Couple pays a residential contractor up front, gets unfinished project
Better Call Harry works out a compromise, but the lesson is, don’t pay in full before the project gets underway
LOGANVILLE, Ga. (CBS46) - When Jerome Domek and Carol Risola hired a contractor for some remodeling, they received drawings and a contract. For $28,000, the Loganville couple got a nice-looking kitchen, which isn’t bad for a project that began at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.
For the most part, the contractor did good work. Now, however, the project is showing some problems, with floor separations, missing thresholds, and missing shelving. Two years later, the couple’s punch list - a list of things that aren’t satisfactory - remains incomplete.
The couple said their big mistake was paying the contractor in full before all the work was done.
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Jason Fortner with H N Remodeling said getting the project done during a pandemic wasn’t easy. At the end of this project, he claimed they owed him money, and they said, it’s the other way around. More than a year has passed since Jerome and Carol talked with H N Remodeling.
Now, however, Fortner and the couple have reached a compromise: Jerome and Carol are giving up on their punch list, and Fortner is refunding them an amount they requested, totaling $1,100.
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The lesson here? Don’t pay the entire amount up front; only pay in portions, and don’t make the final payment until the job is completely done and you’re satisfied.
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