http://www.tarkka.com/blog Tarkka Homes Blog http://www.tarkka.com/blog/7    I was having a chat with a purveyor of kitchen cabinets the other day.  He had just finished a phone conversation with a new client.  This client had previously hired a contractor to remodel his kitchen for a price of $15,000.  The contractor wanted half up front and the client forked it over without any questions, nothing in writing, no specifications, zippo.  You know what comes next, right?     The story goes that the contractor ripped out all of the old kitchen cabinets, then demanded half of the remaining balance.  The client finally got wise and protested.  “You barely got started and you want another $3,750?  I think you should at least get the new cabinets here first.”  “No dice” the contractor told him.  “That’s my policy and if you don’t pay up, I can’t finish your job.”  And off he went.    After what must have been the Super Bowl of wife lectures, the guy finds the aforementioned kitchen salesman and asks him to finish the job.  “I can get this done for you”, the salesman tells him, “for $25,000.”  The guy freaks.  “The other contractor was only charging me $15,000.  I thought we could get it done for that.”  No dice.     The $25,000 quoted by the salesman was a fair price and coupled with the $7,500 given away to the first contractor, this gentleman learned an expensive lesson.   And what was that lesson?  That some people are dishonest?  Well, we already knew that.  No, what we learn from this is that you need to be able to do something about dishonest people when you catch them.  In this case, was the contractor breaking the law?  Probably not.  He told this fellah how much money he wanted but he didn’t tell him what he was getting.  When asked, the contractor wouldn’t even tell the client what kind of cabinets he was providing!!  Sleazy, yes, but illegal?    What was needed here is exactly what the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of NH proposed in Senate Bill 100, which required a contract for home improvement projects.  Requiring an agreement in writing isn’t about criminalizing the lack of a pen and paper.  It’s about giving the contractor a teensy bit of responsibility to inform the client what they are buying, from who, at what price and when they can expect delivery.  Or so one would think.    Foes of SB 100 worried about Nanny State legislation wagged their fingers at requirements like phone numbers and street addresses in the contract document.  Opponents of the bill warned that a consumer with an unlisted phone number would have their privacy violated or face up to a year in jail.  Voila, this common sense legislation aimed at injecting a little responsibility on contractors is magically transformed into an anti-consumer bill.  Incredible.    When an industry voluntarily provides a selfless solution to dealing with bad actors and a nagging problem, the NH Legislature would be well advised to take them up on it.  This simple bill was a slow, underhand pitch and yet lawmakers whiffed impressively.  There is no joy in Mudville, Mighty Casey has struck out.... en-us Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:55:11 -0800 http://www.tarkka.com/blog/4 Once upon a Springtime screwy, Gazing at my garden gooey, Thinking of my salesman Dave who, Signed upon the dotted line, A client by the name of Drummer, Who needs a home built by midsummer, On roads so bad you need a Hummer, Not this poor old Dodge of mine. Not this two wheel drive old Dodge, That used to look so new and fine, But now squeaks and groins and whines. Staring at a sign of warning, That was posted just this morning, SIX TON LIMIT PER SELECTMEN, News of which had made me sore. Now my excavator stranded, Sits and rusts near lumber banded, Causing me to say quite candid, “Why me Lord I must implore?” “I’m getting sick and tired of this, Madness every Spring for sure!” Crappy roads forevermore. Upon Road Agent I descended, Comments crass to him offended, But whose will remained unbended, Standing stiff and straight and sure. “You shall not pass” he said undaunted, “Your heavy trucks are here unwanted, Elsewhere go with ego flaunted, This road your weight cannot endure. Take your trucks and hoes and go, Until the roads are drier more. Don’t get your butt hit by the door.” Off I slunk downcast, dejected, My empassioned pleas rejected, By the Agent whose harsh words, Now rang into my eardrums core. “Why, oh why must you insist, To hand me this Cease and Desist, Your pardon begged and boots I’ve kissed, Kissed ‘til my lips are chapped and sore. When may we pass upon this road And build our client’s homes once more?” “When I say so, and not before.” “Fine” I grumped my final word, And to his back flipped him the bird, Defeated, done, detained, deterred, A beaten man with strength no more. A better man than I today, The Road Agent had final say, And so from off this road we stay, Our laden trucks we do detour, And as I tried to take my leave, A final oath to me he swore. “Permits for you? Hah! Nevermore!”... en-us Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:48:24 -0800