Home Remodeling - The Agreement Between You and Your Contractor
It is extremely important that you understand the concept of "selective amnesia"
. Verbal agreements and phone conversations often tend to result in mild to very severe cases of this phenomenon. The more money in question the more severe the malady. Without clear and concise written documentation of the intent and obligations of both the homeowner and the contractor things can and will get out of hand, tempers will flare and lawsuits are likely to ensue. In the absence of proper and clear documentation a disagreement or dispute becomes a "He said-She said" argument, or essentially your word against his. Nobody ever really wins in this situation. The old reliable "But what I said was not really what I meant" copout can be frustrating and very costly to everyone involved.
Getting everything possible in writing is about the only way to prevent this from happening. This enables both parties to clearly understand (and/or be reminded about) their obligations. A concise, simply stated fact, requirement or description is very difficult to argue with in or out of court.
With this in mind you, the owner, should really be the one to draft the owner-contractor agreement. Non commercial (i.e., residential) contractors are notorious for having very one-sided and loosely worded written agreements which largely if not totally favor the contractor. These are usually so poorly (or maybe deliberately) worded that they can be interpreted pretty much any way anyone wants to interpret them. The concept is that if the contractor drafted it and you signed it the contractor's interpretation of the document must be the correct interpretation. Unfortunately for the homeowner these situations typically consider the contractor as the "professional" and as such his interpretation or opinion will generally prevail in a conflict.
This author has found it best for the homeowner to draft the
owner-contractor agreement, even if only in letter form. The homeowner should be able to clearly outline in plain language what he expects the contractor to do, outline the agreed terms and conditions of payment and even stipulate a time frame for completion. If the homeowner insists on using or incorporating his version of the agreement it will then become incumbent on the contractor to have his (the contractor's) attorney review it. This will save the homeowner money in legal fees. If the contractor absolutely refuses to allow the homeowner to draft the agreement the best option is for the homeowner to draft his own outline of what he expects to have done, etc., and attach it as an exhibit to the contractor's contract form. It is important that the homeowner include wording to the effect that in the event of a conflict between the body of the contract and the attachment the attachment will govern.
It should be understood that it is always a good idea for the homeowner to have his attorney review the agreement no matter what form it takes. Be sure, however, that the attorney understands that you want a simple, plain language agreement and not one filled with fine print and endless "legalese".
Home Remodeling - The Agreement Between You and Your Contractor
By: Hal Herndon
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