Boards of Adjustment for the Waterfront Contractor

Information may not be reliable

At Clarksville MD Water Front Property Management, Landscape Maintenance Olney MD we have an official "Tenant Union" with monthly meetings and you can attend or call in to express your feelings, concerns, complaints, and ask questions. While we have yet to experience any negative responses from our regular meetings, the Board of Directors is working hard to form a working relationship with each tenant, although it may take some time.

At the most recent meeting, we explained to tenants about the contractor that hired them and what their responsibilities are, and whether or not they could raise any concerns or issues. It's a good idea to get this information out there so there are no misunderstandings and suspicions on the part of tenants.

The Board asked the contractor to make the necessary repairs to any problems that were identified. You can't just assume that everything is okay unless it is. When the contractor indicated that he didn't have the tools or employees to do anything more than clean and replace boards, it was clear that something was wrong.

You may feel intimidated by the contractor's demeanor, but when he told them to "sort it out" and stop stalling he was actually trying to help you feel more comfortable with him. As a landlord, you want to make sure your tenants are as satisfied as possible with the way things are going, but when it appears that things aren't going well it's better to say something than not.

Although we keep the contractors up to date on the rent payment dates, because sometimes we forget, we haven't heard back from them yet about the month to month payments. The Board wants the contractor to pay their bills in full and make sure that they are paid on time, and we're trying to provide them with the best service possible.

Sometimes when a complaint is received it doesn't reach the Board, but the neighbors' association does so they can contact the contractor directly. Our Board keeps all complaintsto ourselves. We're not supposed to know who filed the complaint so we have to follow the rules.

Even though the Board of Directors does take care of the construction issues, we understand that sometimes contractors will not be able to complete the job on time. One example of this is when the contractor and homeowner have a dispute about the workmanship. Although the Board takes care of all disputes between contractors and homeowners, we are able to expedite the approval process.

Many homeowners are unable to fulfill the minimum order amounts for materials, such as deck tiles, which is another thing we try to look at carefully. The majority of our contractors are very careful about what they are ordered to make, so a large percentage of homeowners never really have issues with the finished product.

Whether the home has exterior decking or not, there is often an area in the home that is a sore spot for homeowners, and this is where the contractor will come in. Homeowners are usually frustrated at how poor the condition of the deck is, and if they aren't using the deck to its fullest potential this is their choice. A deck can become dull, or it can look like a "hippie dump" if not maintained properly.

You don't want to hire a contractor who is only in the business of taking you on a one-time, complete job. If a contractor is confident that he knows what he is doing and the job will get done, then they should be able to do an even better job for you.

Make sure you are clear about what you expect from your deck contractor. Make sure you can clearly see exactly what type of deck tile will be installed, or if the contractor is going to be using recycled products. This will help the contractor narrow down the list of possible choices to ones that are the best for you.

Finding the right contractor is critical, so if you find the right one, and they go out of business you won't be upset. Don't spend hundreds of dollars for an unfinished job, because chances are if it weren't finished it would have taken longer. to finish.