Doing a home reno in DFW Texas area.  

(Keeping the numbers rounded for ease of understanding.) Got a quote from the GC for 1st floor reno for 70k.  1/2 due at beginning. 1/2 due at end.  Paid 35k up front.  

Work commences. Demo - Done. Begin rebuild, .. mostly done.  All doors, baseboards, etc are IN the house, but not installed.  At the half way point, we get the sob story that he needs more $ to keep working. I'm a dumbass and gave him 10k then 8k.  We have paid for a lot of the things that are in the quote.  He agreed to that.

Basically, we only owe him 4K more.  And he stopped coming.

What kind of lawyer do I need to keep him from suing me? To make him go away and so I can get someone in to finish the house?

UPDATE: OMG! Everything is completed.  Some things weren't done that we need to iron out (In the form of a   The final punch list is done to an acceptable level.  

He wants paid.

I want to ensure he gives up his right to ever put a lien on my property.  Do I have him sign a CONDITIONAL or UNconditional waiver?

Do you have a contract/agreement or just a price quote?

@SirSqueeboo

agreement. Only thing it spells out is the price and what is work is included per room.

The contractor isn't going to come after you for more money.  He felt like he got paid enough, other work came up, and he walked away from your project.  In my humble experience, contractors are only good if you owe them a bunch of money - never pay more than 70% for a job until the fucking job is done.  I've experienced similar situations as you - paid the contractor close to 80% for a job that was 90% done, guess who didn't come back to do the last 10%?
When you figure that labor winds up being 60-70% of the job cost, it's easy to see why contractors walk away before the job is done.  They feel like they have made enough, and they want to move on to the next job that will have a big down payment.  To cover your ass, take pictures of the job as it stands today.  Finish the work yourself.  Finding someone to finish it for you is going to cost a lot more than the remaining amount of money in your original agreement.  The last 10% of many projects is a time consuming pain in the ass, but often easily done.

I made a spreadsheet.  It shows what I paid (That he agreed to), what he paid for (that was additional and not in quote).  

If we don't get ANYTHING back for what was not done from the original quote, we owe him $3k.   If we get stuff removed from the quote that wasn't done, we'd get $100 back.  Not to mention another month of rent he cost me.

I AM worried that one of his subs will.  The cabinet guy only got a down payment.  Cabinet guy told me, "Have you heard from your Gen Contractor? He's not returning my calls, and he only put down a tiny amount on these cabinets..."  (I have the cabinets, and now a cabinetmaker's gonna hunt down my GC to get his money).  Then he says,  "I might have to start removing cabinets..."  I said, "That's not going to happen, because you and the GC need to come to an agreement before you start thinking that way. "

I need to insulate myself from any liens, lawsuits, etc.  Do I just pay the GC 4K, and have him give me a letter that all work is done?  (And then go get someone else to finish things?)


Probably cheaper than getting a lawyer.

You also need to get releases from all subs.  They may be able to get a lien.

@trog57 how do you convince a sub to sign a release?

I'm not sure about residential projects, but for a commercial facility I was involved in we had lien waivers as a stipulation for each phase of the project.

pay him.  He has nothing to gain by signing off without payment.

Call the guy and ask him wtf.

You need to research mechanics lien laws in your area and go from there.
There is a deadline from the time the work it to completed as to when a lien is filed.
The sub can’t come back and remove cabinets, in GA that’s how it is anyways.
I’m hoping the Renovation involved a licensed general contractor.
I would send a demand letter to the GC , certified mail, requiring work to be resume in x days and be completed x+ And lien waivers from himself and the subs. Or you will taking this matter to both the state board.
Meanwhile reach out to the permit office and let them know what’s going on and they may help.
I’m sorry you are having to deal with a shitty contractor as they give the good ones such as myself a bad name.

Not to add insult to injury.
But never give a chunk down payment and get conditional waivers at each draw from GC and subs that are then changed to unconditional at the next draw.
My contracts when doing residential were 10% down then weekly draws based upon what was completed.
Anything special ordered is due up front

He thinks everything is done.  It isn't.  I'm fine telling him a FAIR amount for each thing not done that is listed in the contract, paying him the rest, and being done with him.  (The exterior door sills aren't installed, GFCIs in kitchen aren't correct, hardwood floor is scraped and has overspray in places, frameless shower door is not ordered/installed, etc)

He wants paid in full.  (Spoiler alert: Fuck that, until the contract is completed as written.)

Once we square up, I want to ensure he gives up his right to ever put a lien on my property.  Do I have him sign a CONDITIONAL or UNconditional waiver?

The requirement that subs provide unconditional lien waivers should have been in the contract you signed with your contractor, with language that states you pay when the subs are paid.  At this point you can ask, but you have no leverage.

Your GC asking for half up front was a huge red flag.

You get an unconditional on what has already been paid to the GC.
You get conditional waivers at each draw before writing a check with the previous conditional total being added into the unconditional column.
At this point the best thing will be to tell him you need an unconditional waiver for previous amounts paid from him and any subs used before writing the final check.  
Never say you disagree with what that final
Amount is.
Once you get your waivers , which is 50/50 at best , then negotiate on the final bill.

Typical bad contractor behavior and sorry you had to learn this lesson the hard way.

They will always try to “get ahead of you” on payments for work done and then they have the leverage and own your ass. I have had them walk off or just quit showing up when I refused to keep paying them.  Once they do that it is pretty much over. If you don’t have a written contract the best thing you can do is  get rid of the guy and buy him out. Negotiate with him for a final fee and insist that he bring releases from all suppliers and subs who have contributed to the project.  Meet at your Lawyers office or Bank and have his release signed and notarized.

Check with the courthouse and find out what permits are in place and what you need to do to finish the job. If you have good subs like plumbers, electricians etc working on your house many times they will continue to work with you. I just fired a GC this past year who tried this BS on me and finished the job as my on GC and hired and contracted the rest of the work myself.

The sooner you get rid of this guy the better off you will be. And most likely you will find out many of his subs don’t like the guy either.

One more thing, if any of your payments to him were made out to him personally and not his Company or LLC you may have An opportunity to sue him as an individual as he has compromised the protection of his LLC.

Generally it’s a conditional that becomes unconditional after x amount of days.

I don’t sign unconditional waivers until I’m fully paid and checks have cleared.
You need waivers from all the subs as well.

My subs had to sign a conditional waiver & send with their invoices..   our was worded so that the condition was satisfied when they got paid by us, then the waiver went into effect... no payment = paper doesn't mean anything

this protected us and them.  and initially, when the policy was implemented, required a lot of explanation to our subs, since most people don't understand the difference between full & unconditional.


've never signed or provided an unconditional waiver, it was always condition based on something, 99% of the time, getting paid.


If the cabinet guys get serious, they'll generally provide an intent to lien and should have a notice of furnishing on file signed by the GC..

they cannot remove materials from your home.  they only have a limited amount of time to file the lien, generally some 30/60/90 days of last provided materials or labor.

if they try to remove anything, tell them to get bent and follow up with the GC, call cops if they won't leave the doorstep.