Home Contractor vs. Homeowner: Construction Law

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Construction Law

Home Contractor vs. Homeowner

Information about how to prevent and address construction disputes that is helpful to both lawyers and consumers.
By Andrea Goldman, Esq.

Post Frequency: 1.2/day

Last Entry: July 21, 2010 at 01:51:30

My New Website!

Posted on January 17, 2008
I am proud to announce my newly redesigned website! Please take a look at www.andreagoldmanlaw.com.

Top Ten Clauses to Have in Your Contract-The Homeowner

Posted on January 01, 2008
The interesting thing about the contract from the homeowner's viewpoint is that many of the same clauses that I listed yesterday are just as important for the homeowner. For example, #1 is exactly the same:1. ALL CHANGE ORDERS MUST BE IN WRITING AND INITIALED BY BOTH THE HOMEOWNER AND THE CONTRACTOR! Should I say it again? The change orders should spell out any change in the contract price and include information about whether the completion date will be affected...

Top Ten Clauses to Have in Your Contract-The Contractor

Posted on December 31, 2007
As a post for starting off the new year, I have been thinking about the most important clauses to have in home contractor contracts. So, in an attempt to add to the top ten lists that are generated at this time of year, here is my list for contractors:1...

Contractor Found Guilty of Criminal Charges-From the Metrowest News

Posted on December 20, 2007
Contractor sentenced to 3-5 years in prison By Norman Miller/Daily News staff GHS Wed Dec 19, 2007, 11:44 PM EST CAMBRIDGE - A Leominster contractor accused of bilking customers in Natick, Marlborough and Arlington out of thousands of dollars in unfinished work was sentenced to state prison yesterday...

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When Contractors Fail to Pay Subcontractors

Posted on November 28, 2007
In most home improvement contracts, the contractor serves as the general contractor (GC) and hires the subcontractors to do various aspects of the job. It is understood that it is the homeowner's duty to pay the contractor, and the GC then pays the subs...

Attorney's Fees and Construction Contracts

Posted on November 24, 2007
Many of my clients come to me with their claims and assume that the law will afford them their attorney's fees if they prevail in their case. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. The law does not provide you with attorney's fees unless there is a law that applies to your claim that gives you attorney's fees, or, they are provided for in the contract...

The Home Improvement Contractor License and the Construction Supervisor License

Posted on November 02, 2007
Both contractors and homeowners alike often do not realize that there is more than one type of licensing for contractors in Massachusetts. From the Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation (OCABR) website:A Home Improvement Registration certificate and a Construction Supervisor License are different...

CONSTRUCTION WARANTIES ? A TRAP FOR THE UNWARY

Posted on October 19, 2007
From guest poster Attorney Steven R. Striffler, who is a construction attorney with construction experience:?Attorney's fees for the review of a contract before it is signed are a fraction of the cost of their fees after the project has gone bad.?I received two calls last week on warranties, one from a contractor and the other a homeowner...

Servicemagic.com

Posted on September 29, 2007
I am not in the habit of endorsing contractors or contractor referral services, but I do like to make the public aware that they exist. I recently had a problem with a garbage disposal and contacted servicemagic.com. They responded with the names of three contractors in my area and I could read reviews of their services online...

Questions to Ask a Contractor's References

Posted on September 07, 2007
How many times have you been advised to check someone's references? How many times were those references less than glowing? References are only as valuable as the information they provide, so the burden is on the homeowner to ask good, specific questions that will let him know whether the proposed contractor is a good match...

Suing a Builder-Part II

Posted on September 02, 2007
I have written about suing a builder for new construction previously, but I would like to spell out in more detail the remedies that a homeowner (or even commercial construction for that matter) may have when a dispute arises.As I have now stated over and over, the place to start is with a good contract...

The Contractor and Unreasonable Delay

Posted on August 28, 2007
We have all heard how construction/renovation projects take longer than we think they will. How you're lucky if they're done by a certain date. How you should be thrilled if your contractor actually shows up. The question is, when is delay par for the course, and when does it rise to the level of unreasonable or become actionable (resulting in an actual claim against the contractor)?Of course, the place to start with all of this is the actual contract...

