring out what you want to be done and how it fits into the grander project. Makes a lot of sense. So first, before you do this, if you've got, uh, if this is a phase one of a five or six part job, I really want to make sure that you're spending the time to figure out what those [00:04:00] steps are.

[00:04:00] Eric Goranson: So if you're going to be doing a kitchen remodel and you're going to rip that kitchen out, but the next one is the bathroom model upstairs. Are you sure? Maybe you want to make sure that you've got all the plumbing and stuff in there. Cause if you have to tear the ceiling out of the brand new kitchen that you just replaced, cause you put in all new ducting and lights and everything else, make sure that you're doing all the things when that place is torn up to get it ready for the rest of those projects.

[00:04:28] Eric Goranson: I want to make sure that you take the time. And do it because when the walls are open, if someone's going to have to run another circuit up to the bathroom to have a, a towel warmer, or maybe you're putting in a bidet toilet seat, or maybe just don't have enough outlets in that bathroom, that might be the time to run that power and get it up there or do any other plumbing changes that you might be doing.

[00:04:48] Eric Goranson: So think about that. Second of all, before you go out and call those contractors and have them come give you a bid. Okay. I want you to do your research. Now I want to figure out [00:05:00] who's the good contractors because there's a lot of them out there. And who are the ones you don't want on your project? And that can be a little tough.

[00:05:07] Eric Goranson: So here's the thing. There are places out there. Where basically you can sit there as a contractor or a bad contractor in by good reviews, or you can get yourself accredited. So those reviews never end up on their website. And I'm going to tell one here that, that I don't recommend. And it's because of a personal experience that I went through.

[00:05:31] Eric Goranson: So I had opened up in Seattle, my own kitchen, a bath company in Seattle, Washington. I had been in business about a year. Um, And I jumped on their site because somebody said, Hey, I'm not doing business with you. You have a C plus I'm like, we've never had a complaint. Why do we have a C plus? So I went over to the BBB website up in Seattle and went on there and said, wow, I have.

[00:05:52] Eric Goranson: No complaints. Everything's good, but I only had a C plus. So what do I do? I call up the BBB. Made that [00:06:00] phone call to them, and they said, If you want to pay me 750, now this was 15 years ago, then you'll be accredited and you'll have your A, and I'm like, okay, here comes the shakedown. I wasn't going to pay them to have an A over there when I've had no problems.

[00:06:15] Eric Goranson: And it's not like they, for that, when I talked to him, they weren't doing some background check or anything like that. They were just making sure you got all your information. And then they called you accredited. I went, no, not going to do it. And then all of a sudden I went to a D and I'm like, Oh, come on.

[00:06:31] Eric Goranson: So I called him up and said, Hey guys, I'm going to be talking about this on the radio coming up this weekend. You have an official comment. 10 minutes later, that D went And I went, I am not paying for this. So here's the thing. If I would have been a bad contractor or even a contractor at that point, I was just a kitchen about design firm.

[00:06:52] Eric Goranson: You could have sat there and spent the money and had that. So it was an A. You could have spent the money and been good. [00:07:00] So I don't like in a lot of these even contractor referrals have ways because I have literally been there at a job site. Standing there talking to a contractor and he gets a phone call from his lead referral site.

[00:07:14] Eric Goranson: And there's a lot of those where you jump on this brand, you hire a contractor, and then they get ahold of you. Those are those lead referral sites. I'm not a huge fan of those because again, those are ones that they want to make money by selling the lead. But if you have a bad review with those guys, Some of them, and I heard one of them do it because I was standing right there on speaker.

[00:07:34] Eric Goranson: He had to give him his credit card number so they could wipe that one and hide that review in the back. So they were going to bury that where it was hard to find. And, uh, they were only going to be basically he could buy that review to go away. And so that's what he did. And these are things that happen out there, which is unfortunate, but it's just what goes on out there.

[00:07:55] Eric Goranson: So I want to make sure you do your research. So one, talk to friends and family who [00:08:00] around you has had a good experience to the big one here is make sure they're licensed, bonded and insured. And don't just take their word for it. Get onto your stage or local, whoever manages that for and make sure and figure out if they are licensed, bonded, insured.

