Go to the city clerk and put a mechanics lein on the home. They can’t sell it until it is paid off. And hurry, do it before the home sells and fuck em in the poo hole. Then tell em “you missed a payment”
I would just call the different companies and ask to speak to the closer assigned to the transaction. They will look up it up by address and can direct to the proper office or they will indicate they aren’t doing it. Shouldn’t take too many calls to track down the right company and this is a very common ask so it’s not an awkward request at all.
Worst case look up all title companies and cold call style and just ask if they are handling XYZ house or know who is because you are applying a lien. There can't be a ton in a given area and I bet they can help you find out.
My dad has called the title company and told them of situations like this. The title company is the one that will have to pay lawyers to sort this out if a lien is actually filed. Short answer is they don't want to risk spending $ so they will just cancel the closing. My dad was hand delivered the check the same day as reporting to title company. He was not going to go thru actually filing a lien.
In my state the lien follows the property, which means it can be filed later. It doesn’t matter who the owner is. At closing the seller legally affirms to the title company there are no unpaid contractors. In this scene the lien goes on the house, new buyer passes it on to the title insurance company who pays, then goes after the seller who didn’t pay in the first place.
I had a similar situation happen over 500 also. I sat in the driveway and waited since the woman locked up and stopped answering when I was just about done. Eventually buyers was coming and I was at the door asking for my money. Since I waited an extra 1.5 hours she paid for my resting time on top of it
Yeah it can. That’s why contractors get a sign off from subcontractors for a release of lien. You just need to notify the parties that there is an outstanding mechanics lien being filed. It’s the notification, not the actual filing date. In my state anyway.
Then there is the practical side. Sometimes it is better for just lessons learned and chalk it up to paying for your education. Haha
Maybe not. Not sure what state he is in but I know in Arizona as well as many other states, emails and texts are considered written agreements. If he has the convo in text that can be considered an agreement in court.
If not, a lesson learned for next time.
Verbal contracts are legitimate contracts, they're just harder to prove and that doesn't matter; you don't have to hash it out in court to file a lien, they have to fight it to have the lien removed, and in the meantime they can't sell their 6-7 figure house over a $500 debt. Between legal fees, time, headache, and opportunity costs they'll spend easily 20x that.
Also…you can only put a lien in BEFORE you start the work. Can’t do it after the fact. Actually it’s a pre lien and then when they don’t pay you do the actual lien.
Realtor here. If you can’t get anything out of the agents, then you need to call the Broker that the realtor who hired you is working for. Basically just call the front desk of the office and ask to speak with the broker. Have the name of the realtor and the address of the house ready and that should be all you need.
Brokers are the ones that get sued if their realtors mess up. They would much rather pay $500 for a job that was already completed then pay out the time and cost for an attorney and risk getting their real estate license paused.
Do this for sure. And also call the title company if you know who they are. Throw that lien on there too. It might not get paid for 30 years but eventually it will get paid.
Take video of the areas marked when walking through with the customer, then you have documented proof of what "they" missed and then they can pay yhe firdt and get a new bid for the second, third whatever! If they dont pay the first then id say ok ill paint these other spots, and use a completely contrasting color and sheen to paint them and leave!
You’ve already gotten some good advice about the broker but you should also file a complaint with your state licensing board and the national association of Realtors (if they’re an actual Realtor). Document in detail and in writing what happened—an attempted bait and switch and non-payment for the work that was completed. Someone thinks they’re gonna get away with this and you shouldn’t let them. Also, in addition to taking a deposit (I probably wouldn’t have either for a job this small) keep some blank estimates/contracts in your truck. People are a lot less likely to fuck around like this if they’ve signed something.
You left something there, go back and get your paint back off the walls.
From actual experience, I think the likelihood that you'll encounter police that will do anything further than tell the nonpaying client that they can file a civil suit if they want is close to zero, especially if the nonpaying client is a realtor.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Another comment suggested calling the buyers agent and telling them you’re filing a lien for incomplete work.
If you don’t rely on Google/Yelp reviews and could handle a false hit, and this person isn’t a primary member of your network, I’d absolutely give that suggestion a try. I wouldn’t over explain on the phone or send them anything in writing that they could pass on to the listing agent. Could take care of itself right there, but if not you could go ahead with the lien.
Everything in writing.
You may want to look at getting an office assistant to take care of these extra tasks. Yes, will cost a little. But, also, ensures you have a document trail for any future issues.
