kimbalee
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Anyone have any recommendations in SoCal (we r in Corona)? For a dispute with a Colorado steel building company.
Basically we bought a building in October last year, signed the contract, locked in our steel price and now they are demanding another $100k bc of steel price increases. Either we pay or forfeit the $50k we have already paid and walk away.Could you give a broad summary of the issue?
I usually have someone I can recommend but I need a little better understanding of the issue.
This may be an advantage. Thank youJim Greer. Helped me out multiple times. He has office in Del Mar but now lives in Colorado. Not sure if that is a plus for your case or not.
1942 Broadway, Ste. 314
Boulder, CO 80302
Telephone: (303) 818-8422
Signed contract with a 50k deposit?Basically we bought a building in October last year, signed the contract, locked in our steel price and now they are demanding another $100k bc of steel price increases. Either we pay or forfeit the $50k we have already paid and walk away.
There is a paragraph in the terms and conditions that says if price increases due to deliberate BUYER DELAY, then they can put those costs on buyer. We never delayed anything but they are saying we did (do your business in email writing not phone calls). We shall see what the lawyers say. Thank you all for your recommendations.Is there an escalation clause?
Basically we bought a building in October last year, signed the contract, locked in our steel price and now they are demanding another $100k bc of steel price increases. Either we pay or forfeit the $50k we have already paid and walk away.
Suppliers cannot control the Commodity Markets. Ultimately the end user is going to be on the hook for cost increases. Your only other alternative is to have your builder either walk away and take him to court or file bankruptcy. Either way your totally fucked!Just a thought on this matter. You can hedge against price increase for most commodities these days? I know they do it for jet fuel. Lumber? Precious metals? Price fluctuations seems to be a foreseeable and regular occurrence so maybe suppliers should be on the hook for doing their job in a competent manner.
This is exactly what we are afraid of. The bastards literally have us by the balls and there is nothing we can do but pay unless we tie it up in court/attorneys for $1000s & months. It is a big builiding (7,000 sq ft) but to double the cost with a 25% commodity increase is absurd. As a last resort I emailed the company owner this morning and I will be giving James Greer (colorado atty) a call this afternoon. Thank you all again.If you’re contractor can substantiate the price increase (in writing) I might be willing to negotiate if there is no true escalation clause, but a $100K increase seems extremely high unless the steel building is ginormous? (You didn’t say the square footage?) The problem is deliberating this in court for years to get back $50K may end up costing you more in the long run. Good Luck. I feel your pain - Lumber Price increase just jacked up the construction cost on my home by $35K. Not an easy pill to swallow.
This is exactly what we are afraid of. The bastards literally have us by the balls and there is nothing we can do but pay unless we tie it up in court/attorneys for $1000s & months. It is a big builiding (7,000 sq ft) but to double the cost with a 25% commodity increase is absurd. As a last resort I emailed the company owner this morning and I will be giving James Greer (colorado atty) a call this afternoon. Thank you all again.
This is exactly what we are afraid of. The bastards literally have us by the balls and there is nothing we can do but pay unless we tie it up in court/attorneys for $1000s & months. It is a big builiding (7,000 sq ft) but to double the cost with a 25% commodity increase is absurd. As a last resort I emailed the company owner this morning and I will be giving James Greer (colorado atty) a call this afternoon. Thank you all again.
Up to a $1000. So if he paid 50k I would of expected them to purchase the building at that time and lock in the current rate. But not sure of the contract law in Colorado. A 50k deposit is a hefty commitment without them purchasing anything at the time.Excuse my ignorance but i thought a contractor was only allowed to take 10 percent down ?
Excuse my ignorance but i thought a contractor was only allowed to take 10 percent down ?
Yep. Pretty sure the OP is the GC.I think the company is a building manufacturer, not a contractor. Therefore they are not constrained by state contractor laws.
This is exactly what we are afraid of. The bastards literally have us by the balls and there is nothing we can do but pay unless we tie it up in court/attorneys for $1000s & months. It is a big builiding (7,000 sq ft) but to double the cost with a 25% commodity increase is absurd. As a last resort I emailed the company owner this morning and I will be giving James Greer (colorado atty) a call this afternoon. Thank you all again.
No - just for the steel building but it includes engineering for the structure and permit drawings. This is what we are building.Something is wrong...... they are asking for an additional $100k for a 7k sq foot building?
Or does this include the concrete work and install?