[00:08:17] Eric Goranson: Call the insurance company, call the bond company and see what it is. Make sure you've got those and then do your research online. See who's out there. See what, what websites are out there and start doing your research and then talk to some referrals. See if they have somebody. That we'll say, Hey, I just did a project with them and it went beautifully.

[00:08:36] Eric Goranson: It went flawlessly. And of course, then take a look at the online reviews. The online reviews are just a small part of it. There are companies out there that have dozens of great online reviews. There are some out there that only publish the good ones. But when you look at them, if you start to see like Google reviews and that kind of stuff, those are really hard for people to push off.

[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: So take a look at that and just remember when you're [00:09:00] doing this, that no matter what people that leave bad reviews are more likely to leave bad reviews. The good ones don't usually go on there and say it. If you still see a couple of bad reviews, don't let that not. Talking to doing business with them.

[00:09:13] Eric Goranson: Cause even the best contractors will have a bad review or two where somebody was trying to hold it hostage. And that is something I want to talk about when we come back. This is something that I've noticed with today's online businesses out there that people will go, Oh, I still owe you two grand. I'll pay the two grand, but I'll leave you a good review.

[00:09:31] Eric Goranson: Or I'll pay a thousand. So you see this shakedown occur with the bad reviews. I'm going to, if you don't reduce that bill, I'm going to leave you a bad review. I've seen it. I've heard it. I've watched people do it. So these are things that I want you to be very careful. Now we come back. We're going to talk a little bit more about that.

[00:09:47] Eric Goranson: And then what to look for in bids and contracts. We'll do that just as soon as around the house returns.[00:10:00]

[00:10:10] Eric Goranson: To the around the house show. This is where we help you get The most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. If you want to get ahold of me with your home improvement question, I am here to help you. That number is 8 That number again is 833 239 4144. I'd love to help you with those questions.

[00:10:31] Eric Goranson: And if you want more information about me, head over to AroundTheHouseOnline. com. Now, I tell you what, we've been talking here about hiring the right contractor and of course, how to fire them if you hired the wrong one. In the last segment here, we were talking about just one of the ways to, or a few of the ways actually to figure out how to get the right person for that job.

[00:10:52] Eric Goranson: And we talked about certain ways to do that. And I think just in a nutshell, if I was going to put my arms around this whole subject [00:11:00] is I want to see you get two or three bids from people out there that are truly capable of doing the work. And we've all seen horror stories. We've all had those horror stories, From a friend or family or someone else.

[00:11:13] Eric Goranson: It's just like the sledgehammer contractor and my friend Amber. I mean, she in Colorado, that, that story got national detention because horrible contractor, horrible work did the job incorrectly. It looked like an eight year old did the tile in my opinion. And when she said, Whoa, stop, I'm done here. And he was trying to shake her down for even more money, even though it wasn't due yet, he came over with a sledgehammer, went in the house, even though he was told not to and busted the bathroom up swinging the sledgehammer.

[00:11:48] Eric Goranson: And you can go back into our archive on the podcast and hear that. Cause we hear it from her a couple of times in there. But yeah, he was convicted and him and his wife both had to do community service. And I think [00:12:00] one or both of them had to do a jail time. So I think he might've had to do some jail time because it wasn't the first time he'd had a run in with the law over bad contracting.

[00:12:09] Eric Goranson: So these are things that the horror story of things going badly. And of course he probably left the state and who knows could be in your backyard. Trying to do the same thing to somebody else. So that is just something to be very careful with. So here's the thing. When you go out and get a bid. And this is a controversial subject.

[00:12:27] Eric Goranson: I want to make sure that everything is written out. And if you have to pay for that, I'm okay with that. So hear me out. If you're hiring a contractor to come out and they're doing a kitchen remodel and they say, it's going to be an average one. So I'd say, let's say 70, 000 bucks. And I want to see every bit of that spelled out.

[00:12:48] Eric Goranson: Now, I just, I don't want to see new kitchen, this cabinets, this 70, 000. I want to see a detailed estimate. Because I want to see the level of finishes that are broken [00:13:00] down. And that's where really this makes a big deal. Because if you go through and get this hammered out, I want you to know that, Oh, okay.

