Q: how can the HOA get our funds reimbursed for an improvement project gone wrong with no signed contract?
He then sent us a contract to sign that was worded differently from our verbal agreement and had also completely denied agreeing to provide a number of services that were omitted. The problem is that we, the HOA board mailed him the material deposit check of $7700 and is now sitting with some of the needed materials to do the project but not all of them. we have 7 loads of gravel and that's it. 2 Basketball goals at $1600/goal have not been bought. He charged us $500 per load for 7 loads of Gravel. $7700-$3500= $4200. we only want the $3200 for our goals. We wish to hire another contractor but this contractor has threaten to place a mechanics lien on our property if we don"t agree to the terms of HIS contract and has been extremely rude and belligerent. He says he will not give us the funds and we need to sign the contract or else. What can we do to regain ALL/some of our fund s?
A: If the written contract does not accurately describe your agreement, do not sign it. Unfortunately, that leaves you with a verbal agreement which will be your word against his. The contractor cannot force you to sign the contract. At this point ,he has already been paid for the materials supplied, so it appears he has no right to file a lien. Liens are only valid for the labor and materials supplied, not for the full contract price for work he has not performed. I would suggest a termination letter to the contractor requesting that he refund the balance since he has not performed any additional work. At this point, it is probably best to use an attorney for this letter so that the HOA's rights and the contractors rights can be clearly stated.
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