That is exactly what we are probably going to do. Wait until the supply/demand balances out - exactly what HB2Havasu recommended.Steel has gone up much more than 25% depending on what you are dealing in, more like 2-3x. My steel costs have gone from $0.45/lb on average to $.85-$1.80/lb depending on the item.
For example -
1.5" steel angle, was $10.50, now $15.45
2.5x3.5x3/16 steel tube, was $93, now $305
3/16x48x96 steel tread plate, was $108.20, now $421.05
If your building was $100k and it's now $200k and you can't prove you didn't cause any delays, It sounds like the best you can do is sit tight and wait for the prices to come back down. If you were to get your $50k back would you be able to get a competitor to build for less than the $200k? I doubt it....
We could not agree with everything you just said more. Thank you very much. We spoke to Jim Greer (thank you Mandelon - what a first class and SMART guy) and he pretty much told us everything you just said so that is what we are going to do - the manufacturer has told us in writing that we can do that. We are building at 4800ft asl so won't be able to do anything in the winter anyway so will wait it out and hope like hell you're right and the steel prices come down! One question tho' - what market or commodity site/price should we be looking at the trend for to get an accurate picture of what the steel manufacturers are paying? I can't tell from your pic what your source was. I don't want to get bamboozled by them again.Not sure where your getting that there has only been a 25% increase? Steel prices have more than doubled in the last year. I don't think your builder is trying to rip you off. I couldn't morally or ethically expect my builder to eat the cost increases alone. I personally would wait until the end of summer unless you MUST have this building done now? Retail prices for steel and lumber are going to drastically fall by September/October timeframe. Building Permits have hit a low - Material Pricing usually follows the trend a few months later when retail inventories start to stack up and there is no demand at the Mills. So unless your in a rush to get this building started now I would either eat the cost increases or wait out the market to get over all this panic buying. Attorneys should be your last resort - not your first. Just Saying! Good Luck.
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I use this: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/hrn00We could not agree with everything you just said more. Thank you very much. We spoke to Jim Greer (thank you Mandelon - what a first class and SMART guy) and he pretty much told us everything you just said so that is what we are going to do - the manufacturer has told us in writing that we can do that. We are building at 4800ft asl so won't be able to do anything in the winter anyway so will wait it out and hope like hell you're right and the steel prices come down! One question tho' - what market or commodity site/price should we be looking at the trend for to get an accurate picture of what the steel manufacturers are paying? I can't tell from your pic what your source was. I don't want to get bamboozled by them again.
No - just for the steel building but it includes engineering for the structure and permit drawings. This is what we are building.
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No - just for the steel building but it includes engineering for the structure and permit drawings. This is what we are building.
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our contract was for $104k in October. Now they are holding us hostage bc of steel price increases and our cost is now $200k. That is why I posted to get the advice of a construction attorney. Turns out fighting them would probably result in losing our $50k they already have, massive atty/court costs (even tho signed contract, the damn scamdemic and affected commodity prices come into play), months/years delay and worst of all - we will never get our building so we are going to wait for the steel prices to hopefully go down, reduce the steel cost part (agreed by the manufacturer) and get the building delivered next year instead. It sucks but it is our best option at this point.F N A
What are the details on this. Rough costs?
our contract was for $104k in October. Now they are holding us hostage bc of steel price increases and our cost is now $200k. That is why I posted to get the advice of a construction attorney. Turns out fighting them would probably result in losing our $50k they already have, massive atty/court costs (even tho signed contract, the damn scamdemic and affected commodity prices come into play), months/years delay and worst of all - we will never get our building so we are going to wait for the steel prices to hopefully go down, reduce the steel cost part (agreed by the manufacturer) and get the building delivered next year instead. It sucks but it is our best option at this point.
he did not and he advised us if there was a way they would agree to wait until the steel prices come down, to do so. Funnily enough, he kinda got bamboozled the same sort of way some years ago with a cabin that he had purchased. They got you by the balls when u don't have the building yet.I would sure stay in touch with them on the regular. Did Greer have anything to say about them holding the deposit for that long? That would kinda scare me.
Whatever you do, do not do business with Armstrong Steel in CO. They have shady connections apparently to some company in Pittsburgh and somehow General Steel also comes into the conversation but they are straight up DISHONEST.Since we are in the market for numerous steel bldgs right now, please let us know who the company is?
Were getting a lot of bs right now trying to complete the rv park. The locals just see us as a cash register