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News Headline: US housing starts drop to the lowest level since 2015. Government restrictions, lockdowns and a slowing economy have added a layer of problems for residential contractors. When work slows, income dries up. Expenses like debt service and overhead continue as if nothing had changed. Too much of that can stress any construction company. Here’s a checklist to help...

Contractor Liability for COVID-19 Claims Who pays when someone on a construction site gets sick or dies from COVID-19? Long after the pandemic has passed from headline news, lawyers for plaintiffs and defendants will be battling over this issue. But I see a more immediate question: What can contractors do right now to avoid COVID claims? Rule of thumb: Occupational...

Question: “My client wants a completion deadline written into our construction contract. What should I do?” My advice: Avoid committing to a firm completion date. Instead, lay out a proposed schedule – beginning date, milestones, completion estimate. Explain the contingencies you can’t control: weather, permits, inspections, changes, labor and material shortages, conflicts between trades, etc. Be blunt: Anything can be...

Construction Contracting After COVID-19 I’m a lawyer, not a doctor. Neither am I an economist. So, I’m not going to offer medical advice. And I’m not going to make any prediction about when the economy will recover. But this is clear to me. Post COVID-19, changes are coming. No industry is exempt, certainly not construction contracting. I’ve witnessed four complete business cycles during my productive lifetime. These were the good years for contractors: 1975 to 1978 -- recovery after the Viet Nam war 1982 to 1984 – recovery from the recession of 1982 1990 to 2005 – the longest expansion in US history 2010 to 2020 – recovery from the Great Recession And there were bad years: 1974, 1981, 1989, 2009. Each of these coincided with an economic recession. Employment in the construction industry dropped by 10% or more. Typically, residential construction was the hardest hit. What Happens Next? Continue reading →

Questions for HomeAdvisor If you do any residential work, you know the name. HomeAdvisor is a Web directory of local contractors. The idea behind HomeAdvisor is simple. Read what your neighbors say about contractors they know. Then get a quote from the contractor of your choice. HomeAdvisor traces its roots back to Angie’s List. In 1995, Angie Hicks went door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio, signing up anyone who wanted to see her list of recommended contractors. In the first year, Angie got over 1,000 owners to pay a fee and sign-up. A business was born. Soon Angie met a venture capitalist with access to millions in investor funds. You may not have heard of ServiceMagic, or Instapro, or MyHammer or HomeStars, or MyBuilder, or Handy. All offer an on-line list of contractors. And all are now part of HomeAdvisor -- listed on the NASDAQ as ANGI Homeservices, Inc. Continue reading →

Use T-I-L to Close More Deals Most contractors want to get paid when the job is done. That’s human nature. But it may not be the best way to do business. Ask any car dealer what would happen if every buyer had to pay cash on delivery. Sales would tank. Credit can create sales opportunities you didn’t know existed. Some of the most successful builders offer a credit term -- monthly payments after the job is done. If you’re in a position to defer part of the income from completed jobs, consider making credit part of your sales pitch. It's perfectly legal to take an IOU for part of the job or stretch out payments after work is done. But a construction contract with a deferred payment term has to include disclosures required by the Federal Truth in Lending Act (T-I-L). Banks, car dealers and finance companies are good at writing agreements with all the required disclosures. It’s at the heart of their business. But any construction contractor can do the same thing. And Construction Contract Writer makes it easy. Continue reading →

As of this writing, governors of five states have issued “stay at home” orders. How many more states will do the same is anyone's guess. So far, each of these orders is different.  But all prohibit going to work – except for essential services. On that basis, nearly all construction jobs in these states will stop. What should you do...

“If I give my state’s 3-day cancellation notice, do I also have to give the federal 3-day notice?” A simple question. And a good one. But the answer gets complex. Continue reading →

Construction Management Contracting in Montana Dr. Gary Jystad practiced family medicine and surgery for over 50 years in Montana. In 1991, he built a log home on Flathead Lake in Rollins, MT, the “dream home” of his wife Mary Ellen. A tragic fire in 2016 devastated the main building, leaving the garage and guest house damaged but not destroyed. In February 2017, Dr. Jystad signed a contract with Flathead Management Partners (FMP) to oversee reconstruction. FMP agreed to “coordinate and facilitate” remediation and “work at the exclusive direction of Dr. Jystad”. FMP didn’t plan to do any work with FMP crews. Continue reading →

Bad Faith Contracting Dominick Vivona has a home in a wooded area near Greenwich, Connecticut. In June of 2017, he set out to build a treehouse for his kids. Vivona sketched a design and found an experienced carpenter, Walter Reyes, to do the work for $6,000. Reyes drew plans for the job, pulled the permit and bought most of the materials. Reyes wanted to be paid 35% on the second day of work, 30% on the fourth day of work and 35% when the job was finished. None of this was in writing. If you read my blog post last month, you know where this case is headed. Last month I described how a Connecticut contractor couldn’t collect the final $8,000 on a roofing job because the written contract was lame. In fact, the agreement was so bad that the contractor had his mechanics lien rights wiped out. Continue reading →