Tony Gioventu
Province
Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata corporation has hired a consultant to help us with a major construction involving roofing and decks.
We had an engineer set the specifications and the successful bidding contractor submitted a bid that included materials and labour. There were no other costs in the bid that were identified.
Our consultant recommended that we sign the “standard” contract, so we proceeded with the agreement and construction.
The good news is the contractor did a great job and on time. The bad news is we were hit with more than $200,000 in disbursement costs that were not part of our original contract, so we’re disputing the final price.
Have we possibly signed a blank cheque here?
— MO
Dear MO: The devil is in the details. Before anyone signs a major contract, they should have a legal review of the terms and conditions. The devilish details are the definitions of the terms. If you signed a contract that includes disbursements, is that term defined somewhere in the contract?
At this point you need a legal review of the contract terms and conditions along with the bid. Then your lawyer needs to advise whether you have any reasonable grounds to dispute the charges.
Never agree to disbursements unless they are individually defined in the contract and the cost of each disbursement is itemized. You can also negotiate a limit on the total amount of disbursements you will approve.
If you don’t, you may indeed be signing a blank cheque.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association.
E-mail him at [email protected]
© The Vancouver Province 2008