Читать книгу Why Do Contractors Lie? - J.O.A.Maurice - Страница 13

My, my. Sometimes you have gone through a lot, you think you have seen it all. As I learned earlier on in rehabbing, no two houses are the same, no matter how similar in structure they may appear. Now, I had also believed that no two contractors are the same, no matter how similar in approach they may appear to be. A friend of mine would say, there is nothing new there. No two human beings are exactly alike even if they are identical twins. Except with contractors and rehabbing, you are dealing with your hard-earned investments, so your emotions are likely to run deep. The lesson here is that every contractor is unique and your only way out is to set ground rules that you strictly go by, save for a few minor deviations depending on different circumstances.

From time to time, I experienced how merciless contractors can be. My first mistake was not knowing the specifics of my final product. I let the contractors tell me what they thought I wanted. Each of the contractors I brought in had a different take on the rehab. They probably realized they could manipulate me due to my ignorance. And manipulate they did! They gave me plans of what they believed was pleasant to hear, but not necessarily what they intended to do. When they showed up to work, they cut corners as much as possible. Since we didn’t write out specifics of the project, they left themselves wiggle room to say that what they did was what we had agreed on. They asked for additional money if I wanted to do more to fit what I had wanted from the beginning.

I learned my lesson that it is important to spend time and resources upfront to be able to control your destiny, or unscrupulous people will control you and your resources. When someone is controlling you, sometimes they put their interests first and yours last. In many cases, they put you in a losing situation or one that minimizes your gains as much as possible.