[00:13:08] Eric Goranson: He's budgeted. She's budgeted 7 a knob, maybe for the knobs and handles. You were looking at stuff that was 25 a knob. All of a sudden now when the project gets going. Oh, we've got a, we've got an upgrade on something that you thought was standard. So this is where those detailed estimates are. Now for a kitchen remodel, it can take a contractor a day or two of time to put that all together, sitting in their office, hammered out.

[00:13:35] Eric Goranson: And I don't by any means think that that should be free. I think if they're working for you, They deserve to get paid. If they're going to come in and say, Hey, this is going to be 70, 000. If you would like, I'm going to charge you 300 bucks or 500 bucks. But if you go with me, then I will refund that off the total price of the package because they've already done that work for you.

[00:13:59] Eric Goranson: So I think that's more [00:14:00] than fair to spend a few hundred bucks to get that detailed estimate. So then you can look through it and go, okay, Hey, they only had 2 a square foot for tile. That's a problem because the stuff I want is. That's how you find out who's got your project down and who doesn't. Now, many times, in my opinion, the ones that won't do that are just winging it.

[00:14:21] Eric Goranson: And these are the ones that you want that are winging it to, to, you want to weed those out because you want somebody that has gone and done this a bunch of times and is not just going to be winging it for your next project. So a contractor that can put together an honest written bid has a better chance of starting and finishing that project because many times when contractors, just like anybody, when they get in over their head, because maybe that's the biggest project they've tackled or even worse, they don't know what they're doing and they've given you a number that was so much cheaper than everybody else.

[00:14:58] Eric Goranson: Most of the time, in [00:15:00] my opinion, that is one of those things that they have not accounted for all the job costs. They didn't put in that you needed to have three new circuits for electrical for the kitchen because the lights and the outlets were on the same one and there wasn't GFCI. And oh, wait, that panel's got a problem because you can't put those circuits into it.

[00:15:18] Eric Goranson: These are where these things come up where they come back and go, Oh yeah, that 40, 000 bid is now 70. So these are the places for you that are the, the, the, this is kind of the test really to make sure that you get them on the project and you find the right contractor. Now, one other thing, if you're working through this process of bidding, this is the honeymoon period with this and the contractor.

[00:15:42] Eric Goranson: So I want you to understand that if you're having a tough go here, don't do it. Okay. Because this is the honeymoon period when stress is on the line, schedules are on the line, money's on the line. If you're not getting together now and working well together, [00:16:00] you're not going to probably work well later.

[00:16:02] Eric Goranson: So if there is a personality conflict here, now's the time to find somebody that you're going to work better with. Now, I will say there are plenty of people out there and I say homeowners that are Very difficult to work with. And if you're one of those people, you need to figure that out sooner than later.

[00:16:21] Eric Goranson: Now we will also see a problem where you as a homeowner trying to find that contractor and you want to do some of their work yourself, or you're going to have a buddy come over and do some of the work themselves as well. And don't be shocked if your good contractors go. Yeah, sorry, man. We're not going to do that because if there is somebody else working on their job site They're managing that they're running This can be a massive legal issue for them and I had a buddy who was a contractor up in Seattle And I watched him get burned on this He had a homeowner that had hired a temp person to come in now I don't know if they'd hired him off of [00:17:00] online or Facebook or picked him out in front of Home Depot, whatever but I They came down and asked the contractor who was doing a basement remodel at the time and said, Hey, where can I put that trash in that project I was working and the contractor goes, oh, I'll just throw the dumpster.

[00:17:11] Eric Goranson: It'll be fine. I'll we'll take care of it legally. He just gave that that person direction, thus making him an employee. So when the guy got hurt an hour later, this contractor who hadn't hired this guy, had never met him before. That moment, was now giving him direction. He got hurt and now his. Insurance got hit for that guy being a worker, even though he wasn't.

[00:17:35] Eric Goranson: So many times contractors do not want to take that person that's not their employee, that's not on their project and take responsibility for them. Cause it could cost them thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. So these are things you need to be very careful with. Do not overlap two projects on each other where you've got two competing trades, contract, anything else.

[00:17:57] Eric Goranson: Just wait to have that person do it at [00:18:00] another time because legally for that person, it could be really big and I don't want to see anybody in trouble. So those are things. With contractors, if they say, nope, I can't do it. Sometimes if you're going to do demo or something like that, I have seen contractors got, I don't want to deal with it because for that reason, there could be damaged, you could have over demoed, you could have caused other issues and with lead and asbestos rules as well.

