As real estate attorneys, Laura Meyer and Robyn Roth ushered Hollywood celebrities through touchy home remodeling contracts, complicated financial matters – even marriage counseling.
So it took them both by surprise when renovations on their own homes nearly drove them batty.
A year ago, Meyer and Roth opened a remodeling consulting firm . Their new book, “Remodel This! A Woman’s Guide to Planning and Surviving the Madness of a Home Renovation,” is full of trade secrets and fun observations about the remodeling business.
The authors answered a few questions Room posed them:
Q: How has your legal background helped you as remodeling consultants?
A: Meyer: The most important issues come up in reviewing construction contracts. So many people do deals with a contractor on a handshake or sign whatever piece of paper is put in front of them. It’s daunting to be in negotiations and most people don’t really understand the contract.
Q: Where do remodeling disagreements tend to occur?
A: Roth: The first (issue) is when to pay the contractor. I can’t tell you how many times clients have said that a contractor asked for a check up front that was 20 or 30 percent of the construction costs. You don’t pay until after the contractor has finished. There is usually a (materials) deposit that you pay up front, but people make the mistake of paying too much.
Q: What provisions do you recommend for every contract?
A: Meyer: Many people start out without a target completion date. But you need to try to set up the best estimate date for completion, even if it’s six months (later). If you don’t have that, it could go on forever, and there is no obligation by the contractor to finish by a certain time.
A: Roth: Sometimes the contractor will finish most of the project. You can move in, but some knobs are missing or the windows weren’t installed right. We call those last-minute things the “punch list,” and it’s one of the most difficult things to get the contractor to come back and finish. Motivate them with money. Don’t make the final payment until he comes back and finishes the punch list.
Q: What provisions protect both the contractor and the homeowner?
A: Roth: Change-order provisions. Frequently and more often than not, there are changes to the original plans that happen midstream. It’s very important to have a provision that states that any change order must be in written form that both the contractor and the client sign off on. This way, you’ve both agreed upon the new price and additional fees it will cost to make the changes.
A: Meyer: Honest mistakes and misunderstandings are an even more common scenario. The contractor should want that change order. He wants to make sure he will get paid and has the legal right to be paid. He doesn’t want to get stuck in a situation where someone can easily say he or she didn’t agree to that service, and now they are not going to pay. The flip side is the client wants to make sure he or she isn’t on the hook to pay for something they never authorized in the first instance.
Read more remodeling advice from Laura Meyer and Robyn Roth at remodelthis.net.
Staff writer Sheba R. Wheeler can be reached at 303-954-1283 or swheeler@denverpost.com.