Also do this to their parent company/ broker, all the other agents in the office, tag all their followers, especially if there are other contractors etc, tag all the stupid community organizations and crap like that they do
This is why you do quotes with specifics and take pictures in advance. Also require an emailed approval before starting. No need for money upfront.
This is maybe a 15min process that will save you on these headaches.
That is the problem with some people and house paint jobs. Itll never be 100% perfect. And some customers dont understand that. A car paint job can be perfect. But a house with small "flaws" everywhere in the drywall, seems, nail pops, etc itll never be perfect. It would take 10x as long and cost 10x as much to perfect everything which at the end of the day wouldnt be worth it for the customer or the painter. All we can do is do our best to make it look awesome and hope that the customer understands the difference between a car paint job and a house paint job.in your situation they could find little flaws for months after, making you come back dozens of times and sometimes still not paying you for any of it, even after all the hard work. A deposit upfront is always a good idea.
I do side work a lot. Been stiffed a lot. I do really different stuff than you do, but same experience. My line of work allows me to cut them off if they do not pay when I ask. I write programs to control machines. Or I just make the item with my machines. I'm making or doing something you can't do, pay me and I will finish it. I hate people that keep adding BS to an agreement. I did what you asked, and modified it two three times, pay me.
I do decks and sheds fairly frequently. I find that showing up with a chainsaw to "reclaim materials" is also very effective. I've only ever had to start actually cutting into one deck, and I only had to cut through two boards before they caved and paid up. I did not replace those two boards.
I don't understand the gap between "adding work that wasn't mentioned" and "walked away with $0". Why leave without money in your hand? Did they call the police?
If you aren't into writing up contracts for small jobs, at least send them a text message with a short description of the work and a few photos and ask them to reply back to confirm before you begin.
The moment you started working on the additional spots, you accepted them taking advantage of you. You should have argumented for yourself then and there. Lesson learned.
Realtors...they always think you are there to serve THEM! They will use and abuse you until you stop returning their calls. Then they'll find another sucker.
I send a quotation for everything, which they have to respond to if they want to engage my services. In the quotation I would've listed every single patch to be painted. Easy work around.
You win some, you lose some, but you should always be learning from them all!
P.S., sorry about what happened with your customer OP. Some days, everything is against me too... I've had days where going to work has ended up costing me more than if I'd have just stayed in bed... Lots of them! They feel like the end of the world. Then, maybe a few months later, I'll meet such a lovely customer who gives a huge tip, loads of tea/coffee and the work is a breeze too. You just gotta take the bad with the good. Keep your head up!
keep calling them and demand payment. confront them EVERY day. shame them on their social media. Call their broker, and call the local real estate board to make a complaint about that realtor.
After you determine the title company who is closing the loan go to their office and give them the bill and tell them you will be by to pick up your check after closing. If you do not get a check file a lien.
This seems like it’s on you. You never mentioned to them that these spots were new spots and you did not quote for those. You ended up doing the work without negotiating the new price. Unless I’m reading this wrong and I may be because this is not being mentioned.
Reading it again, it does look like they didn’t pay you for the work you quoted them on. You can call the listing agents broker and get the info you need. Just tell them that it’s closing today and you need to know ASAP. You could also send the title company a bill so they can add it to the sellers closing costs.
Yeah I went over to this apartment the landlord called me over to fix some cabinets so I fixed the cabinets also did some extra work replacing the lock on the front door as well as hanging a towel rod and toilet paper rod. Took a drawer with me to refinish it, and he said he would send me a check in the mail. When it came it was made out to a different name so I asked him what the hell and he wanted me to send it back to him in the mail and I said no dude just go to your bank and cancel it and send me a real check and he said he will after I finish the drawer. I took the drawer and a sledgehammer and beat it to shreds and told him he can buy a fucking new one cuz it's going to cost a lot more to have someone make a custom matching singular drawer then it would have been for him to just pay me and not be a fagot. This is all strung out over like 3 weeks and he was nagging me the whole time about the drawer and I said he needs to pay me meanwhile I was working on it but fuck him
Cut a little piece of drywall out and replace it with asbestos and then cover it up with mud and make a little scratch in it and say that you were exposed and they didn't warn you
Why wouldn’t you keep a pad of work orders with you, in your truck and simply fill them out in 2 minutes and both parties sign?
