re: Contractor invoice 1 year later

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I tried to pay the day they completed the work, but the workers didn’t have the capability to accept payment and said the PM would call me to get the payment.

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So you didn't pay someone for the work done on your house? Is that correct? That pretty shitty.

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I don’t have the cash on hand to pay now, do I have to pay these guys?

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Get the money and pay them. How would you like it if they made you pay up front and then they didn't come out and do the work? It's the same thing.

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SMACKYtheFROG

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I understand that its the contractors fault for not following up and getting his final payment for accepted work complete.

But after a month or two from the work being complete, did you think he did it for free? That you got away with free work? I know you were thinking about it.

I'm sure this contractor needs the money. You can probably work a deal out with him.

Many small businesses do this. Most don't have good book keepers and do that part haphazardly. I know, when I started my business I did the exact same thing. Then I realized I needed to fix it.

If he is digging for cash from 18 months ago, he is hurting. He did your work, he spent his money, you agreed to pay him and you should.

I got invoiced from 2 years ago for services rendered. I had actually contacted the business multiple times to tell them I had never been billed. I was pretty pissed as it was a substantial sum and I would have loved to have paid it in 2018. But it is what it is, I owed them the money.

They also have an obligation to provide a timely invoice. Common sense, just think about it...what stops contractors from doing work and then billing you 5 years down the road? Yes it’s a cash flow dependent industry but the same goes for any service with regards to providing timely invoices. They become void after a certain duration which varies from state to state

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Should have ran as fast as you could to the next contractor. A contractor that can't afford to pay his employees is one that doesn't have worker's comp, liability, or much business sense

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"To hand the money to for the cost of the project"

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do I have to pay these guys?

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Yes.

Once upon a time in my professional life I had to bring a concrete contractor back to do rework on a slab that didn’t finish out properly. Basically his forms gave out and the slab wasn’t level or square. Fast forward and the guy sent me a bill for the work. Sent him back a rejection notice stating I wasn’t paying him for rework. Sent me a bill again, repeat. Next time I got a certified letter demanding payment or threatening legal action. I responded with a bill for the concrete material and disposal costs I had to incur to replace the incorrectly placed slab that i had not charged him for and demanded a response within 72 hrs. I never received one and I was shocked he’d go to all that trouble and never follow up to see it through.

I found out later the guy died, and that’s why it never went further. So you could always hope for that especially since you clearly owe this guy the money. “You Snooze you lose” is not a legally binding argument unless you write in invoicing terms in the contract

Call then and explain it’s been so long your financial situation changed and cannot pay in full. See if they’ll settle for a lower amount or a payment plan of some type.

Or, since your financial sense is about on par for this, go to cash advance with your truck title

His advice is not spot on. No state allows a lien to be filed 18 months after completion of work and after the house is sold to a third-party.

Can they sue him and get a judgment (which will attach as lien to whatever he owns now), yes. But unless this is some obscure state I'm not aware of, the lien deadline has long passed.

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I had work done on my house over a year ago. I paid a deposit prior to the work being done and almost 1.5 years later received an invoice for the remainder. 

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You would have seen me show up at your house in 1.5 days later if you didnt come to me with a check.