Home
> Newsletters
> Issue #21
|
The Contractors Group
Newsletter : Issue #21 : November 2001
Editor: Diane Dennis
Subscribe
|
|
Hi!
Welcome to our 21st issue, which is absolutely packed with
valuable information for commercial and residential
contractors as well as for home / property owners. There is
a special article about the importance of estimating your
preliminary notice amount correctly, and information on how
to enter a contest in which the prize is a Milwaukee 6509
Sawzall! Enjoy!! Diane
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
IN THIS
ISSUE
|
|
If
you like our Newsletter, please click
here
to
Recommend-It(r) to your colleagues? When Using
Recommend-It®
You
Can Win
$10,000 and a Palm V Organizer!
|
|
|
1
|
Spotlight:
FREE subscriptions to construction magazines
|
|
2
|
Knowing
Your Forms Makes A Difference
|
|
3
|
Industry
Links: JLC-Update
|
|
4
|
Contractor's
Corner: Feature Article by David Barnier
****
Estimating
Your Prelim - How Close Do You Have to Be?
|
|
5
|
More
Free Tools Added To Website: Forums
|
|
6
|
Hosting
a Holiday Office Party? Read this first...
|
|
7
|
Please
help! We need 1324 new subscribers!!
|
|
Before we
go any further, I would like to make you aware of
an
excellent
offer online.
Gevalia Kaffe will give you a free
10-cup coffee maker
(and matching mugs)
just for
trying their gourmet
coffee.
I accepted this offer and they were true to their
word.
For
$10 total, I received two 1/2 pound packages of the
absolute
best
coffee I have ever
tasted (you get to pick your
flavors),
my
free coffeemaker and matching mugs (of the
|
|
|
four color
choices I chose cobalt blue) and free shipping! These
coffeemakers are
flying
out the doors! Last month, more than 70 were
purchased
through
the link I am giving you below. So far this month,
over
50! If
you like coffee, you will love the coffee from
Gevalia
Kaffe.
Click
here
for
your free coffeemaker!
|
|
1
|
SPOTLIGHT
|
|
FREE
CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIPTIONS!
What more
can I say other than, it's TRUE, they are FREE
full
subscriptions
to a huge variety of construction magazines!
:)
One of
our guys subscribed to 10 different magazines and they were
all free! Click
here
to see what they have for you!
|
|
2
|
KNOWING
YOUR FORMS MAKES A DIFFERENCE
|
|
|
New
forms we have added to our website...
**
Release
of Stop Notice (or Notice to Withhold)
**
Triplicate:
Estimate, Work Order,
Invoice
(this is too cool!)
**
AIA
forms:
Unfortunately,
I cannot post AIA forms because of
copyright
laws.
I have found a site though from which you can
purchase
the
AIA forms on cd-rom, at a very reasonable price of
$89.95.
This
site is also an excellent source for Building
Codes,
References,
Videos, and Software for Construction, Design,
and
Facility
Professionals. Their experts have assembled the
finest
collection
of resources to help make your job easier,
faster
and
more profitable! Check them out as soon as you have
time! Click
here
and when you get to their
site,
click on Forms/Documents in the tabs that run across
the
top
of their webpage
** Real
Estate Forms :
I have noticed an increased
count in the searches for real estate
forms, at my site. So, I have added a link
to a site from which real estate forms can be purchased.
Click
here!
** If you
have a form that you would like me to create in the
same format
that my posted forms are created in (Adobe Acrobat),
please tell
me about it and I will give you a free
advertisement
once I create and post the form. This goes for
all states,
not just California! Email
me!
|
|
3
|
Industry
Links:
|
|
Free EMail
Newsletter for Construction Professionals
JLC-Update
is a free monthly e-mail newsletter from The Journal
of Light
Construction with industry news, and the latest tips
on materials,
techniques, tools and technology for the
residential
contractor. They know you're busy, so their e-mail
update is
designed to be practical and quick to read. In it
you'll
find:
* News
stories not yet available in the JLC print
edition
*
Practical computer tips for builders not found in
their print
edition
* Job-Site
tips & techniques from the JLC Expert forums
* Links to
the best JLC features and selected partners from
around the
web
* Online
surveys, humor from the trenches, product reviews,
and more!
And it's
completely free to all construction professionals.
