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Before You Sign That Contract: (Part 2)The second installment of necessary information to know before you sign!
Before you sign that contract... Part 2
Copyright © C. S. McMinn 2006
(Excerps from “Understanding Contract Clauses” by C. S. McMinn.)
DISCLAIMER: Nothing contained in this article is presented as legal advice. We strongly recommend you have all contracts and legal documents reviewed by a competent, state-registered attorney. The ideas and suggestions contained herein are presented as advice only and are not to be used in any legally binding format, document or contract.
What every contract MUST include:
[indnet]No matter how simple the contract may be– handwritten, scribbled on a napkin or whatever, it must include the following essentials:
Every contract needs to state who is doing what for whom. Your name and the contractor’s name(s) need to be in there, along with correct addresses and so on.
The nature of the project should be summarized in brief written form and linked directly to an exact written description of the plans and relevant documents which define your project. Wording like this: the remodel as shown on plans by John Doe, is never good enough. That description of the plans should read like this:
The Smith remodel as detailed in the following plans: sheets A1, A2, A3, A4 and dated 4/10/02, with revisions dated 5/12/02 and 5/28/02, along with the specifications, pages one thru eight and dated 5/28/02.
At first glance, this level of precision looks excessive. But who could say, months, or years from now, which plans were meant if these individual sheet numbers and dates were omitted? On most projects, there are many copies of individual plan sheets. As details are refined, things change. You don’t want a dispute to arise because an employee of your contractor read an earlier detail and you have no way of demonstrating you signed a contract for a new sink and counter. Memories soon grow fuzzy.
You need clear language stating that... the scope of work to be performed by your contractor is all that work, as defined in the plans... followed by the sheet numbers and dates as shown above. No exceptions.
What if the nature of the work precludes plans? For many projects, like re-roofing, painting and floor coverings, plans are irrelevant. In these cases, you need specifications. Carefully written descriptions which are either a part of the contract, or are included as an addendum or exhibit. For example: ABC Painting will paint the Smith residence in accordance to the specifications written out on exhibit “A” which is attached and a part of this contract. Then, write out what you want. Look up the chapter on “repaints” in our manual. There’s clauses in there you must use for repaints!
Every contract needs to define if a contractor will do all the work on a set of plans, or some of the work. If your contract is for all the framing, is that spelled out anywhere? Has anyone explained to you what “all the framing” includes? Do you know? The time to ask questions is now– not after you’ve signed your name to pay in full!
In part three we’ll cover some more crucial details... |
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