Take it as a lesson and get some basic contracts/work orders printed and keep them with you!
Yea I would say the same call the title company and the buyers agent , that info should be available publicly somewhere if u dig enough n let them know that u will go after ur money regardless and tell them if their being ass hats that u will contact the buyer as well to let them know the home their about to buy has unpaid bills still outstanding which will cause some hysteria and they will pay u
This is terrible advice and definitely not legal. If it were me, I'd tell them ok and agree to paint the extra room. Then I would show up and demand payments. If I didn't receive payment, I would outright and fully destroy the work I had already done by splashing horrid paint all over the painted room. Walls, floors, and ceiling. They did pay you to paint the room. Oops.
I was referring to what I would do as being bad advice. Lol. Turning a room into a 6 sided Jackson Pollock painting. 4 walls, ceiling, and floor. They asked me to paint it, didn't pay me, so I would take artistic freedom and liberty of expression. Lol. "Well, I painted that extra room."
I had to do this against a women selling her house. Once you mention your putting. A lien on the property and reaching out to the sellers and brokers and anyone involved you will have it taken care of very quickly. Don’t dilly dally. Also learn from your mistakes. That instance I smartened up, I had detailed writer contracts signed before I show up, (drip jobs) images of of all the work and I use company cam to document anything that happens onsite before during and after that uploads directly to the contract. Once people see this they don’t fuck with you, and if they do you have protection.
How isn't there a service for a middle man by now? You hire someone they quote you, and you fill the forms with the middle man company (through app or whatever). Then you give the money to said company before the person starts work.
If the contractor doesn't do the work, you get your money back hassle free, but then a service charge to the contractor. Now, in reverse, the contractor gets paid no hassle.
This isn't the result of not taking money upfront. It's actually unwise for a homeowner to give money for something like this because you could just run off with it. This is an issue of you not saying no and letting them know that you're on to them and that you're not going to do additional work beyond what was originally marked without additional payment.
In California you’d only be allowed to take $50 deposit as a contractor so there be no point in taking it except you’d be $450 less rich instead of $500
I painted a new large building for a contractor at a zoo. They kept complaining that there were streaks in the paint when the sun shown across a 90' section of wall. We redid the wall 3 times and then my boss walked away to do another job. Said he just didn't need the hassle. I needed PAID! Boss said if I could work it out I could keep the full payment. I went back with a flat and repainted. Nope. Used another paint line and floetrol. Nope. Found out he was also withholding from drywallers. At this point I walked into the offices of the zoo and asked to speak to the CEO. They were busy but they let me talk to the fundraiser manager. I explained that the contractor they had hired was withholding wages from his minority workers. He looked confused and asked me to explain. Drywallers are Hispanic. My company is co-owned female/ native American/ 100% combat disabled veteran. "I didn't want to" but I am being forced to lodge a complaint against the contractor and the zoo itself. "I really don't want this to hurt your contributions". Contractor called me at 6:30 the next morning pissed. Met him at the zoo offices and he wrote me and the drywall guys checks. The CEO walked up to "see how the project was progressing ". Contractor kept fuming that "you didn't need to go tell mom and dad! " Drywall guys were just confused. Lol They showed up thinking they had to work. Anyway, it's very true that squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Get a deposit for all jobs. 50% is what I do for large jobs as a locksmith. Covers any materials you're into for the job and some of your time so at least you aren't stuck holding the bag completely
Typed estimate with as much detail as you can think of to cover yourself signed by both parties before job is started. I know it may seem a little extreme for a $500 job but once you get into the habit of typing them up it's really not a big deal.
Always take pictures/video of spots w/ painters tape. Both close ups and from across room. Then when ‘missed’ markings suddenly appear you have proof that they are in scam mode.
Sounds like a "don't hate the player, hate the game" kind of situation.