Click
here to visit JLConline.
You can also find a
link to their site on our Industry
Links.
|
|
4
|
CONTRACTOR'S
CORNER - Send us your questions...
|
|
Estimating Your Prelim - How Close Do You Have to Be?
by David J. Barnier
California
Civil Code Section 3097(c)(1) requires that a
contractor's
20-day preliminary notice ("prelim") include
"a general
description of the labor, service, equipment, or
materials
furnished, or to be furnished, and an estimate of
the total
price thereof."
How
accurate must the estimate be?
Until
recently, there was little or no California case law
to help
clarify exactly how accurate a prelim must be.
However, in
August 2001, the Second District Court of Appeals of
California
(located in Los Angeles) gave some guidance to the
construction
industry on this question. The court held that a
prelim by an
equipment rental company was defective because the
estimated
price stated in the prelim was not a true "estimate"
in that it
did not take into account information that was
readily
available to the company that would have assisted it
in better
estimating the total price (Rental
Equipment, Inc. v. McDaniel Builders, Inc.
[109
Cal.Rptr. 922]).
This is
good news for contractors, rental companies, and
materials
suppliers. While
the ruling in Rental Equipment was not favorable to
the equipment
rental company in that case, the ruling was favorable
to all other
contractors, rental companies, and materials
suppliers in
California. The explanation behind this irony is
that the
$10,000 estimate by the equipment rental company in
the Rental
Equipment case was less than the amount already
charged to
its customer on that job. At trial, the credit
manager for
the equipment rental company testified that the
estimate was
merely a "rounded up" amount from the first
invoice
related to that job. The court held that this was
clearly not
an "estimate of the total price" as required by
California
Civil Code Section 3097(c)(1), as it did not involve
an evaluation
of any of the information available to the
equipment
rental company as to the equipment already furnished
and the
equipment still anticipated to be furnished.
In making
this ruling, the court stated that it was concerned
about the
negative prejudicial effect of an underestimated
prelim on the
property owner. In that particular case, the
owner had a
$145,000 subcontract with the rental company's
customer, but
the rental company's eventual mechanic's lien was
in the amount
of $159,898. The owner (which was the party
challenging
the equipment rental company's prelim) was able to
prove to the
court that, had the prelim been $75,000 or more,
the owner
would have called a meeting with the contractor/customer to
address the issue of excessive equipment rental
charges.
In
summary, the court's published opinion made it clear that
the estimate
in a prelim:
* must be
based upon the total estimated price to be charged
for labor,
services, and equipment furnished or to be furnished,
but that this
estimate does not need to be "substantially
accurate"
* does not
need to include a statement of all rental charges
to be
incurred throughout the rental period, but instead
needs to (be
an) estimate of the total charges that are
anticipated
* can be
effective despite "badly [missing] the mark
with reference
to the total charges as finally tallied," so long
as the
estimate was reasonable at the time it was made and
was based
upon information available to the claimant at that
time
* must be
more than a "guess, conjecture, or surmise"
The
California Supreme Court along with lower California
courts have
repeatedly recognized that the mechanic's lien, stop
notice, and
payment bond laws exist primarily to protect those
parties that
bestow value upon property. The courts have cited
this policy
in supporting various holdings that favor the
contractor over
the owner/lender/surety. However, the courts have
also recognized
that the prelim requirement exists to protect the
interests of
the owner/lender/surety. It was this recognition
of the
interests of the owner in the Rental Equipment case,
especially
the prejudicial effect described above, which led the
court to
invalidate the rental company's prelim.
What
should a contractor, rental company, or material
supplier learn
from this recent court decision?
While the
facts of the Rental Equipment case may have been
extreme, the
message from the court is clear. The purpose of
the prelim is
to give the receiving parties notice of the likely
amount of a
possible future claim. The court did not hold that
the amount of
the prelim had to be accurate. It did hold that
a claimant
must make some effort to review available information
when
estimating total charges, and not choose an arbitrary
dollar amount.
To protect
yourself, your company should reference all
information
it has before calculating a prelim amount and keep
clear records
reflecting what information was considered as part
of the
calculation. These records would help prove your
company's good
faith effort to estimate the anticipated total
price.
This
article is intended as a topical discussion of general
legal principals.