[00:18:24] Eric Goranson: That could be a whole other mess. We'll talk about that just as soon as around the house returns.[00:19:00]

[00:19:02] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information education. Thanks for joining me today. We've been talking about how to hire. And at the end here, we're going to talk about how you fire. That contractor, if you can, it's all depending about your contract and what you have worked out.

[00:19:19] Eric Goranson: And we'll talk about that in just a few minutes. But before we get into that, if you want to give us a call 24 seven, you can leave us a message and I will call you back. If you want to be a part of the show, or you've got that home improvement question, that number is 8 3 9 41 44. That number again is 8 3 3.

[00:19:38] Eric Goranson: 4144. And if you want to find out more about us, head over to around the house, online. com. I wanted to talk about this segment here, about really talking about the research on referrals and reviews. And we talked a little bit about it, but. Again, I just want to help you find the right contractor, [00:20:00] which you're looking for.

[00:20:01] Eric Goranson: So some of the worst places to look for is on Craigslist and next door. Now you will get sometimes very good referrals from next door. But the problem we've had here with next door in my area in Oregon, because we have the Oregon CCB, which is the construction contractors board. Now that first is a great resource.

[00:20:23] Eric Goranson: If you're in my home state, and that is something that I would recommend calling your state or local. Licensing agency for contractors, because here's what happens for instance here in Oregon. If I'm sitting here giving a call to them I will call up and say hey i'm looking for i'll make up a name abc construction And if i'm calling up looking for abc construction And they will tell me what's going on.

[00:20:49] Eric Goranson: They have the ability there to say, okay, they've been in business for 32 years. They've had three complaints and they've had one time. They forgot to pay their insurance. And I'm just making stuff up here. This [00:21:00] is not a real construction company, but that is what they will say. And then they will also, which I like say on that many years of business, having a few complaints.

[00:21:10] Eric Goranson: It's not something that is uncommon. There are a lot of people out there that will file a complaint just because they're trying to get their way. And that is the one bad part is that we used to be able to really work things out between people. And nowadays it seems that people really love to rush to the Google reviews, the Yelps or a state licensing agency when they want to nail somebody, when they're not getting their way.

[00:21:34] Eric Goranson: Now, there are a ton of legitimate claims against bad contractors. But there's just as many unlegitimate claims by people that are wanting to pay back because they're not getting their way. And that is unfortunate, but that's just the world we live in today. So lean on your organization that is your state licensing.

[00:21:52] Eric Goranson: And here's the thing. Every place is different in the state of Oregon. It's a state run thing. You get into other places [00:22:00] and it is a township or a S or a city or a County. So every state is a little bit different. And. There are some states that are just a freaking wild, wild West where there is not much, if anything, for a licensing board that manages who can have a contractor's license and who can't.

[00:22:19] Eric Goranson: And so that's the bad part. And that's. That license is there to protect them and their workers. And it's there to protect you as a consumer, because here's what happens. And this is, this is something, and I don't want to get off way too in the weeds on this, but let's say you hire somebody to come work on your house and they get hurt.

[00:22:37] Eric Goranson: Maybe they have a table saw accident out in your backyard as they're building your deck, if they are not covered by insurance. And you just hired some Chuck in the truck. That guy can turn around and go, Hey, Mr. Homeowner, Mrs. Homeowner, you are in trouble because you're, I'm your employee. You're my employer.

[00:22:56] Eric Goranson: You now have to pay for my whatever I lost. Maybe it's a [00:23:00] finger, maybe it's work. Maybe it's a life you are now personally responsible for that. So you want to make sure that you're hiring somebody licensed, bonded, insured, and on top of that. Make sure that you know that if they have employees that they're carrying the right workers compensation insurance and following whatever is going on there.

[00:23:20] Eric Goranson: And this is where calling that lease licensing agency will help you as a consumer, understanding what forms they have to give you as part of a contract. Because here in my state, there's like lead, there's Lead rules. There's all these different things that these contractors have to follow. And they have to give you that information, like the right to lean.