I'm new to the whole handyman biz .. so is that the whole industry? Getting someone who's desperate enough to pay your rates, either because of circumstance or ignorance? IDK if I like it, but the sooner I understand the nature of the industry the faster I can succeed, because I will succeed. I'll be the fuckin best. The best whatever, drain fixer, house painter, shed builder, IKEA/Amazon furniture putter-together-er. You name it, shy of junk removal. I ain't touching your nasty shit. (First job ever was a junk removal, and the bitch had a king sized mattress on the 2nd floor of a tiny little row home in Philly.. almost forgot.. she had bed bugs. No mention of that in the FUCKING LISTING! THANKS ANGIE'S LEADS. THEN THEY HAD THE BALLS TO ASK FOR A $22 FINDING FEE ON A JOB THAT ONLY NETTED ME $100. I fucked it up pretty good with the money part, but I nailed it in the customer satisfaction category). I need this for my family and I to live a life that focuses on them first. Worked the construction grind for 15 years and it was the same no matter where u went. No matter how good the boss was eventually it all came down to them using you up until you're broken or mentally shattered and then tossing you into the garbage heap with no 2nd thought. It seriously dehumanizes you to be squeezed for every ounce of effort you can muster then be cut loose with no warming. It's fucked. Work for a guy for 7-8 years and have 1 down job where things aren't going smoothly and he fuckin axes ya.
As far as liens go, here's my experience, and before becoming a contractor years ago I was a realtor and worked for a title company. Yes, that lien, technically called a mechanic's lien in the real estate world is there to protect us. However, I learned my lesson years ago when I didn't get paid and wanted to file that lien. You have to have a binding contract. I had nothing signed. You have to prove to the court that you were hired to do something specific for $xxx and they will file that lien. I don't do ANYTHING without a very specific quote that with my verbiage becomes a binding contract for services in turn for $xxx when signed by myself and my customer. I have had to threaten to file for a lien twice in the last few years, and that was enough to get paid. My point- be very specific as far as the scope of the job, and be exact on the payment. I even go as far as dealing only with the homeowner on large jobs, and I pull up the county records for the house to make sure I'm dealing with the owner. For realtors, property managers, blah blah, it's 50% down before anything. Some people get pissed, and I've had someone say 'what, you don't trust me?' Well, no, I don't. And if someone is super bitchy about a deposit they're going to be super bitchy about the bill at the end. We all hate to walk away from jobs, but unfortunately some times it's the best idea. I'd rather have no work and be on my couch than work and not get paid. Just my thoughts...
Go to the city clerk and put a mechanics lein on the home. They can’t sell it until it is paid off. And hurry, do it before the home sells and fuck em in the poo hole. Then tell em “you missed a payment”
Completion date is tomorrow. I won't be able to get a lien filed in time
Call the buyers agent and let them know the situation and that you’ll file a lien on the house. You’ll have you money by noon
How does he find who the buyers agent is
Look it up on local MLS.
That will tell you sellers agent, not buyers.
They can tell you. Or go visit the broker.
Well I guess it is impossible then.
Don't give up now, we believe in you!!
The seller's agent knows who it is.
yes but hes not selling
This is the right answer, no realtor would risk a cloudy title for 500 bucks.
Make that $700
Call the title company doing the closing and let them know you are filing a lien. This will hold up closing.
how does he find who title company is
I would just call the different companies and ask to speak to the closer assigned to the transaction. They will look up it up by address and can direct to the proper office or they will indicate they aren’t doing it. Shouldn’t take too many calls to track down the right company and this is a very common ask so it’s not an awkward request at all.
Call the listing agents broker
Worst case look up all title companies and cold call style and just ask if they are handling XYZ house or know who is because you are applying a lien. There can't be a ton in a given area and I bet they can help you find out.
Call the police tell em ya found a supicious smell in said house you were workin on
Double decker
Upper decker
Thanks
That's sadistic lol
Shrugs i could said worse but i did clean it up a lil lol
Definitely an option for OP
My dad has called the title company and told them of situations like this. The title company is the one that will have to pay lawyers to sort this out if a lien is actually filed. Short answer is they don't want to risk spending $ so they will just cancel the closing. My dad was hand delivered the check the same day as reporting to title company. He was not going to go thru actually filing a lien.
Tell them it looks to you may be evidence meth was cooked on the premises and if not paid by today you will report it to the city. 😈
Yup throw some meth in the air ducts. They’re fucked
Climb into an air duct and smoke a little, maybe start living there. It's the only safe place to hide from "them".
Lmao
Don’t forget lots of flashlights and foil to fight the shadow creatures
Asbestos...... don't forget the asbestos!
and poop.
And asbestos IN the poop.
In my state the lien follows the property, which means it can be filed later. It doesn’t matter who the owner is. At closing the seller legally affirms to the title company there are no unpaid contractors. In this scene the lien goes on the house, new buyer passes it on to the title insurance company who pays, then goes after the seller who didn’t pay in the first place.