While general rules may exist, there are many
exceptions
and qualifications to these general rules. No party
should use
this article as a substitute for obtaining specific
legal advice
from a qualified attorney.
David
Barnier is an attorney with the law firm of Barker
Walters in
San Diego, California. He may be reached at (619)
682-4040 or
djb@barkerwalters.com
or through www.barkerwalters.com
|
|
5
|
WE'VE
ADDED MORE FREE TOOLS!
|
|
Have you seen the additions to our site? We have made
changes to the
layout to make navigation through the site quicker and
easier, and
we have added several items to help you through your work
day. While
reading the responses to the surveys that many of you
sent in
(which by the way, look at the end of this newsletter for
the names
of the winners of the $50 SuperCertificates, which
were drawn
from the respondents of our survey), one request that
came through
loud and clear was that we add forums to our site.
Guess what??
We
have added forums!!
The first
forum
is designed to help the contractor with his forms
and
questions. This feature will be especially useful to those
of you
located in states other than California. I receive
many requests
for forms for other states, but I don't always have
access to
them like I do to the forms in California (because we
are
contractors in Calif.). This doesn't mean that these
forums won't
be helpful to Californians, heck I am one, it has to
be helpful
to us! This will be a great place to post your
questions on
where to find forms that we do not have available, as well
as to
get questions to answers that we may not be able to
answer. Even
when we are able to provide answers to questions, we
are only
one voice amongst many, and it is usually a good idea to
get a
second opinion (unless of course the second opinion is from
my husband
about the beautiful, long, leather duster that I want
to buy!).
*grins* Oh, anyhow..., this forum will help all of us
to obtain
what we need and to help others to obtain what they
need, to
keep our construction projects and documents in
order.
There is
also a forum
for project property owners (homeowners,
etc.). I have
been receiving many inquiries from property owners
lately so I
decided to create a forum for you guys also. Owners
can come to
the forum and post their questions, and anyone that
has an answer
for them can respond! This especially gives
residential
contractors an opportunity to help out homeowners,
while at the
same time familiarizing the homeowner with their
company and
services. This forum also gives the homeowner an
opportunity
to do some checking on the contractor(s) he/she is
considering
hiring. Plus, homeowners can obtain advice on how
to manage
their projects smoothly.
These
forums
are brand spanking new, so let's start filling 'em
up with info.
Oh yes, a bonus on these forums... once you click
through to
one of our forums, you will have immediate access to
all the other
forums that are hosted through the same site that
our forums
are hosted through. Many of these forums are well
established
forums, and I saw that there is quite a bit of good
information
posted thru out.
Special
update to this article: Please visit our forums
at your earliest
opportunity. Our first forum member has posted a
question
about clauses in contracts for backcharges. If you
have or know
of good back charge clauses, please sign in and
respond to
her message. Don't forget to list your company name
and contact
information, kind of like a bit of advertising in
return for
your help! Thank you!
New
special update: Now there are three postings....
:)
Before I
go any further, I would like to make sure that I
mention that
these forums I now have, as well as some features I
will talk
about next issue, are courtesy of GreatPossibilities.com.
GreatPossibilities.com
offers the construction industry
multiple
marketing possibilities including free classifieds
and directory
listing, free website space, web mail, banner
exchange, advertising
and more...
Now, I
mentioned some other features... Because this
newsletter has
grown so long, I will reserve announcement of our
other features
for our next newsletter. Do go check out our site
though, as
the features are already available and waiting for
you!
|
|
6
|
HOSTING
A HOLIDAY PARTY?
|
|
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA INSURANCE BROKERAGE, INC.
THE
BEST CONTRACTOR INSURANCE BROKERAGE IN THE
REGION!
CALL
800-900-9372
OR
CLICK
HERE!
|
|
|
A couple days ago we received a fax from an insurance
company that
is
promoting *event insurance* for events such as holiday
parties
hosted
by employers. We contacted our insurance agent,
Gary
Oltmanns
of Southern California Insurance Brokerage, Inc.
and
asked
him about this type of insurance. We found out that
our
general
liability insurance policy covers us for parties we
host,
under
the *host liquor liability* portion of our general
liability
insurance
policy! Are you planning on hosting any kind of
business
related
party? If so, Gary told me that he would
be
happy
to answer any questions you might have, before you
throw
your
shindig. You can even call him at his toll-free 800
number:
1-800-900-9372
His name is Gary Oltmanns and his partner is
Gabe
Hill.
