I feel like I got ripped off by a contractor that was given to me by a realtor

[Maraya1969]

who wants to sell my house. I also want to move but with Covid I have been severely limited in my movements and cannot even go to where I think I want to move ....... STILL. So the realtor told me to get this guy because "He cheap"

So I have have a small 3 bedroom. They removed all the popcorn ceilings and put down laminate floor, (cheep compared to the floor I have in the kitchen) in the living room and one bedroom. They also painted the ceilings and the walls on 1/2 the house, put in a new vanity in the bathroom and 2 faucets.

He asked me a few times after if I was ready to put it on the market. I can't. But I get the feeling that he was working with her somehow and was going to take a bit off of the sale of my house.

So now that it has been about 4 months he wants $9,171 for the work. I am still shocked that it cost this much. He originally spoke in terms of a few (I assume like 3) thousand.

I've paid him all but $2,700 and he is now texting me about that money.

Did I get ripped off???????

[luv2fly]

1. No written contract or estimate beforehand?

Every contractor I've worked with sends me an estimate and I have to sign and return it before any work is getting done. The contract spells out what the contractor has to do and what I have to do, as well as exactly how much it costs.

[Maraya1969]

8. I got nothing written. Only his notes and he'd show me. I stupidly trust him because

the realtor sent him to me.

The truth is I could just not pay it because he has nothing in writing saying he did anything here. But I want to be fair.

I just wrote to the realtor and told her. We'll see.

[luv2fly]

12. Good luck

Hopefully your realtor can intervene on your behalf.

[Luciferous]

2. Didn't you get things in writing? He can't just keep coming back and telling you that you owe more.

Also, hiring people to work on your house just because they are cheap doesn't seem like the best strategy. But yes that seems like an excessive amount for the work done.

[jimfields33]

3. Not if you agreed to that amount at the beginning.

I would check your paper work on the estimates you got from the person. All that’s taken care of day one. You may have to relocate the papers to look it over since it was at least 4 months ago.

[Maraya1969]

9. I didn't agree to this. I was told it would cost about $3,000

[Luciferous]

21. Well according to you, you have already

paid twice that amount. I wouldn't keep giving him money.

[janterry]

4. Oh, no!

I can't say, but I sympathize. My first handy-person was recommended by the realtor (he was a pedophile. As in a real one! Like groomed the young boy, it lasted for years, was horrific).

My second handy-person kept coming late due to his depression (I sympathize - I suppose - but I hired him to work, not do tx with me).

Anyway, besides fodder for stories (there was a 3rd and 4th one......sigh), I do have one point that might help. Realtors loathe bad press about them. So, if he is in cahoots with her - intimating your dissatisfaction might put a bit of fear in her.

As for him? Well - how did the work compare with the estimates? This will guide you (I think).

[unblock]

5. depends on location.

i was once told that a good real estate investment was a cheap house in an expensive neighborhood, so that's what we did.

what they don't tell you is that contractors then charge an arm and a leg because you're surrounded by rich people who will pay whatever and are always upgrading. there's no shortage of lucrative work so they won't come down on pricing for small jobs for the rest of us.

where i live, the work you describe could easily cost twice what they're asking. which certainly sounds insane, but really my choice is pay, do it myself if i even can, or don't do it.

i used to watch those house flipping shows where they would buy a house for $30k, completely redo everything, from roof to kitchen to bathroom and so on, then sell it at a profit for $50k. the new roof alone would cost well over $20k around here. so the shows are useless from a practical perspective unless you happen to live in an area where contractors are willing to work for dirt cheap.


anyway, we always get 3 quotes and ask friends and neighbors for references so we know what market rates are.

also always get a quote up front.

[CrispyQ]

10. I've never seen one of those shows post a loss,

even when the flippers were total fuckups, with huge carrying costs, & many missed deadlines. Sure there was a time in some markets where you had to work to not turn a profit, but every show is profitable? Every single one? Not believable.

[CrispyQ]

6. I have a postage stamp sized bathroom & got an estimate of $8-10K for a total re-do.

I was stunned. I was thinking $5-6K.

[enough]

7. If all you have in the way of an agreement is

"He originally spoke in terms of a few (I assume like 3) thousand," it sounds as if you have no documentation or actual agreement on how much it was going to cost. It's hard to make a deal on the basis of an assumption. Was there an understanding of exactly how much work was going to be done?

[Warpy]

11. With nothing in writing, I'm afraid you owe it.

Work on your house always costs a lot more than you think it will and it pays to get written estimates. Even then, finding problems can cause those estimates to be revised upward, but get that in writing, also.

I can say that flooring and painting don't come cheap and getting rid of popcorn ceilings is always expensive, it's a miserable joib.

If you got taken, you din't get as badly taken as you might have. You will need to pay the guy's balance and chalk it up to living and learning. The only recourse you have is a lawsuit if the ceiling caves in, the plumbing leaks, the floor buckles, or the paint peels off the walls and you will have an uphill battle winning that.

[peacefreak2.0]

13. I would ask him for an itemized account.

You’re kind of screwed (sorry) because you didn’t have a contract, but he should be able to tell you how your money was spent.

[Dan]

16. I kind of think that it's going to be a two-way screw

No contract…. Sounds like a legal fight and your word is as good as his word.

[Fresh_Start]

14. My popcorn ceiling contained asbestos

so it had to be treated as a hazardous condition including disposal in a hazardous waste site.

[enough]

17. This could mean a legitimately high cost for the work. Handling and disposing of

asbestos has a high level of regulations and requirements. It’s not ordinary demo, disposal and cleanup.

[Fresh_Start]

19. agreed nt

nt

[Maraya1969]

20. Mine didn't. Just regular removal.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. Getting an estimate beforehand is, or should be,

a no-brainer.

Also, getting more than one estimate is usually suggested. Hiring someone without an estimate, only because he was supposed to be "cheap" . . . . Well, do I really have to say it?

I am sorry for you, but you may have little recourse. You could at least try to get him to give you a full accounting of his work at this point, that might help.

[Bayard]

18. Ask the realtor how much the work has added to the value of your house

Then, have a different realtor come in and appraise it without telling them anything about the remodel, except yes--it was recently done.

We had a contractor, that we had used previously, come in a few years ago to put in a new kitchen and bathroom. His original estimate was $15K. Granted, he did a few other things that weren't in that estimate, but he ended up wanting $30K. We didn't pay him the last $3K, simply because we didn't have it after paying for everything else (we had already bought new fridge, stove, DW, shower, etc.) He stopped by a couple times wanting money, and once when I ran into him in town. As it turns out, we ended up having to spend about that much to hire other contractors to fix things the first one did wrong. Right now, we need to have one come in to reinstall tile that fell off the bathroom wall.

[Tomconroy]

22. Since you're asking a legal question,

You might want to get advice from a lawyer before you make a decision.

[Kali]

23. how was the work?

sounds like a lot of work for three grand to me. demo 2 + ceilings (unclear if whole house or the same rooms that got floors), 2 floors installed, partial bathroom remodel, paint half interior? 9 or 10 K sounds about right.