Think Before You Sue

Posted on August 23, 2007
For those who are wondering why I am posting so much this week, it is because I am away on vacation. I would like to take this opportunity to ask those of you who read my blog to ask questions and suggest future blog posts.This post is not directly about contractor or homeowner issues, but I have been thinking lately about the stress of dealing with a lawsuit...

Home Contractor Claims - to Litigate or to Arbitrate (From the Contractor's Point of View)?

Posted on August 22, 2007
Unless a contractor has a provision in his contract that entitles him to attorney's fees when pursuing a claim against a homeowner, at least in Massachusetts, the contractor will be forced to pay his attorney's fees whether he is choosing to arbitrate or litigate...

When to Get an Inspection Report

Posted on August 19, 2007
I have recently been thinking a great deal about when a homeowner should hire an independent expert to review the work that a contractor has done at his/her home. This usually arises when the quality of the work has come into question. The homeowner is concerned that some items may need to be re-done, and subsequent contractors may have alarmed the homeowner with sweeping statements about extensive repairs...

Home Contractor Claims - to Litigate or to Arbitrate?

Posted on August 19, 2007
Once the relationship between a home contractor and a homeowner has broken down, and a demand letter has been sent, a decision must be made about how to proceed if the dispute is not resolved. At this point most homeowners and contractors are fairly anxious...

The Endless Punch List

Posted on August 01, 2007
In Massachusetts, a homeowner does not have to make the final payment until the work is done to "the mutual satisfaction of the parties." What is a contractor supposed to do when the homeowner is never quite satisfied, or the punch list of items to be completed never seems to end?I have seen this situation occur with my contractor clients, where homeowners take advantage or have unrealistic expectations about when a project is complete...

Why is it important whether the builder/contractor is incorporated?

Posted on July 23, 2007
I was so pleased to read the question listed above as comment on a recent blog post. Please continue with questions, and I will be happy to answer them. There are a number of reasons to want to know whether a builder/contractor is incorporated.In general, the reason to incorporate a business is to protect one's individual assets from creditors...

How to Approach Your Home Contractor Problem

Posted on July 11, 2007
Today I was thinking about that fact that I approach most of my home contractor cases the same way, but the path that is followed after the initial steps will vary depending on a number of factors. It also occurred to me that I frequently send homeowners off with a homework assignment before I even meet with them, because they call me before being fully cognizant of their potential damages or without knowing what they want to do next...

Reddish v. Bowen-Contractors Beware!

Posted on June 18, 2007
I have promised to post about some important home contractor cases in Massachusetts, and the Reddish case was decided in June 2006. In Reddish, the contractor installed a pool and violated a six-foot side lot setback requirement contained in a local zoning by-law...

Residential Building and Landscaping: High Hazard Industries

Posted on June 17, 2007
Another post by Jerry Soloman, OSHA attorney:Industries are recognized and treated by OSHA as ?High Hazard? if their injury rates per 100 workers are higher than the norm. Residential construction and Landscaping are among the industries with the worst injury rates...

Home Contractor Problems-What to Do Before You Call a Lawyer

Posted on May 29, 2007
Today I was speaking with a potential new client, and it occurred to me that many homeowners have no idea what to do when they have problems with a contractor. They feel helpless as the contractor has control over what is happening to their home, and they do not know how to deal with the situation when a contractor is doing poor quality work...

Landscape Design and Construction - How to Work with a Design Professional

Posted on May 29, 2007
Here is a guest post from Michael Radner, Landscape Architect:There are many reasons to improve the landscape around us. Many studies have determined that shoppers spend more time and money in stores shaded by street trees. Property values of single family or multi-family homes are as much as 15% higher when they are set in well-designed, well-maintained landscapes...

Suing a Builder in Massachusetts

Posted on May 12, 2007
Most of the posts from the homeowner side in this blog involve renovations or additions. As such most of these disputes involve contractors who are covered by the Home Improvement Contractor Law, or M.G.L. (Massachusetts General Laws) c. 142A. What should a homeowner do, however, if he or she is involved in a dispute with a builder?As I have said so many times before, a good contract should actually prevent disputes and spell out the procedure for dealing with problems before they arise...

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