[00:23:41] Eric Goranson: If you don't pay your bill and you skip out on it, they have a right to put that lean on your house. And that is a normal thing, but there's also a lean release. And so what happens is, is let's say you're doing a kitchen remodel. And that contractor is buying for the cabinets and they, [00:24:00] they, they finance it within their pay.

[00:24:02] Eric Goranson: I'll pay you 30 days after it's delivered. They've got a financing plan where they're basically they're billing them and they're invoicing. And it's not even really financing. They're just, it's a net 30 that they're getting paid on after delivery, which is not uncommon for some remodelers. And especially with lumber yards, they've got their own structure there.

[00:24:21] Eric Goranson: So what happens is, is you as a homeowner. You order cabinets and all of a sudden you get the intent to lean form that shows up that they in reminding you that this lumber company has a right to put a lien on your house and then a homeowner will lose their cool and call up and go, what am I? Why am I getting leaned?

[00:24:36] Eric Goranson: No, they have the right to do a lien. But then as soon as that contractor pays the bill, They will send out a lien release saying we have released that lien because we've been paid in full. And so this is something to pay attention to as a homeowner, because if they're out there doing this net 30 thing, the thing you don't want to happen is that I want, I want to make sure that you're, you're paying that [00:25:00] contractor for materials.

[00:25:01] Eric Goranson: When you pay them, I want to make sure that that lien has been released and make sure that all those liens are done. So when the project's done, everybody's squared up. So I know there's a lot to this, but I just want to make sure that you are protecting yourself from somebody that's maybe not running their bills correctly.

[00:25:19] Eric Goranson: And this happens, especially. Right now, when we're in these more troubled economic times, this is where some people get over her head. And, and I want to talk about that for a second before we talk about how to fire and do that. A contractor, sometimes these are honest mistakes. Sometimes that contractor comes in and maybe they're new.

[00:25:41] Eric Goranson: Maybe they miscalculated. Maybe they just are learning on your job and they didn't know what they're doing. And it was just, they got in way over their head. So maybe they misquoted this job by thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. I don't know. It could be a massive project. [00:26:00] And so what happens is, is many of the guys that have done this in the past, they were not job costing their jobs.

[00:26:07] Eric Goranson: So What I recommend to builders and remodelers out there is when you're done with the project, go back and see actually what you made on that project. What was your labor? What were your materials? How much did you actually make? So you can learn this for the people that don't do that. What happens is, is All of a sudden they're like, wow, I thought I had money coming in, but my bank account is empty because I just paid last week's bills and your project is stalled, but they have to get more work done to make sure that your project gets paid for.

[00:26:39] Eric Goranson: And so what happens is, is when these things happen, this is when contractors really figure out That they are caught in a hard place. And so sometimes they will order materials for another job. They'll call it that, but it's coming to your project. And so that's when things start going a little bit sideways.

[00:26:57] Eric Goranson: And I want, just want to make sure that you understand that, that [00:27:00] that is something that happens when contractors get upside down on projects. And it's not right. Cause you might be paying for materials for somebody else. You just hope that if they are doing that juggle, that they now have that stuff Played out and they go.

[00:27:14] Eric Goranson: Okay. Wow. Okay, we're good We got a straight doubt and they got you taken care of because I've seen this happen more times than not and then what happens is that is the beginning of a death spiral of their books not being right and Hopefully they can get your project finished So just I want you to understand the tricks and the tips and this kind of stuff of what can happen when a contract Contractor goes sideways on this kind of project.

[00:27:40] Eric Goranson: So that is something that I just want you to pay attention to. And like I said, if you're looking to hire that contractor, if you can find somebody that's a good referral from a friend, that's something. If you find somebody out there, they've got really good Google reviews. They've got some decent reviews online and they're licensed, bonded, [00:28:00] insured, maybe take a look, have a discussion with them.

[00:28:02] Eric Goranson: See if there's somebody you can get along with, and that might be something interesting. Yeah. And then just make sure that they've got their, do some research on them. Make sure they don't have a bunch of lawsuits. Make sure great example in the Seattle area. I know of one up there. That's a big name.

[00:28:17] Eric Goranson: There's a dozen lawsuits against these people. And if you go back and take a look at their old, their old Google reviews that they've tried to wash out and take a look, they've hired some reputation management companies to try to bury those with, with good reviews. And I wouldn't hire this company. But you know something, they're still out there doing business because enough people have not done the research.

