Florida law forces family to pay twice, cover contractor's outstanding bills

FOX 35 investigates driveway disaster

What was supposed to be a dream renovation for a Palm Bay family turned into a nightmare. They hired a contractor and paid $20,000 upfront. Just a short time into the project, there was a disagreement over the quality of work.

PALM BAY, Fla. - What was supposed to be a dream renovation for a Palm Bay family turned into a nightmare.

"Let’s pay someone. Let’s do it right, and it ended up being a nightmare," said homeowner, Ray Ferguson.

An updated driveway was the Ferguson's first project in their new Palm Bay family home.

They're foster parents who adopted seven children. Most have special needs, so they wanted a safe space for their kids to play.

"We did our research. We got estimates, several of them," said Bonnie Ferguson.

They hired a contractor and paid $20,000 up front. Just a short time into the project, there was a disagreement over the quality of work.

"There was no curve. It was just this kind of wonky octagon with straight lines and points and some pretty dangerous points," said Bonnie.

After they expressed concerns over the project, the family received a letter saying the contractor was canceling the contract.

The Fergusons decided to move on and just get someone else to finish the work, but then they were hit with a lawsuit.

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"They had placed a lien on our property and started foreclosure proceedings," she said.

The lawsuit says the contractor never paid the concrete supplier so they were coming after the property to get the money back.

"This is a real vicious cycle," said attorney Scott Widerman, who represented the Fergusons in court.

Widerman says a judge ruled in the Fergusons favor back in May, saying the contractor they hired was in the wrong for not paying the concrete supplier.

Unfortunately, winning the lawsuit didn’t fix much for the family.

"The judge has said you are right. You’ve got a judgment against you. Collection is a harder issue," said the attorney.

The supplier's been waiting for its payment for more than a year now, so the Fergusons had to bite the bullet and pay up. They had just started a payment plan with the concrete supplier.

"We’re counting pennies to make sure that everything is covered," said Bonnie.

They’re now paying $1000 a month for 20 months, meaning this couple will end up paying twice for supplies – nearly $40,000 on concrete – because the contractor never paid. They started a GoFundMe to try and help make up the lost money.

"How do you trust anybody from now on?," asked Ray.

The Fergusons say they had not been in communication with the concrete supplier before receiving the lawsuit.

Fox 35 reached out to the supplier for comment but never heard back.

So how can you prevent something like this from happening to you? It all starts with asking the right questions and never signing or paying for anything upfront.

"If a subcontractor or a supplier are left unpaid, the lien will be placed on the property where the work’s being done," said Holly Salmons, who’s the president of the Better Business Bureau serving Central Florida.

She shared a few exact questions you should ask a potential contractor including:

Can I have a list of all the suppliers and subcontractors you’re working with on my project?
What is the schedule for when these people will be paid?
How will you show me the payments are being made?

Salmons says you can take it a step further and "ask even if you can pay the suppliers, you can be certain suppliers are being paid when you’ve paid them out of your pocket."

The Fergusons are speaking out to warn other homeowners.

"The law protects them," said Bonnie. "It allows them to do that."

You should also get a "Release of Lien" signed by a contractor before paying any fees or signing a contract. That removes your home from the threat of lien if someone involved isn’t paid.

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