Just a little bit of background information, I'll try to keep it brief. I purchased a plot of land down in Virginia Beach, VA (I am personally located in New Jersey) in an RV resort, the idea is purchase a nice trailer, place it on the lot to stay there permanently and rent it out. The trailer needs to get raised on blocks to meet FEMA standards and a deck built around the raised trailer to add additional value and usable space. I hired a contractor to do the following:
1. Raise the trailer on blocks to the correct height per FEMA requirements and tie the trailer down to secure from high winds ($2,900 - paid in full)
2. Build a deck around the trailer ($14,000 - I paid 50% up front)
Neither job has been completed, in fact the deck work has never even started, and the contractor has become unresponsive.
* When the contractor was trying to raise the trailer on the blocks, he did two really bad things. He damaged the trailer (I have photo evidence) and he raised the trailer to an unsafe height well above FEMA standards without tying it down. People in the resort became very concerned and contacted me as well as the Virginia Beach city inspectors. The contractor lied and said no damage had been done to the trailer and it was at the correct height
* All of this work was supposed to be completed within a week, we are now in over two months and all that has been done is damage to my trailer
* During all this time I have been unable to rent out my property, except to someone who booked it far out in advance. This has severely hampered my income on this properly
* I had to hire another contractor and pay him to properly tie down and block the trailer as my one renter who booked way in advance was coming in. My contractor obviously could not be trusted to do this work, and would most likely cause even more damage to my property
* Board members from the association of the resort contacted me and informed me the contractor had never even submitted plans for the deck, which is required for board approval before setting up any new freestanding structures. The contractor lied about this as well
* The contractor consistently lied for months saying that work was in progress and materials have been purchased, yet no work had been done (except for unsafely raising on blocks and causing damage and not tying down to secure)
* I've asked the contractor to provide me with an invoice and receipt of the materials purchased for the blocking/tie down and deck materials. He said he would provide, but all he sent was a quote, not a receipt. I told him I did not want a quote, but a receipt and he has yet to provide. It has been two weeks since asking
* He has become completely unresponsive, I can tell his still in town as other people I know down there see him around
Long story short, he's stolen over $10,000 from me, damaged my property and has not completely any of the work I hired him for. I've lost thousands of dollars in ability to earn income from renting out, and am having to pay for everything else again for the other contractor.
Do I need to hire a lawyer? Do they need to be in Virginia Beach, or can they be where I am in New Jersey?
If he does happen to pick up his phone, should I be recording the call? Virginia is one party consent state.
Any recommendations on how best to approach this?
1. Raise the trailer on blocks to the correct height per FEMA requirements and tie the trailer down to secure from high winds ($2,900 - paid in full)
2. Build a deck around the trailer ($14,000 - I paid 50% up front)
Neither job has been completed, in fact the deck work has never even started, and the contractor has become unresponsive.
* When the contractor was trying to raise the trailer on the blocks, he did two really bad things. He damaged the trailer (I have photo evidence) and he raised the trailer to an unsafe height well above FEMA standards without tying it down. People in the resort became very concerned and contacted me as well as the Virginia Beach city inspectors. The contractor lied and said no damage had been done to the trailer and it was at the correct height
* All of this work was supposed to be completed within a week, we are now in over two months and all that has been done is damage to my trailer
* During all this time I have been unable to rent out my property, except to someone who booked it far out in advance. This has severely hampered my income on this properly
* I had to hire another contractor and pay him to properly tie down and block the trailer as my one renter who booked way in advance was coming in. My contractor obviously could not be trusted to do this work, and would most likely cause even more damage to my property
* Board members from the association of the resort contacted me and informed me the contractor had never even submitted plans for the deck, which is required for board approval before setting up any new freestanding structures. The contractor lied about this as well
* The contractor consistently lied for months saying that work was in progress and materials have been purchased, yet no work had been done (except for unsafely raising on blocks and causing damage and not tying down to secure)
* I've asked the contractor to provide me with an invoice and receipt of the materials purchased for the blocking/tie down and deck materials. He said he would provide, but all he sent was a quote, not a receipt. I told him I did not want a quote, but a receipt and he has yet to provide. It has been two weeks since asking
* He has become completely unresponsive, I can tell his still in town as other people I know down there see him around
Long story short, he's stolen over $10,000 from me, damaged my property and has not completely any of the work I hired him for. I've lost thousands of dollars in ability to earn income from renting out, and am having to pay for everything else again for the other contractor.
Do I need to hire a lawyer? Do they need to be in Virginia Beach, or can they be where I am in New Jersey?
If he does happen to pick up his phone, should I be recording the call? Virginia is one party consent state.
Any recommendations on how best to approach this?
