Help needed with simple contractual agreements
June 22, 2017 10:01 AM Subscribe
I frequently hire small companies or individual workers for small jobs around the house such as landscaping and carpentry. Occasionally they write up a contract that spells out the work to be done and the expected price. Other times they don't, or the agreement they show me isn't as detailed as I would like.
What are my options here? I suppose I could write a document myself for them to sign and agree to, or have them re-write theirs, or, what?
What are some standard ways to deal with this that the "contractors" would less likely argue about?
Are there online standard documents of the fill-in-the-blank variety? What are they called?
Any other suggestions or ideas?
Thanks!
What are my options here? I suppose I could write a document myself for them to sign and agree to, or have them re-write theirs, or, what?
What are some standard ways to deal with this that the "contractors" would less likely argue about?
Are there online standard documents of the fill-in-the-blank variety? What are they called?
Any other suggestions or ideas?
Thanks!
would constitute a binding agreement
IANYL. This is actually a tricky issue; whether it would be considered part of the contract if the parties have signed (or will sign) another document (that is, whatever the contractor has provided) would vary considerably based on circumstances. Better to put all terms in one document.
There certainly are template contracts kicking around, but the problem is that you may not understand the significance or implications of a provision and so would not be sure what you were agreeing to. A well-meaning but inexperienced landlord of mine used a template lease off the web, and we had to spend a couple of hours going through it just to take out the provisions that I knew were unenforceable in my state and reach agreement on replacements. You might find yourself accidentally agreeing to bring any related lawsuit in Florida or something.
posted by praemunire at 2:57 PM on June 22, 2017
IANYL. This is actually a tricky issue; whether it would be considered part of the contract if the parties have signed (or will sign) another document (that is, whatever the contractor has provided) would vary considerably based on circumstances. Better to put all terms in one document.
There certainly are template contracts kicking around, but the problem is that you may not understand the significance or implications of a provision and so would not be sure what you were agreeing to. A well-meaning but inexperienced landlord of mine used a template lease off the web, and we had to spend a couple of hours going through it just to take out the provisions that I knew were unenforceable in my state and reach agreement on replacements. You might find yourself accidentally agreeing to bring any related lawsuit in Florida or something.
posted by praemunire at 2:57 PM on June 22, 2017
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Are these contractors emailable? Because in my jurisdiction...
Dear Rad_Boy:
Great to meet you today. I am confirming that for the price of $750, you will be:
* Excavating the tree stump in our yard;
* Removing the tree stump from our property and disposing of it;
* Filling over the hole with XYZ soil;
* Re-seeding that part of the lawn.
If you can confirm this quote via email reply, we'll be happy to proceed.
Best,
DarlingBri
...would constitute a binding agreement. No contractor I've ever sent such an email to has ever balked.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:23 AM on June 22, 2017 [5 favorites]