apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What IS the deal with developer & contractors? Why can they continually get away with this crap?

Currently, I'm sitting in the middle of my own contractor mess; one in which a job has been left half-done, while the contractor (day after day) claims he'll show up, but doesn't, or doesn't return calls at all. And to top it off, this morning I found out that some of the work he HAS done will have to be torn out and started over because it is wrong, that he gave me the wrong info to beging with and I'll have to repurchase double-hung closet doors because the ones he told me to get are the wrong size (and not returnable!)

Meanwhile my apartment is an absolute mess and I have company coming in less than three weeks!

Why do these guys continually get away with this???!!! They are all the same.

Having a THOROUGH inspection before any money is put in escrow is an absolute must! You can certainly still end up with big surprises even after you've employed an inspector, but this isn't a step you want to skip, even if you've had an architect inspect the property.

I highly recommend Joe Pasaturo (718-820-5088), a licensed inspector based in Brooklyn. He's super thorough and WILL give you all worst case scenarios. You can probably find cheaper inspectors out there, but you'll only save yourself a couple hundred dollars. And what's a couple hundred dollars when you consider a bit of security on your huge investment.

Developers don't care and they are greedy.

I've seen condo development, after condo development go up all over my neighborhood in downtown Brooklyn and vicinity. It's crazy. How can a building be developed and built in 3 months or less? It happens everyday and I am astonished by the number of people lining up to live in these places.


Build and they'll come.

Gotham Tomato - can you make your contractor eat the cost of the doors? When we were renovating our house, I came home one day to find that our contractor had not only ordered the wrong bathroom tiles, but that his tiler had almost completely finished tiling our bathroom in it. He had the audacity to tell us that he didn't write down the product number when my partner gave it to him over the phone. And then he told us that WE should contact the tile place and make them replace the tiles for free, when the only person who was at fault there was him. This is only one of many nightmares renovation stories we have. So I feel your pain. Courage, my friend! You WILL get through this.

Contractors get away with it because they still get jobs after these screw-ups. You probably did all the due diligence, GothamTomato, but it's worth repeating that for home jobs:

--Don't automatically take low bid.
--Always check the contractor's license and BBB report.
--If your local civil court system puts cases on line, check for suits against your contractor. This is actually the most useful source for digging up relevant dirt.
--Always talk with multiple recent references. A contractor who was great two years ago may have gone downhill.
--If it's possible to write your contract with incentives for on-time completion and penalties for delays, do it.
--Plan well (to the point of OCD) and avoid making changes; even one day's slippage in when the faucets show up (or similar) can make it difficult for the contractor to get his crew back to your job.
--If your gut feeling is that the contractor is slightly "off," don't hire him/her. (Trying to be your new best friend is a bad sign.)

Even with all these precautions, it's possible to hire a contractor just as s/he gets behind on bills, has a messy divorce, or otherwise indulges in a major life screw-up that has repercussions for your job. These businesses are often balanced narrowly on their cash flow, so one customer who pays late can throw off the contractor paying creditors, leading to delays with your job.

Recently, whenever I need a contractor, painter, handyman, or plumber I use this great resource for the NYC area. It is parkslopeparents.com. I have used them for tons of other things as well. The best part is that people leave feedback about contractors, dentists, playgroups what have you. If a contractor is shadey, someone will post a negative review. Maybe apartmenttherapy should start this too?