[00:28:40] Eric Goranson: And we'll talk about that just as soon as around the house returns.[00:29:00]

[00:29:04] Eric Goranson: To the around that show. This is where we hope to get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. Another note where I wanted to give you out. I will be next week at the national hardware show. So I'm going to be heading out there to Las Vegas and I'll be there helping host and do some show recordings out there, got some new products and stuff.

[00:29:24] Eric Goranson: We'll be talking about, and we'll be sprinkling those in here. Not as much as what we did here in Las Vegas for the builder show, but we're going to be talking to some new people about some new products out there that I can't wait to discuss. So that's going to be a lot of fun coming up. You might, might have a limited access for a little bit, but you'll see the social media flying.

[00:29:42] Eric Goranson: As I'm out there, take a look, the latest stuff that you'll see in the hardware stores next year. And there's a lot of great stuff that is coming out. Now, I wanted to talk here, this segment about how to let go of a contractor legally. If you have [00:30:00] those a reconcilable differences and you are both wanting to get out of this and start over with somebody else, this is a conversation that you're going to have to have with them.

[00:30:12] Eric Goranson: And this is a tough one. So first off, before you do anything, I always recommend that you evaluate the circumstances and take a look at yourself and say, Am I being unreasonable for this situation? And sometimes that's the case. Sometimes you as the homeowner are expecting things. And here's where you have to lean back first on the contract itself.

[00:30:39] Eric Goranson: What are the terms of the contract? Are they fulfilling the contract? Are they doing good work? And what is their right to repair? In your area, because sometimes as bad as you want to fire that contractor, it could be too expensive to sit [00:31:00] there and have them go in the middle of your project. Because your contract is not written in a way that you can terminate that contract correctly.

[00:31:09] Eric Goranson: So let's put it as this. If you're going through and if your state says, Hey, if you're in the middle of the project, you have to give them the right to repair that they have to be able to be given a chance to make good on what they're supposed to be doing. So what can happen is, and I've seen this happen in some areas, right?

[00:31:30] Eric Goranson: Where you're like, I'm done. They're out of here. And you did not give them the proper notice, the proper attempt to fix it and rectify the situation. And sometimes you can be penalized for this, for breaking the contract. So these are things I want you to fully understand what's going on. And my strong recommendation is if you're thinking about getting rid of that [00:32:00] contractor, I would reach out to two different people and have some conversations before you do this.

[00:32:06] Eric Goranson: I would talk to a construction dispute resolution company and maybe talk to a construction defect attorney in your area. That understands your local laws so you can understand where it's going and what has to happen now many times This is a personality conflict at this point and there's ways to maybe work that out and fix it Sometimes you have somebody in the relationship, which is going to be Somebody that's a decision maker that's I cannot see this person ever again And that can be troublesome because sometimes you're in a contract and there's not a great way to get out of it You Without you potentially being liable.

[00:32:48] Eric Goranson: So you need to make sure that you're following the law, your, your area and the contract itself, these are things I want you to figure out before you even sign the contract, [00:33:00] what does it take to get out of it down the road? Now, you shouldn't be able to just get out of it easily because you want them to be able to work on the project, start to finish and get things done.

[00:33:10] Eric Goranson: But my concern for you is, okay, what is wrong? How do you fix it? Because here's the problem. If you are halfway through a project and you fire that contractor many times, if you go hire a new contractor to come in, they might charge you what it would cost. To do it because you've already got a tainted job site.

[00:33:34] Eric Goranson: You've already got somebody else working on it. You now have a contractor coming in that could be assuming the liability of the other contractor because they, at the end of the day, have to warranty the work. So they might have to come in and reinstall things like take the windows out and put them back in because they weren't done right.

[00:33:55] Eric Goranson: Maybe take cabinets off the wall. Whatever is going on, they might have to come [00:34:00] in and remedy that situation. It's never going to be less. So these are things that I really want you to think about at that point. Okay. If we have to get rid of this. Then what's it going to cost? It will always cost you more.