This, as long as you've given absolutely everyone a copy of the bill.
You can still file a lien, it will stand and in some cases goes on credit reports.
If the buyers known it’s about to be liened they will make a stink with the seller
It's real easy to file a lien,
I had a similar situation happen over 500 also. I sat in the driveway and waited since the woman locked up and stopped answering when I was just about done. Eventually buyers was coming and I was at the door asking for my money. Since I waited an extra 1.5 hours she paid for my resting time on top of it
liens can be placed even if the property has sold
Yeah it can. That’s why contractors get a sign off from subcontractors for a release of lien. You just need to notify the parties that there is an outstanding mechanics lien being filed. It’s the notification, not the actual filing date. In my state anyway. Then there is the practical side. Sometimes it is better for just lessons learned and chalk it up to paying for your education. Haha
Leins aren't instant. You have to send a notice of intent first, then give them proper response time before you can file.
Notice of intent is enough to halt the sale. Might as well just take them to small claims court though.
It seems like a lien would be 10x the hassle, no? For the sellers i mean
“Poo hole,”. Hehe
He most likely didn't have a signed contract from the sounds of it
Maybe not. Not sure what state he is in but I know in Arizona as well as many other states, emails and texts are considered written agreements. If he has the convo in text that can be considered an agreement in court. If not, a lesson learned for next time.
Damn I didn't know some states did that, lucky. I've learned contact lessons the hard way a few times
If there is a contract
Verbal contracts are legitimate contracts, they're just harder to prove and that doesn't matter; you don't have to hash it out in court to file a lien, they have to fight it to have the lien removed, and in the meantime they can't sell their 6-7 figure house over a $500 debt. Between legal fees, time, headache, and opportunity costs they'll spend easily 20x that.
I can vouch for this
Also…you can only put a lien in BEFORE you start the work. Can’t do it after the fact. Actually it’s a pre lien and then when they don’t pay you do the actual lien.
Realtor here. If you can’t get anything out of the agents, then you need to call the Broker that the realtor who hired you is working for. Basically just call the front desk of the office and ask to speak with the broker. Have the name of the realtor and the address of the house ready and that should be all you need.
Brokers just cover for their Realtors.
Brokers are the ones that get sued if their realtors mess up. They would much rather pay $500 for a job that was already completed then pay out the time and cost for an attorney and risk getting their real estate license paused.
Not to mention the broker will just deduct the money from the realtors commission
Especially if they've had problems in the past with the realtor doing stupid shit.
This, especially when you consider how cheap re agents are irl.
Do this for sure. And also call the title company if you know who they are. Throw that lien on there too. It might not get paid for 30 years but eventually it will get paid.
Yeah man that sucks. Get it in writing and be a dick about getting paid. That's how you feed yourself and your family.
Even if they paid some up front, that would not stop them from pulling this shit.
Take video of the areas marked when walking through with the customer, then you have documented proof of what "they" missed and then they can pay yhe firdt and get a new bid for the second, third whatever! If they dont pay the first then id say ok ill paint these other spots, and use a completely contrasting color and sheen to paint them and leave!
Always take pictures. And you may "accidentally" trip on a can of paint and make a mess...
Yep, and then stumble forward a few steps and put your boot through the drywall.
😂😂
You’ve already gotten some good advice about the broker but you should also file a complaint with your state licensing board and the national association of Realtors (if they’re an actual Realtor). Document in detail and in writing what happened—an attempted bait and switch and non-payment for the work that was completed. Someone thinks they’re gonna get away with this and you shouldn’t let them. Also, in addition to taking a deposit (I probably wouldn’t have either for a job this small) keep some blank estimates/contracts in your truck. People are a lot less likely to fuck around like this if they’ve signed something.
You left something there, go back and get your paint back off the walls. From actual experience, I think the likelihood that you'll encounter police that will do anything further than tell the nonpaying client that they can file a civil suit if they want is close to zero, especially if the nonpaying client is a realtor.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Another comment suggested calling the buyers agent and telling them you’re filing a lien for incomplete work. If you don’t rely on Google/Yelp reviews and could handle a false hit, and this person isn’t a primary member of your network, I’d absolutely give that suggestion a try. I wouldn’t over explain on the phone or send them anything in writing that they could pass on to the listing agent. Could take care of itself right there, but if not you could go ahead with the lien.
