Finishing the job

[The_Green_Team]

I am a landscape contractor living in new orleans. i was working on a project right before hurricane katrina hit. We were about 95% complete when the hurricane hit. The job cost total was 18,650 and the owner has a balance of roughly 5000. I have been in contact with the owner about finishing the project so i can get paid but now he says he has other priorities and doesnt care to have it finish intil MAYBE the fall, MAYBE even later. This set off a red flag for me. Is he planning on selling the house and taking off out of new orleans? Am i just jumping to conclusions? He is rebuilding it unlike almost everyone else in the area so maybe he does plan on staying and landscaping just ins't on the top of his list. I dont want this to be some BS that ends up in court because i believe the only winners will be the lawyers. During the whole project the guy has been pretty nice and loved our work. How do i go about in a nice way of saying i'll finish it whenever you want me to but i would like to get paid now.

[MSU]

You have the right idea about being polite, but he also needs to understand that your company performed these services for him, and you expect to be paid. Also, did he sign a contract when the work was started, and if he did, is there anything about how you would be paid in the contract? Maybe you could set up a date to meet with him to discuss when this work will be completed, and set up a payment system so this can be taken care of. I think the bottom line is be respectful, firm, and work with him to make sure that he understands that these services were performed, and you will be paid for the rest of the job. This is just my input, I'm certinally not a lawyer or anything. Good luck with everything.

[The_Green_Team]

well see according to the contract the balance was supposed to be paid at completion. And technically it's not 100%...more around 95%... soooo...i'm looking to get it to 100% status but he said he wrather wait till the fall or so. Which means i have that 5000 sitting out there until its complete which i would like to get done now and not maybe 6 months from now..i wouldnt have landed an amost 20 grand project without a contract just never had an act of god like this pose a problem.

[Bulldog26]

Ask him to split the difference. $2500 or $3500 now and he can wait until (X) date to finish the job. If he gose for this just make a chang order and put a cut off date on the completion with ballance due if he dosn't agree to start up work buy that date or property sold. Good luck with it. Hope things are getting better down thier.
bt

[bullethead]

Just bill him for work completed to date - all materials, labor and associated mark-up. He should be cool with that. If not, then you have to head down the p.i.t.a. route of legal remedies.

In the future modify your contract to address "force majeurs" and you may also want to expand on this to address other pitfalls - for example, oftentimes, we are able to get 95% of the plants installed that we specified but we couldn't get plants x, y and z because of the time of year - we have clause to bill for everything except those items we were not able to procure. We back it out of the final installment and charge them for it when they do come in.

[Seascape]

Just call him and talk to him about it. Tell him whats on your mind. Explain you have $$ invested and need your return. Tell him fall is a long time.

Hes probally under some financial stress like everybody else down there ,,, just approach him honestly about it .

As far as the contract goes,,,, the circumstances changed dramatically down there. I personally would try to catch him at home and try to get him to sit and discuss it with me for a minute. Id tell him my position man to man.

You said he was alright to work for,,,, so it will probally go smoother than you think.

But than again he knows the scoop more than likely. He also knows your progress rate,,, and i gaurantee you he knows his remaining financial obligation and its terms. Trying to put you off until fall or longer seems kinda shady? But i wasnt there ,, i dont know exactly how it went down.

Your best bet now is to go back to him and try to resolve it.

[ECS]

Bill him accordinly and if he doesn't pay put a lean on his house and he will have to pay when he sells it.