Q: Can a builder ask for compensation without a written contract for suggesting an architect and meeting with you ..
I met with the builder couple of times and am paying the architect, engineering and surveyer . he did ask to be copy pasted on all emails and did attend a couple of meetings .. we never had a written contract.. the layout is 65% done and it’s time to give it off for bidding.. this guy was very hard to get a hold of and I felt like we couldn’t be good fits.. I had two other builders who I was in touch with .. had e mail and text exchanges.. but none asked for a compensation.. he is asking that I pay him for the fact that we had a verbal understanding and that he had already talked to contractors etc... he never gave me any estimate or any suggestion..he felt like he shared ideas with this architect and spent time doing that..I am paying the architect for all that and have it in a written contract with the architect.
A: Possibly. It depends on what your discussions were. Verbal contracts can be binding. It doesn't help that he was copied on emails and attended some meetings. That may entitle him to some amount of compensation, though probably not much. I would need more information before telling you for sure, and you need to talk to the architect about how much he participated in the design.
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