re: Advice on how to deal with a general contractor?

Not sure. I don't know of someone who deals with construction law in your area. Best of luck, though. Sounds like a shitty situation and I hope you can get it rectified.

Sounds like you've already had some communication with his subs. I'd get them on the phone asap to ask two important questions: have they been paid in full to date by your GC and will they complete the job directly for you if required. You don't have much work left to do so the risk is low in terms of your knowledge of the construction process. Does your GC have all of the required inspections to obtain a certificate of occupancy. I'm a commercial guy so I don't know what all is required on a residential project. The local permit/inspections office will be able to educate you on what is required if the GC won't tell you. Be prepared for your GC to walk or stall even more once he gets wind of your conversations with his subs and the snooping around about permits/inspections. I'd also figure out who all of his suppliers are for materials. More often than not in this day and age the way your GC runs his construction jobs is indicative of how he handles his back office business. If he's not making timely payment to his suppliers you could be close to liens on your property. Have you been requiring lien releases and/or sworn statements for his payments to all subs/suppliers? Again, I'm a commercial guy so these things are pretty standard since we're normally dealing with sophisticated owners. Doubt it happens much in the residential world, especially in a small market like yours.

I have a buddy who does commercial construction law in BR. He may have a reference for someone down in your area.

Steps I'd take:
1) consult attorney for specific laws pertaining to termination for cause since its not in your contract...any construction attorney should be able to tell you this in a 30min conversation. Also have them briefly review your contract.
2) immediately contact all subs and suppliers to determine your risk exposure with regard to who's been paid and who hasn't and what liens may be imminent. He could be floating all these guys to the end of the job and then once your inside the last 30 days just default on all those bills. Subs/suppliers won't go much longer than 30days unless he's very reputable and/or has a long standing relationship with them.
3) figure out what inspections still need to be completed in order to obtain CO.
4) determine all work needed to be complete in order to direct remaining subs yourself. Once I got these guys on board I'd have a meeting with each of them at the property and develop a quick plan for finishing the work. Those guys will have a much better idea than you on sequence of work although you don't have much left to do.
5) lastly, I'd build my case against this builder. This means print all emails, texts, etc you've sent him or received showing you've been doing everything possible to communicate the situation. Put a list of out of pocket expenses you've incurred due to his lack of ability to comply with the project schedule. Include any anticipated attorney costs, all subs/suppliers payments he hasn't made that you could be on the hook for, etc. Create an overall timeline from the very beginning that will potentially demonstrate his inability to perform in a timely fashion. Time is of the essence.

Good luck man. I'm a construction guy and I just hate to hear about people like this out there that give the rest of us a bad name. I'm also assuming that your story all checks out and he doesn't have a whole other side to be able to demonstrate that you delayed the job at 5 different points due to lack of timely decision making.

Did I miss read an earlier post, you paid him his final draw and he still had work to complete?

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Hey man117, I am about to build in Thibodaux. Email me the contractor name if u don't mind to make sure I don't use this person.
bguidry@hotmail.com

Ok, so you have a bit of leverage with the 15k. I wouldn't give the guy a nickel for as long as he went over his contract time. So 7 weeks and counting.

Hey man, sorry to hear about your problem. The bad news is it will be really hard to get someone to come finish his work. Warranty possibilities on top of either having to switch subs or use the people he hired to finish wold be a nightmare. He may intend to finish and is just really bad at it. Closing is the hardest part.
What I would do. I would not pay one more cent until he is done. I would hire a new home inspector to make sure all the small items are done. Guys who struggle closing are the ones who leave multiple items and prey on people's impatience to slide by with 10 times not complete.
Does he have a social media? I would ask questions there. If it's a business that markets through his website or Facebook, he will freak out if you start asking questions there. If he works out the back of his truck, it won't worry him so much.
Have a lawyer send him a letter talking about loan lock in and completion dates. Does he have insurance? Ask for a copy of that. I think he has to provide it if you ask and call them. You want him motivated to finish. Find what motivates him.

When a general contractor fails to complete their work on time, 9 times out of 10 they are dealin with financial issues. First thing you do this morning is reach out to all of the subcontractors that have worked on your house to date and inquire about their payments on your house. There could be numerous people/ subs not paid that will place own on your property, which will hinder and delay closing when the house is complete.

The subs you talk to will inevitably notify the general that the owner is calling them direct. This will piss him off and prompt immediate action. I dealt with a shitty house contractor (Luke Construction) last year and was able to get out of my contract. A bad experience with a shitty contractor will ruin everything in your word until they're out of your hair.

Good luck to you.

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