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Please follow my blog to andreagoldmanlaw.blogspot.com (link below).
A post from guest poster Robin Fisk:
This post is aimed at homeowners. When a homeowner starts a renovation project, he/she needs to be realistic about the scope and budget for the project. It is important to make two columns for a home improvement project: "wants" and "needs." The needs are the items that are not negotiable. Usually, they're the reason for the project in the first place. The rest of the plans should fall in the "wants" category. That means that the owner must be flexible and understand that there will be items that fall outside his price range.
As an attorney, I am often shocked by how quickly employees will turn on their employers when problems occur during home renovation projects. The employees are often as willing as subcontractors to "spill the beans" about a contractor's lack of attendance at the worksite, mismanagement of money, cutting corners, etc. At the NARI/BAGB event, employees had the chance to air their dissatisfaction with their employers in the workplace. So, here's a warning: listen to your employees. They are often the only people on the front line who can alert you if something is going wrong with a project, and protect your reputation. Advice to employers:
Andrea Goldman, Esq. was admitted to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1989. In addition, she is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association, and is a Co-Chair of the Middlesex County committee. Ms. Goldman received her A.B. from Brown University in 1982, and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1989.
I attended a joint event sponsored by NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) and BAGB (Builders Association of Greater Boston) last week. They conducted roundtable discussions on a number of topics, but an issue that came up frequently was the importance of managing clients' expectations. For many homeowners, your job may be the first significant home improvement project that they have ever done. Homeowners often do not know what to expect, and become extremely nervous if things do not seem to be going according to plan. Given that unexpected delays do occur, unforeseen problems do arise, and general contractors are not always on the job every day, it is very important to keep clients apprised of what is happening during the renovation and warn them about projected delays and issues as they occur. I have seen contractors get themselves into trouble that could have easily been prevented by communicating with the homeowner.
Home contractors should be careful when drafting their contracts to make sure that they are in compliance with state law. If your particular state does not have a law governing home improvement contractors, a good example of a "proper" home improvement contract can be found at http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/sampcont.pdf. Other factors to consider are including provisions for mediation, arbitration and an allocation of attorneys' fees. It is important to spell out the quality of materials to be used and the allowance for those materials. For a contractor who works on a larger projects, it may be worthwhile to have a lawyer review your contract prior to presenting it to a homeowner. In Massachusetts, the failure to prepare a contract that is in compliance with the law can result in double or treble damages, attorney's fees and costs against the contractor. That is why it is wise to prevent problems and prepare good contracts from the beginning.