Am I Required To Allow Unattended Access Inside My Home To A Contractor?

 

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Am I required to allowed unattended access inside my home by my contractor?  The answer to the question is no; however, you need to look at the consequences and are you there, or someone there at every day to provide him access.

 

Because your contractor’s gonna want to be able to get in there and get the job done.  And so he’s not gonna want to have to wait until you’re at home or whatever.  Of course, if you have a contractor that hadn’t shown up, and he wants to show up every three of four weeks, well it sounds like you need to get rid of your contractor and get someone else.  But you could probably write into the contract that says that he is – that you will be available or negotiate that on the front end.  And particularly if you’re doing a remodeling and you’re living there in your home, the answer to the question is no.

 

However, it may impeded the progress of your job.  But my experience says, well, that hadn’t been a problem you being there to allow him access, it’s been a problem of him not showing up, and then him wanting to show up whenever he wants to and then complain that he couldn’t get in to do the work.  So it sounds like a problem between the owner and the contractor, and sounds we need to get a new contractor and go through that process rather than talking about access to the home.

 

So if you have any questions about your construction contract and your contractor, well give me a call at 727-847-2288.

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Can a Contractor Place a Lien on My Home if I Did Not Sign a Contract?

 

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Can a contractor place a lien on my home if I did not sign a contract?  The answer is yes.  Under the Construction Lien Statute, someone who improves real property can place a lien on your property if they are not paid.  That is all under the Construction Lien Statute.  They do not have to give you a notice to owner.  The question then becomes, whenever they try and enforce the lien, as to the amount that they lien the property.  If they do not have a contract, and you do not have an agreed-on price, they have to prove the value of the services they put on your property if they try and foreclose the lien.  So, in answer to your question, yes they can lien your property.

 

 

So if you have any problems with a contractor liening your property, or have any questions about the Construction Lien Statute in Florida, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

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Is a Home Warranty Worth the Price When Purchasing a Home?

 

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Is a home warranty worth the price when purchasing a home?  Well, that is a real great question, and I do not think I have a good answer for it.  I guess if any of the appliances go out, the answer is yes.  If none of the appliances go out, well, the answer is no.

 

So that is the nature of the beast whenever you are talking about insurance.  Any time that you get insurance, well, if you do not have a casualty loss, you have paid the premium and therefore it was not a good deal.  However, you are getting the home warranty or buying the home warranty to have peace of mind so you do not have an unexpected expense.

 

If you want to further analyze the situation, look at how old the appliances are.  And if they are relatively old, there is a higher possibility of them breaking down, well then you can go ahead and buy a warranty so you are not surprised later on.  I suggest that you really understand the warranty so you know how much it is going to pay, whether you have to pay a service call or any of the deductibles, and whether there is a maximum they have to pay, let’s say, for an air conditioning system.

 

Also look at the value of what you are trying to insure against.  As far as an air conditioning system, you are looking at thousands of dollars.  If you are looking at a refrigerator, well, that could be depending on the refrigerator – could also be in the thousands.  And then look at how long the warranty runs for.  Because if you are paying $500.00 to insure a $1,000.00 refrigerator or a couple of thousand dollars worth of appliances, well that is a pretty steep premium to be paying for that.

 

So hopefully I have answered your question, and I do not think there is a cut-and-dry answer.  You need to look at the circumstances, and what your tolerances are as far as whether or not you could stand the surprise or have the money to pay for it.  You might also ask that the seller provide you with the home warranty whenever you purchase the home and negotiate that into the contract.

 

If you have any more questions about it, please give me a call at 727-847-2288.

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Can a Home Equity Loan Be Used to Purchase Investment Property?

 

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Can a home equity loan be used to purchase investment property?  The answer is yes.  You can use the proceeds from a home equity line of credit to purchase investment property.

 

Once you obtain this line of credit on your home, the bank does not monitor what you use the money for.  You can use it for entertainment, to pay off credit cards; you can use it for anything you like.  The downside of it is, you put a mortgage against your home.  So if you do not repay it, your home is at risk.

 

So yes, you can use the proceeds from your home equity line of credit to buy investment property, or for that matter, to take your bride out to dinner.

 

If you have any questions about a home equity line of credit, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

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What Recourse Do I Have if My Builder Does Not Finish My Home by the Agreed Upon Date?

 

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What recourse do I have if my builder does not finish my home by the agreed upon completion date?  This is a very troublesome problem whenever builders do not complete the houses or complete the improvements by the specified date.  Most contracts on new construction have a clause that says that the builder does not have any responsibility, and you cannot charge them with any expenses.

 

If they do not complete it on the agreed upon date, it is great if you can negotiate it in the contract what the damages are.  That is called a liquidated damage clause, and say, $100.00 a day.  If you can prove your damages, you can probably sue the contractor for damages for delaying completion, which is a difficult lawsuit.  So the best thing to do is try and cover that in the contract whenever you contract with the contractor to say how much it is going to cost them.  And there is a great deal of pushback by builders on not agreeing to put a liquidated damages clause in there.

 

What I have found is, whenever the builder really drags their feet and they have not shown up and have pretty much abandoned this job, then it is my suggestion you contact an attorney, send them a notice of termination, tell them that you are going to hire somebody else, and then sue them for any damages that you have if it is going to be worthwhile.

 

So if you have any problems with your builder and need some guidance, well, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

 

 

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