Mobile Home Setup Gone Bad - Need Advice

[animalfriend]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

We own a mobile home park and recently bought a new (used) home for it; it's the first one we had moved in. I had a contract for $3650 to move it (about 25 miles) and set it up. I paid $1825 down with the balance due when the job was finished. The contract stated the job would be completed "on or before Oct 31" and would pass inspection.

We drove to the park (7 hours) on Oct 30, thinking the home would be setup on/by Oct 31 and we could give it the final touches and then rent it out. They delivered the home Oct 31 and said they couldn't set it up until the following week. We had to be back in NC on Nov 3, so we left Nov 2.

The following week, the contractor couldn't get to it, but he promised it would be done the next Monday (Nov 11). When we checked with him later that week, he said it was ready for inspection, except for the electrical. He said he needed to change the contract because he couldn't do the electrical work, as the contract stated he would. He said he took $800 off the balance (we never negotiated this or agreed to it - he just decided on this amount). My partner (Don) was in PA at the time, but drove to GA, thinking he could get the electrical done, do the final touches, and get it rented. He got the electrical done, but the Code Enforcement said the installer was supposed to put plastic down before they blocked it, so it wouldn't pass inspection. Don called the installer and he said he'd come by and put the plastic down the following week. He couldn't wait (and was paying $80/night for a hotel), so he left.

The installer kept saying he'd be there "next Monday" and the Code Enforcement contacted us because he had taken all of the skirting and threw it in the yard (violating code) and also to inform us that the heat/air unit was left on the lot and in jeopardy of being stolen. After more excuses and delays from the installer, Don went back to GA on Dec 7 to finish the setup himself.

That weekend, the installer called again and promised he'd complete the job on Monday (December 9). When he hadn't shown up by Monday afternoon, Don went and got the plastic himself and started putting it down. At 5pm on Monday, the installer called again and said he'd get to the plastic as soon as he could. Don told him not to bother, that he had already gotten it and started putting it down. The following morning (Dec 10), the installer showed up and finished putting it down.

He's now demanding payment of the full balance (less the $800 he decided to deduct because he couldn't do the electrical). We told him we were going to reduce it by the amount of rent we would have received for the 40 days it was past schedule. At $475/month, this comes out to $633.

Unless we pay the full amount, he's refusing to give us a sticker that we need to connect the utilities. I think we're being more than fair. We've had two extra trips there (one from PA), which cost $500+ in fuel and $600+ in hotel bills. We're not asking for that - just compensation for the time the trailer was unavailable because he didn't meet his contractual obligations.

I've just left a message for our attorney, but I thought I'd post here as well.

 

[Ohiogal]

So what did the contract state was the penalty for him not completing it on time?

 

[Zigner]

How do you intend to prove that you lost that much money? Did you have renters you had to turn away? Would they testify to it?

From another angle, you didn't have to spend money on advertising, so you should credit that back to the amount you are asking...

 

[Zigner]

So what did the contract state was the penalty for him not completing it on time?

That too...

 

[animalfriend]

The contract didn't specify a penalty (dumb, yes, I know). It did include a completion date and that it would pass inspection. Technically, the skirting and steps have to be on for it to pass inspection, so it still wouldn't pass, but we're calling that a misunderstanding and did that ourselves. However, he was supposed to bring both sets of steps and didn't. He also specified that setup would include hooking up the heat/air. We discussed that in detail because we weren't sure if the unit worked, but he said that at least it (and the ductwork) would be hooked up. He didn't do the ductwork or heat/air unit (but these were not specifically spelled out in the contract).

We did have people waiting to rent it at $475/month. We had advertised it before it was moved onsite, stating it should be available in early November. I'm not sure how I can prove something that didn't happen. But it's indisputable that it puts us 40 days behind in renting it.

I don't see how he can decide to change the contract when it specifies he'll do the electric - and he unilaterally decided to deduct $800 and not do it. Prior to hiring him, he wanted to charge $2850 for everything except the electric and we refused, as we had another moving willing to do the entire job. We had called several electricians and decided it wasn't worth $800 to have to get someone else involved. We told him this, so he agreed to do the electric. As it turns out, he couldn't find anyone to do it (he told us he tried), so he just decided to change the contract and not include the electric.

He also failed to get the permits before moving it to our lot, which resulted in a fine. He originally wanted us to pay that fine as well, but finally agreed to cover that himself since it was his fault.

I know it's stupid not to have included a penalty, but what would be the purpose of having a completion date if there's no recourse for not completing it on time? While we may not be able to prove that we would have received the lost rent, we can certainly prove the gas and hotel expenses we've incurred because of the multiple trips.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Your biggest problem is you have no penalty for the original contract violations. Now you have entered the realm of new undefined agreements where the UCC will likely allow him to collect.