The Commonwealth has been marching to its own drummer since Revolutionary times. So it was probably inevitable that Massachusetts would go its own way in handling grievances against home improvement contractors. Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) runs a home improvement arbitration program designed to keep construction defect claims out of Massachusetts […]
Articles
- 9 Apr
- 31 Mar
Not many residential contractors in Georgia are good at writing warranties for their work. Builders usually think of warranties as bad news: Nothing good ever came from a warranty. Better to ignore the issue and hope clients never give it a thought. That’s about to change. Georgia Code Section 43-41-7 (the Written Warranty Act) now […]
- 19 Mar
Cory and Angela Bogard needed more space in their Casey, Illinois home. In the fall of 2004, Dan Smith of Dan R. Smith Building Services offered to put a 26′ x 20′ addition on the Bogards’ living-room for “$20,000 or less”. Cory and Angela accepted Dan’s offer and he started work the following month. By […]
- 15 Mar
Pennsylvania has joined New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, California and other states in micro-managing construction contracts for home improvement work. Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) is intended to protect owners when negotiating home improvement jobs. But HICPA’s list of contract requirements is like a ridge board made from utility grade lumber: […]