[00:34:14] Eric Goranson: And that's where you have to be careful with. Like I have dealt with a bunch of different people over the years here, helping them with situation with contractors that came in it just quite frankly, these were those few unlucky people that hired the wrong people. And got scammed and then the worst one I saw was this last year that i've seen in probably 20 plus years And that was because this guy decided to save money nice enough gentleman trying to help out his parents and He actually went and hired somebody that wasn't licensed bonded insured They clearly might have been a contra painting contractor at some point but had no business doing a kitsch remodel And then when I went and did a walk through on it You Guess what?

[00:34:59] Eric Goranson: [00:35:00] Everything had to be redone. None of the, nothing was pulled, no permits were pulled, nothing was done correctly. They had even run an electrical line for a 110 outlet for a double oven. Wasn't going to happen. So this thing, the contractor tried to build their own cabins, the tile job was horrible. It was literally a project that Just there was no fixing this without starting over.

[00:35:27] Eric Goranson: And the bad part is they'd already paid a hundred and something thousand dollars on this interior exterior model, and they were out the money and the materials. It was all going to have to get torn off, go in the dumpster. The deck was going to kill someone. It was just rough. And the bad part is, is when I went and tried to help them, I could see that they were going to be making the exact same mistakes again to put them in the situation that they were in.

[00:35:54] Eric Goranson: Because I had said, Hey, why don't you call, here's two reputable contractors, have them come out, give a [00:36:00] look at it. And unfortunately it was more than what they wanted to do money wise. So unfortunately, this is one of those things that they went out and made the same mistake again. And I just said, I can't be involved in this process because I could clearly see that it was going to happen all over again.

[00:36:20] Eric Goranson: And I just had to walk away and not try to help them anymore because they couldn't help themselves. And I want to make sure that you don't end up in that situation is one of our friends of around the house. So just make sure that you're making the good decisions. This is something that's a little scary.

[00:36:36] Eric Goranson: This is where you want to bring in the right professionals for the project. If you're doing a kitchen, a bath design, who is the designer on this? Is the designer working for you? Are they working for the contractor? So these are all things that I want you to figure out. Now, one last bit before we go out to break here and call this a segment, I want to make sure that you understand the difference between you [00:37:00] buying the materials and having the contractor install them.

[00:37:03] Eric Goranson: And having the contractor by the materials and mark them up and install them. And so this is an important one right here. What I recommend is that you have your contractor by the materials, mark them up and install them because that contractor is going to get a discount, a contractor's discount. In most cases.

[00:37:21] Eric Goranson: They are going to mark it back up again for them to handle it. But in many states or cities or townships or counties, they are now covering that under warranty. So if your contractor sends out his electrician to put a bunch of her electrician to send people out there to install all these lights, parts are missing, guess what?

[00:37:42] Eric Goranson: That's their problem. And they get to go out and figure it out. And somebody's eating that. Now, if you bought the materials and they showed up incorrect, you're paying by the hour for that electrician to sit there and wait for you to go track down those materials, get the new [00:38:00] parts, and that could cost you a lot.

[00:38:02] Eric Goranson: So trying to save 10 percent by, Oh, I'm going to do this. Unless you're working from home and you have the ability to jump in your vehicle really quick and go chase stuff down. It's not going to work out on your benefit. So I strongly recommend, and it's not warrantied in many cases, if you bought the materials and they're installing it.

[00:38:21] Eric Goranson: So I would much rather have that contractor purchase it, mark it up. So you're covered under whatever your warranty period is and whatever your licensing warranty period is to make sure that you're safe that way. So if that's something that that can save you money, that's not the place to save it.

[00:38:40] Eric Goranson: Because I want to make sure that you have the warranty of that and you don't have to pay them to come out. If you bought a water heater and it turned up leaking down the road, you might have to pay them to come out and do it. If they bought it themselves, it's under the warranty and that's going to save you a ton of money, especially if there has to be a warranty claim about it.

[00:38:58] Eric Goranson: All right, guys, if you want to find [00:39:00] out more information about us here at around the house, head over to around the house online. com. If you've got questions or comments about this subject here, 8 is the phone number or around the house online. And you can email me here. At the show. All right, everybody have a great rest of the weekend.

[00:39:18] Eric Goranson: I'm enjoying this springtime weather out there. It is a great time to get outside. And I know across the country, we're starting to see that spring coming in and hopefully we're going to have a lot of fun this summer. Thanks for tuning in to around the house.