I agree on all counts with wende. I had my share of work with contractors and it was a nightmare. As more and more educated people know what they want to achieve, it is hard to find contractors that have the years of experience in plumbing or any other contracting work and to be open minded to your plans. I had a contractor that was exceptionally good in what he did, plumbing electrical etc. But when it came to what I wanted to be done, his answer was always CANT DO. And he would always want to ask for my husband's decision when actually I am the designer. So when my husband would press for the way I wanted it done he would go for it. So, anyway it is hard to find experience on the same level of modernicity that one wants in their space (it's like wisdom and beauty - not always at the same age:-)
The one other recommendation that I would give to everyone that becomes the manager of a project themselves, is to stay on top of the contractor. There is no other way, plan and discuss EVERYTHING ahead. Have everything signed - I know that in most cases some of these things are hard to achieve, but try.
I had a professor once that shared a nightmare story of a designer who was designing the ballroom at the Pier Hotel in Manhattan. She ordered the paint, hired a superb painter and went for a long weekend in Palm Beach. Upon her return she found out that the entire ballroom was painted a coral color, as to the beige tone that she had picked. So not only did foot the bill of the paint itself, but she had to pay for the cost of the work done to get it all finished - imagine the nightmare when you are on a deadline with a huge client. So I learned my lesson, before you have anyone mount anything such as tiles or backsplash, things that are expensive check the boxes first. Make sure everything is to your specifications, and NEVER assume that the contractor knows what they are doing. They know how to install it properly, but they are not in your head to know if this or that are the right shade you liked.

It's not just NYC - here in the Portland metro area there are some very shady builders. I've seen kitchens where the owners had to use 2x4s to prop up the cabinets so the wouldn't fall off the walls. I've talked to people that had thousands of dollars in utility bills because contractors screwed up. We have an artificial land shortage called an "urban growth boundary" which forces developers to build houses less than 6 feet apart. As a results the shoddily built expensive McMansion owners have figts with their neighbors because they can hear everything that goes on next door - on either side. These aren't runmors, this is stuff I've personally seen...

That's one reason I settled on a condo that's 20 years old and well maintained. Besides the floor plans in new construction seems to be drawn by crack addicts rather than people who would actually want to live there.

Oh well. Yeah, be careful out there. Maybe look for slightly older - proven - construction.

My building was almost mentioned in this article, until we talked my neighbor out of it - don't want to mess up those resale values! The reality is, NYC is in the middle of a huge construction boom that has made it difficult for companies to find qualified builders and has led to lots of corners being cut.

After my own experiences I have to say I would be VERY reluctant to buy new construction again - even a well-made building will settle over time, and getting everything going from a management perspective is also a ton of work.

That being said, being respectful, fair and REALISTIC always helps when you are dealing with contractors, developers or anyone else you are hiring to do a task. Do your research up front so you won't get taken, but also realize that sometimes things do get delayed and costs do increase, due to situations that are no one's fault. If you hear people out and compromise, you'll find people will often be willing to work a lot harder for you.

i've always assumed these condo buyers are all incredibly wealthy people who figure they'll throw money at any new construction issues that arise, 'cause for the life of me, i don't know why anyone would plunk down soooo much $ for one of these places. i understand the appeal of new construction and all, but it's common sense that speedy new construction will most likely be fraught with issues.

now i feel bad knowing that regular people are being taken

this is terrible. new construction should be waranteed for a period of time. i live in toronto and am glad that as a new construction buyer, the units come with a one year warrantee. its a provincial law that the builders have to follow.

however, people still run into problems with unit/builder, relatively minor though when compared to what the article describes.

thanks for the advice on how to find a good contractor, my mom owns some rental property and she was taken on a $10,000 ride last year.

When I asked a neighbor is a master carpenter for recommendations, he told me that HE paid the contractor who was doing his kitchen $10,000 - to leave!

Does anyone have feedback on Angie's List as a resource for NYC contractors? A friend raved about how good they were in Indiana - but they've been here for only a year.

The UK is no better - new homes are thrown up in a matter of weeks and are made of cardboard internally - my mother moved into a brand new house once and we both swore we'd never buy new again - its simply not worth the problems and inadequacy of the materials used

when my mother renovated her house, the painters we hired knocked over a piggy bank in my older sister's room (it wasn't in the shape of a pig, but you had to break it to get into it) and when we got home the broken peices were on the floor with the 200 dollars she'd saved missing. all that was left were the pennies.

I recently had this same problem when renovating my loft in Tribeca, when a real estate agent friend of mine gave me the number of a contractor he knew. It was difficult for me to believe that a "20 something" had the experience to handle the job, but now I'm a believer. He's excellent and has excellent references. He gave me a fair price and did perfect work. I've given his name to all of my friend. I recommend anyone in need calls him. His name is John Wilson and his number is 610-509-2794. Tell him Tovah sent you. Good luck!