Either one of these guys will be happy to help you out!
|
|
7
|
PUNCH
LIST
|
|
Most punchlists make a person wince, but not this one!
Our punchlist
consists of items we feel are worthy of mention, but
that didn't
fit in elsewhere in the newsletter. Check 'em out,
they are good
offers....
**
Contest! 11/5/2001 thru 1/15/2002
Courtesy
of FindPlumbing.com and Ferguson's Santa Monica, CA
branch. Win a
Milwaukee 6509 Sawzall from Milwaukee Electric
Tool.
Features: 6.0 amp motor with trigger speed control:
0-2400 spm.
Quik-Lok blade clamp system provides fast and easy
blade changes
- No Tools Required! Easy plunge cutting with no
starting
holes. Pivot shoe for maximum support against the
work surface.
The 6509 comes with blades and a case. For more
information
or to enter their contest, please visit their site at
findplumbing.com.
You could be
their next winner! Good Luck!
**
Hallmark Business Greetings for your holiday card and
gift giving
needs. You can order online and even upload your
address book
to save time! Click
here
** Free
powertools from The Handyman Club of America!
Click
here
** The
lucky winners of our survey drawing are Cherri Wise
and Kevin
Halkola. Congratulations winners!! Cherri and Kevin
are both the
lucky recipients of $50 SuperGiftCertificates.
After
searching around, we purchased the gift certificates
online at
GiftCertificates.com, where they have hundreds of
name brand
stores for which you can purchase gift certificates!
What's more,
you can have these gift certificates e-mailed to
your
recipient(s). No worries about it getting hung up in
snail mail
through the holidays! If you would like to check
out what
GiftCertificates.com has to offer, please click
here.
|
|
8
|
FREE
SOFTWARE!!
|
|
This is a fun section because I get to tell you about
software out there,
that is quite helpful and often has a free trial
period. This
month I would like to introduce you to SmartDraw...
SmartDraw 6.0
has over 50,000 images & templates to help you
Draw Anything
Easily®! Click either link to download your free
30-day trial
today:
CAD
DRAWING
and/or
FORMS
Download
& try SmartDraw's biggest upgrade ever: SmartDraw
6 offers
over 50,000 images & templates in eleven specialized
add-on library
collections, all of which can be evaluated for free
with the
SmartDraw 30-day trial. SmartDraw is an easy-to-use
business and
technical drawing tool with many of the features of a
powerful CAD
program, but without the CAD hassles, so you can quickly
& easily
create great-looking floor plans & space plans,
electrical schematics,
mechanical designs, contractor forms, and much more!
The eleven
add-on collections were designed to meet the needs of
a particular
drawing audience: Business & Charting (with
templates for
business forms), Floor Plans & Facilities Design,
Electrical Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Network Design, Software
Design, Maps
& Geography, Science & Math, Clipart, and two
entirely new
collections: the Life & Leisure Clipart Collection and
the Medical
& Anatomy Collection. In addition, the new SmartDraw
6.0 trial
lets you choose which edition of SmartDraw you'd like
try: the
Standard Edition ($69); the Professional Edition with
one add-on
collection of your choice for free ($129), or try the
Professional
Plus Edition with all eleven add-on collections of
over 50,000
symbols & templates, a $759 Value, but retails for
only $198.
Click either link to Download your Free 30-day trial
today:
CAD
DRAWING
and/or
FORMS
|
|
9
|
NOTICE
OF COMPLETION
|
|
Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed it! Have a terrific
day! Diane
---
Diane Dennis
TheContractorsGroup.com
[why
no phone]
866-480-7105 fax
diane@thecontractorsgroup.com
TheContractorsGroup.com
was created to support the construction
contractor in his day-to-day administrative
functions. We
hope that you will find our newsletter and
website
useful!
Help!! We
need 1,327 new subscribers by 6:33 am Nov. 24, 2001.
Please
click
here
to recommend us to your colleagues and urge them to
subscribe. When Using
Recommend-It®
You
Can Win
$10,000 and a Palm V Organizer!
|
Home to
TheContractorsGroup.com