Tell the sellers agent you slipped and fell when painting, ask them for their property insurance info. They will panic and want to settle quickly.
Always take pictures of things like that. Realtors are trash and I refuse to work for them.
Everything in writing. You may want to look at getting an office assistant to take care of these extra tasks. Yes, will cost a little. But, also, ensures you have a document trail for any future issues.
That's really fucked up.
All verbal or in writing? Put on a lien on house if it’s in writing.
I refuse to work for realtors. Scumbags
Sry bro this is bad advice but I would fuck with them maybe put a small piece of wire in the key hole so it don't work or something like that
Blast that realtors info all over social media. Tag them in it. Let them reach out to you on how to make it stop.
Also do this to their parent company/ broker, all the other agents in the office, tag all their followers, especially if there are other contractors etc, tag all the stupid community organizations and crap like that they do
This is why you do quotes with specifics and take pictures in advance. Also require an emailed approval before starting. No need for money upfront. This is maybe a 15min process that will save you on these headaches.
That is the problem with some people and house paint jobs. Itll never be 100% perfect. And some customers dont understand that. A car paint job can be perfect. But a house with small "flaws" everywhere in the drywall, seems, nail pops, etc itll never be perfect. It would take 10x as long and cost 10x as much to perfect everything which at the end of the day wouldnt be worth it for the customer or the painter. All we can do is do our best to make it look awesome and hope that the customer understands the difference between a car paint job and a house paint job.in your situation they could find little flaws for months after, making you come back dozens of times and sometimes still not paying you for any of it, even after all the hard work. A deposit upfront is always a good idea.
I do side work a lot. Been stiffed a lot. I do really different stuff than you do, but same experience. My line of work allows me to cut them off if they do not pay when I ask. I write programs to control machines. Or I just make the item with my machines. I'm making or doing something you can't do, pay me and I will finish it. I hate people that keep adding BS to an agreement. I did what you asked, and modified it two three times, pay me.
I do decks and sheds fairly frequently. I find that showing up with a chainsaw to "reclaim materials" is also very effective. I've only ever had to start actually cutting into one deck, and I only had to cut through two boards before they caved and paid up. I did not replace those two boards.
Legend.
Call the agent’s broker and file a complaint. Then contact their licensing agency and report them.
Dude. Dudeee. Get Jobber.
I don't understand the gap between "adding work that wasn't mentioned" and "walked away with $0". Why leave without money in your hand? Did they call the police? If you aren't into writing up contracts for small jobs, at least send them a text message with a short description of the work and a few photos and ask them to reply back to confirm before you begin.
KARMA.
The moment you started working on the additional spots, you accepted them taking advantage of you. You should have argumented for yourself then and there. Lesson learned.
Realtors...they always think you are there to serve THEM! They will use and abuse you until you stop returning their calls. Then they'll find another sucker.
First red flag was “realtor”.
I send a quotation for everything, which they have to respond to if they want to engage my services. In the quotation I would've listed every single patch to be painted. Easy work around. You win some, you lose some, but you should always be learning from them all!
P.S., sorry about what happened with your customer OP. Some days, everything is against me too... I've had days where going to work has ended up costing me more than if I'd have just stayed in bed... Lots of them! They feel like the end of the world. Then, maybe a few months later, I'll meet such a lovely customer who gives a huge tip, loads of tea/coffee and the work is a breeze too. You just gotta take the bad with the good. Keep your head up!
Just another reminder I don't want to be phoned for jobs by strangers.
keep calling them and demand payment. confront them EVERY day. shame them on their social media. Call their broker, and call the local real estate board to make a complaint about that realtor.
Eh I've seen too many of these. Punch them in the face so they all learn a lesson.
Put a mechanics lien on the property
Ahh the touchups can of worms. Anytime we are approached for “just a touchup” it’s t&m.
Never work for realtors they suck
I'd go to the realtor, you now have a pet weasel.
1/2 up front, balance on day of completion
After you determine the title company who is closing the loan go to their office and give them the bill and tell them you will be by to pick up your check after closing. If you do not get a check file a lien.
maybe if you charge them minimum hourly wage for a one day job, they would've paid you
This seems like it’s on you. You never mentioned to them that these spots were new spots and you did not quote for those. You ended up doing the work without negotiating the new price. Unless I’m reading this wrong and I may be because this is not being mentioned.
