What do you guys do when a client won't pay? I have a client that went full ghost mode after the survey was completed. Small lot survey, spent about an hour or so diggin up the corners. There is of course a signed agreement. I have already sent him notice that an intent to lein is possible but still full ghost. Any thoughts??ÿ
That sucks.I sued a woman that wouldn't pay me. Liened her house and threatened foreclosure.
She had bigger problems than me, and the bankruptcy wiped it away. I was the smallest debt she had.
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I learned to never tell people you're taking legal action against them, unless your agreement specifically says that you have to in the dialouge.
Lis Pendens versus Lien, good topic of discussion.
I personally file liens esp after receiving a judgement. No nonsense and effective. If people are willing to work it out, great, if not screw em.?ÿ If it gets particulalrily nasty, I have served process papers before.?ÿ Its been a few years, but i way scarier looking now and more highly trained.?ÿ 😉
Good Luck.
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For those that have sealed and signed deliverables - no signed deliverable until full payment is made.
For those that have no sealed and signed deliverables - retainer to cover anticipated cost prior to commencing work.
I have been curious about this.?ÿ How exactly do you guys charge people??ÿ Do you require half of the fee up front and the other half upon completion?
I require, except for title companies, a credit card number to hold the estimated balance of the quoted fee, for smaller lot surveys.?ÿ Nobody gets and signed and sealed copy of my survey until the charge clears.?ÿ The title companies I work with have been great and send me allot of work in volume, because they know it will be turned around quickly.?ÿ I also do allot of large commercial projects and large construction layout projects, the initial cost for title and topo is discounted if we have a written agreement that our engineering staff will be doing the design work and we will be doing the layout work for construction.?ÿ My set up time is free, but, they pay hourly for crew time to layout the construction.?ÿ Our pricing is unique, fair and has been a game changer in the area we work in.?ÿ A title survey for a property up to 1 acre has a set fee, higher than the competitors, and we we require a full title search and report before even scheduling the work.?ÿ We have been doing well in using that model and tweaking it, and, we don't advertise at all.
I've been getting a $1000 deposit to calendar the project (CC web page)
ps... in my area this is about 1/3 of of the cost
I recent completed the renovation of my house. Every one of the contractors we had in expected, and got, a big up front payment before beginning work, and regular payments in advance for work that was going to be done.?ÿ
Don't be shy about getting your money up front.?ÿ?ÿ
Kind of an odd question but how do you charge the credit card??ÿ Do you actually have one of those swipe machines in your office or is there a way to, for example, process the charge online?
Depending on the laws in your State and the total amount owed you can go the route of Small Claims or Limited Liability Suit.?ÿ It takes time but can be very effective for those with assets and/or a job where notice of a judgement leading to garnishment of wages can lead to them becoming unemployed.?ÿ?ÿ
However, there are some people who have no money, no real assets and no job.?ÿ I went the limit with one old heifer and came within one day of selling the tract I surveyed before she found an attorney and found enough cash to cover ALL of my expenses over and above the original fee and court costs and interest and my attorney fees.?ÿ She had to sell the land but I was going to get it for a fraction of what it was really worth.
I don't require money up front, but then I don't do much work for homeowners -- most of my work is for commercial and governmental entities.?ÿ I've had 4 problem clients in 27 years:?ÿ 3 small-time developers and 1 long-time colleague and friend, all of whom I sued in Small Claims Court.
The colleague situation -- a good surveyor who got super busy and hired me to do several small jobs for him -- got in over his head with payables and wouldn't return phone calls, emails or mailed invoices.?ÿ Once I sued he got embarrassed enough to pay.?ÿ We've been on good terms ever since.
2 of the developers paid after I got a judgment, though one of them -- a Planning Commissioner for a nearby city -- didn't see the light until I threatened to garnishee his wife's wages.
The third developer saw me coming from a mile away.?ÿ After having no success contacting him for several months I turned it over to a collection agency.?ÿ They got back to me and said the guy is judgment proof, owns nothing in his own name, and never intended to pay me.?ÿ I blame this one on the Small Claims Commissioner (who wasn't a real judge), because she only awarded the judgement against the individual and not the LLC he's with, despite the fact that both names were on the contract.?ÿ Had the LLC been named on the judgment I could have liened the property I surveyed (a hotel).?ÿ That was in 2006, and it cost me about $6k.?ÿ I still have occasional daydreams about breaking the guys knees with a baseball bat.
I'm liking the upfront payment idea.?ÿ
You can subscribe to a service like Square, PayPal Costco and Sams have credit card machines you can do similar with
Reaearch the options for CC POS online.
Lots of resources there.?ÿ Build a solid business plan and an honest to?ÿ god legitimate P&L sheet to line out all your costs and dont dawdle.
My only caveat is I never pay for labor in advance. Period. It leaves no incentive for the work to take place. A small deposit to start work or like an escrow to cover initial costs sure. 50% never.
And I have a fairly decent general contractor contract I had drafted that isn't a pile of megacompany arbitration blah blah with time lines and percentage of completion benchmarks and written ramifications if deadlines and targets aren't on schedule.
All materials and permits are paid for in my name and delivered to my address.?ÿ The ones that balk can walk.
I've always found that when dealing with honest legitimate contractors( as a I am one occasionally) is easy because they come in with good refs and no excuses.
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"Sure.....you can install my water heater, because the local yocals wont allow me to....wheres your license number and proof of insurance?"
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😉
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Nah dont do that....give him the Fast Eddie Felson Special......
Not being able to physically wipe your own arse is the bottom of most reality......
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And like I mentioned previously, I occasionally do contract work
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My brother has his own remodel and small commercial build-out business and he offers his clients the choice of lump sum or time and materials.?ÿ He says the vast majority pick time and materials.?ÿ He doesn't charge them anything in advance but he does bill them weekly.?ÿ I've tried to see if any of his business practices could apply to a survey business but it seems most of the time no.?ÿ But yeah good references seem key as he doesn't need to advertise and still turns work away.
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new client - 50% down, 50% upon submission of deliverables.?ÿ
old client?ÿ ?ÿ- 30% down, 40% upon completion of fieldwork, 30% upon submission of deliverables.
from experience, the 30%-50% downpayment would cover all your expenses.
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People can immediately see the value of a remodel, which isn't necessarily the case for surveying.?ÿ
Whether it's obvious to them or subconscious, they can see a new floor, kitchen, bath, etc.?ÿ To a lot of them, it looks like we just set or flagged some pipes and gave them a drawing that they don't really understand how much work it took to produce.