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Originally Posted by elevatorman
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THIS IS ALL GOOD TO KNOW..........
In Vermont, for the most part, a handshake seals the deal and we know all of our carpenters, plumbers, landscapers, etc......we know their families and even their grandparents. Thus, the handshake is sufficient.
It's a small , self contained town of 16,000 souls....so our frame of reference is different than this orginal poster and what anguish they've been through.
However, we both remember what happened to us in Florida back in 1994 when we bought a condo gulf front on the beach in Venice Florida.
The previous owners were elderly and going into a retirement place in Colorado to be near their children..........we decided to totally remodel every single room...........the bathroom remodelers were efficient and reliable........ditto for the carpeting and the tile guys for the balconies and the foyer, bathrooms, etc..............however, although the KITCHEN GUYS had a beautiful showroom..........and came and did the layout for the new kitchen, after we had chosen the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc........as it was nearing an "end" they told us that a LIEN HAD BEEN PLACED ON US BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT PAID THEIR DEBTS TO THEIR SUPPLIERS.
We got a formal letter in the mail telling of this lien. The bad thing was we had decided to return to Vermont and put the condo on the market for sale..........not easy when you have a lien, through no fault of your own, on your condo. After my husband threatening to sue them, they paid their debt to their supplier which took our lien off. But, it was nerve wracking, to say the least.
We returned here and bought another house on our same old street.
Again, a handshake with a known reputable person is the best way to go.
In Florida, there was so much "paper work" and "contracts" for every little thing, whereas here it was back to business as usual.......a handshake sealed the deal. WE'VE NEVER GIVEN A CONTRACTOR MONEY UPFRONT.......and we've done a lot of remodeling to this house..........my husband has even offered them money and they won't take it until the work is done...and they are always fair. NEVER SIGNED A CONTRACT.
Maybe our one little complaint is that they all take on more work than they can comfortably handle and the "window of opporunity" is a short one in the northern climates (for outdoor projects)......so they kind of start one customer.......and then bounce around a bit.......unless it's an indoor project they can do in the winter...........but we like all of our carpenters, roofers and plumbers and our landscaper we held in our arms when he was a newborn infant.
Again, this is a cradle to grave community. Now that the temps are no longer 24 degrees but in the 50's.........it's beautiful and warm out.
We were "roasting" this morning when the sun was out at 50.