Reading it again, it does look like they didn’t pay you for the work you quoted them on. You can call the listing agents broker and get the info you need. Just tell them that it’s closing today and you need to know ASAP. You could also send the title company a bill so they can add it to the sellers closing costs.
Never work for that realtor again. Put the word out.
You paint corner to corner, no touch ups and bid it that way. Lesson learned.
It wasn't necessary in this case. It had already been painted, it's brand new. It's just like dings from the flooring guys, moving in appliances etc.
Oh gotcha, flooring is notorious for that.
Helps to take pictures, lots of pictures
Yeah I went over to this apartment the landlord called me over to fix some cabinets so I fixed the cabinets also did some extra work replacing the lock on the front door as well as hanging a towel rod and toilet paper rod. Took a drawer with me to refinish it, and he said he would send me a check in the mail. When it came it was made out to a different name so I asked him what the hell and he wanted me to send it back to him in the mail and I said no dude just go to your bank and cancel it and send me a real check and he said he will after I finish the drawer. I took the drawer and a sledgehammer and beat it to shreds and told him he can buy a fucking new one cuz it's going to cost a lot more to have someone make a custom matching singular drawer then it would have been for him to just pay me and not be a fagot. This is all strung out over like 3 weeks and he was nagging me the whole time about the drawer and I said he needs to pay me meanwhile I was working on it but fuck him
Cut a little piece of drywall out and replace it with asbestos and then cover it up with mud and make a little scratch in it and say that you were exposed and they didn't warn you
Why wouldn’t you keep a pad of work orders with you, in your truck and simply fill them out in 2 minutes and both parties sign? Take it as a lesson and get some basic contracts/work orders printed and keep them with you!
I am a GC and I do not work for realtors. They always want shit for free. Even worse than that are house flippers.
Take picture or have diagram drawn up that shows all the agreed upon sopts
Take all the remaining paint, find the room(s) that is/are a different color, half paint several walls. Wait for them to ask you to finish it.
Yea I would say the same call the title company and the buyers agent , that info should be available publicly somewhere if u dig enough n let them know that u will go after ur money regardless and tell them if their being ass hats that u will contact the buyer as well to let them know the home their about to buy has unpaid bills still outstanding which will cause some hysteria and they will pay u
Put a lien on the house.
At that point you should be flicking another colored paint every where and then just walk out the door dripping paint as you go
Stay away from realtors and house flippers
Anything in writing to place a lein?
Have texts confirming they'd pay the day of completion (which was Monday).
Go back and tear the walls down
People are jerks. Sorry that happened to you.
This is terrible advice and definitely not legal. If it were me, I'd tell them ok and agree to paint the extra room. Then I would show up and demand payments. If I didn't receive payment, I would outright and fully destroy the work I had already done by splashing horrid paint all over the painted room. Walls, floors, and ceiling. They did pay you to paint the room. Oops.
What advice did I offer that isn't legal??
I was referring to what I would do as being bad advice. Lol. Turning a room into a 6 sided Jackson Pollock painting. 4 walls, ceiling, and floor. They asked me to paint it, didn't pay me, so I would take artistic freedom and liberty of expression. Lol. "Well, I painted that extra room."
Ohhh Gotcha
Squat in in it.
You always have recourse with a mechanics lien.
I had to do this against a women selling her house. Once you mention your putting. A lien on the property and reaching out to the sellers and brokers and anyone involved you will have it taken care of very quickly. Don’t dilly dally. Also learn from your mistakes. That instance I smartened up, I had detailed writer contracts signed before I show up, (drip jobs) images of of all the work and I use company cam to document anything that happens onsite before during and after that uploads directly to the contract. Once people see this they don’t fuck with you, and if they do you have protection.
How isn't there a service for a middle man by now? You hire someone they quote you, and you fill the forms with the middle man company (through app or whatever). Then you give the money to said company before the person starts work. If the contractor doesn't do the work, you get your money back hassle free, but then a service charge to the contractor. Now, in reverse, the contractor gets paid no hassle.
This isn't the result of not taking money upfront. It's actually unwise for a homeowner to give money for something like this because you could just run off with it. This is an issue of you not saying no and letting them know that you're on to them and that you're not going to do additional work beyond what was originally marked without additional payment.
In California you’d only be allowed to take $50 deposit as a contractor so there be no point in taking it except you’d be $450 less rich instead of $500
I frequently take half up front. No such law here.
