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amylynne · Sep 5, 2007, 10:05 PM

My husband & I are contracting our home out to be built. We hired a framer whom was referred to us by the company President Homes out of Council Bluffs whom we are going through. We have had nothing but issues with the framer. We had to have them redo numerous things & now he is mad because we told the company whom referred him what we thought of him. We have not paid him his final payment yet & do not plan on it until our final framing inspection is done by the building permit board. He is trying to charge us for things that should have been in his original framing bid & we are disagreeing with this. We were considerate enough to pay him as he went along due to him having personal issues also, which in the long run has cost us daily interest on our construction loan also. Can we pay him his final bill which was on his original bill & get away with not paying him for the extra stuff not agreed upon. Can he put a lien on our loan or new home? We are going to consult a lawyer I think on the subject. Can we put a lien on his company also? We are not happy with the whole thing. He used our tools & equipment also which would have cost him a lot more to rent out if he would have to pay for that. Can we bill him for all of that? If so he owes us a lot more than we owe him. We helped him along just to get the job done finally.

ScottGem · Sep 6, 2007, 06:02 AM

He might be able to take out a mechanics lien against the house. I'm not sure, in the case of a mechanic's lien whether he would need a court order or not. However, if he does file such a lien, then you can fight it in court where he would have to justify the additional charges.

No, you can't place a lien against his business, you really have no grounds to. If his work proves shoddy and you have to have someone re do, then you can sue him for the costs of repairs.

excon · Sep 6, 2007, 10:14 AM

Hello amy:

Neither you nor he can go outside the boundaries of your written contract. That means he can't charge you for items not covered in your agreement, and you can't charge him for using your tools.

No, you can't put a lien on his company. Why? YOU owe money to HIM, not the other way around.

If you're not happy with his work, hire someone to correct it, and sue him for the difference.

excon

amylynne · Sep 6, 2007, 11:06 AM

Thanks everyone for your info! The contractor did withdrawl his extra bill when we threatened to settle it in a legal manner. We are now paying his final bill & am happy to be rid of him & his crew!!
Thanks Again everyone for your input!

rockinmommy · Sep 6, 2007, 02:59 PM

I used to live in Council Bluffs! I assume you mean Iowa - don't know of another one! ;)

There's a document that you should get him to sign - I think it's called a lien waiver, something like that. Ask your lender for some. You should get every contractor to sign them as they finish the work and get paid. They are acknowledging that they are paid in full, and if they were to attempt to go back and place a mechanic's lien on the property you have that signed document to prove that they admitted to being paid in full. On a couple of construction loans we've done the lender REQUIRED them.

Good luck.
Karla in TX