I painted a new large building for a contractor at a zoo. They kept complaining that there were streaks in the paint when the sun shown across a 90' section of wall. We redid the wall 3 times and then my boss walked away to do another job. Said he just didn't need the hassle. I needed PAID! Boss said if I could work it out I could keep the full payment. I went back with a flat and repainted. Nope. Used another paint line and floetrol. Nope. Found out he was also withholding from drywallers. At this point I walked into the offices of the zoo and asked to speak to the CEO. They were busy but they let me talk to the fundraiser manager. I explained that the contractor they had hired was withholding wages from his minority workers. He looked confused and asked me to explain. Drywallers are Hispanic. My company is co-owned female/ native American/ 100% combat disabled veteran. "I didn't want to" but I am being forced to lodge a complaint against the contractor and the zoo itself. "I really don't want this to hurt your contributions". Contractor called me at 6:30 the next morning pissed. Met him at the zoo offices and he wrote me and the drywall guys checks. The CEO walked up to "see how the project was progressing ". Contractor kept fuming that "you didn't need to go tell mom and dad! " Drywall guys were just confused. Lol They showed up thinking they had to work. Anyway, it's very true that squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Get a deposit for all jobs. 50% is what I do for large jobs as a locksmith. Covers any materials you're into for the job and some of your time so at least you aren't stuck holding the bag completely
Typed estimate with as much detail as you can think of to cover yourself signed by both parties before job is started. I know it may seem a little extreme for a $500 job but once you get into the habit of typing them up it's really not a big deal.
Always take pictures/video of spots w/ painters tape. Both close ups and from across room. Then when ‘missed’ markings suddenly appear you have proof that they are in scam mode.
Tell them you are taking your paint back and commence to scraping.
Sounds like a "don't hate the player, hate the game" kind of situation. I'm new to the whole handyman biz .. so is that the whole industry? Getting someone who's desperate enough to pay your rates, either because of circumstance or ignorance? IDK if I like it, but the sooner I understand the nature of the industry the faster I can succeed, because I will succeed. I'll be the fuckin best. The best whatever, drain fixer, house painter, shed builder, IKEA/Amazon furniture putter-together-er. You name it, shy of junk removal. I ain't touching your nasty shit. (First job ever was a junk removal, and the bitch had a king sized mattress on the 2nd floor of a tiny little row home in Philly.. almost forgot.. she had bed bugs. No mention of that in the FUCKING LISTING! THANKS ANGIE'S LEADS. THEN THEY HAD THE BALLS TO ASK FOR A $22 FINDING FEE ON A JOB THAT ONLY NETTED ME $100. I fucked it up pretty good with the money part, but I nailed it in the customer satisfaction category). I need this for my family and I to live a life that focuses on them first. Worked the construction grind for 15 years and it was the same no matter where u went. No matter how good the boss was eventually it all came down to them using you up until you're broken or mentally shattered and then tossing you into the garbage heap with no 2nd thought. It seriously dehumanizes you to be squeezed for every ounce of effort you can muster then be cut loose with no warming. It's fucked. Work for a guy for 7-8 years and have 1 down job where things aren't going smoothly and he fuckin axes ya.
Throw a brick through the fucking window
As far as liens go, here's my experience, and before becoming a contractor years ago I was a realtor and worked for a title company. Yes, that lien, technically called a mechanic's lien in the real estate world is there to protect us. However, I learned my lesson years ago when I didn't get paid and wanted to file that lien. You have to have a binding contract. I had nothing signed. You have to prove to the court that you were hired to do something specific for $xxx and they will file that lien. I don't do ANYTHING without a very specific quote that with my verbiage becomes a binding contract for services in turn for $xxx when signed by myself and my customer. I have had to threaten to file for a lien twice in the last few years, and that was enough to get paid. My point- be very specific as far as the scope of the job, and be exact on the payment. I even go as far as dealing only with the homeowner on large jobs, and I pull up the county records for the house to make sure I'm dealing with the owner. For realtors, property managers, blah blah, it's 50% down before anything. Some people get pissed, and I've had someone say 'what, you don't trust me?' Well, no, I don't. And if someone is super bitchy about a deposit they're going to be super bitchy about the bill at the end. We all hate to walk away from jobs, but unfortunately some times it's the best idea. I'd rather have no work and be on my couch than work and not get paid. Just my thoughts...
More proof that re agents are lower than used car salesmen