Lead handling
The 'my last contractor walked off the job' call: how to take over half-finished work
By Holden Marsh, Editorial Director7 min read
TL;DR: Never give a firm phone price on a takeover job. Visit the site, inspect the existing work, take dated photos, and write down exactly which work you own and which work you do not.
“It just needs finishing” is not a scope of work
The caller usually says the last contractor quit, stopped showing up, or got fired. Then comes the phrase you will hear again and again: “It just needs finishing.”
That phrase tells you almost nothing.
On the walkthrough, the drywall may already be up over the plumbing and wiring. Nobody may know whether that rough-in was inspected. The “just finishing” job can turn into opening walls so you can see what you are building on.
That is why you look before you price.
The caller is often upset. They want to tell you everything the last contractor did wrong. Listen, but steer the call toward facts. Do not trash-talk the previous contractor. You have heard one side. Sometimes a contractor leaves because they were not paid. Sometimes the scope kept changing.
Ask what happened. Ask how many contractors have already worked on the job. If you would be the third contractor, write that down. It is not an automatic no. It is something you should know before you drive out.
Ask these questions before you put the job on your schedule
Keep this list beside the phone:
- What was the original job, and how far did the work get?
- Is there a signed contract with the other contractor, and has it been ended in writing?
- How much have you paid so far, compared with how much work got done?
- Was a permit pulled, and in whose name? Have any inspections been done?
- Are there materials on site, and who paid for them?
- Is anything urgent right now, such as an open roof, no water, no working kitchen or bathroom, or a move-in date?
The old contract matters. If it has not been ended in writing, the customer should sort that out before you start. You are not their lawyer. If they are unsure where they stand, they should ask one.
Ask about the money without taking sides. The amount paid and the amount of work completed can tell you what kind of dispute you may be walking into.
An old permit can stop your work before it starts
If the last contractor pulled the permit, it is usually in that contractor’s name.
A new contractor’s process for taking over the permit is decided by the local building department. That process differs from place to place. Call the building department before you start work, not after.
The same call should cover inspections. Ask whether any have been done. If nobody knows whether the rough-in was inspected, treat that as an open question until you have checked.
Unpaid people from the old job can still matter
In many states, a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who did not get paid can file a lien on the property. The rules differ by state.
Ask the customer whether anyone from the last job says they are still owed money. Ask plainly. Do not give legal advice. You are finding out what the customer knows before you agree to take over the work.
Price the work you will perform, not the percentage left behind
Do not price the job by saying, “They were 60 percent done, so this is 40 percent of a full price.”
You have to check the existing work before you can build on it. You may need to fix or redo work that looked complete. Someone else’s work can take longer to correct than fresh work takes to install.
These are site-visit-only jobs. Never give a firm phone price on a takeover job. You can read more about that in this guide to giving a price over the phone.
Walk the work. Check what is visible. Find out what is missing. Take dated photos before you touch anything. Those photos are your record of what you walked into.
Then write the scope around your work. State what you are responsible for and what you are not. Many contractors will not warranty another contractor’s work. Your contract should say which parts are yours.
Give urgent calls a different response
Some takeover calls cannot wait. There may be an open roof before rain. The house may have the water shut off. The customer may have no working kitchen or bathroom. There may be a move-in date.
Other jobs can wait a week.
Find out which one you are dealing with on the first call. You need that answer before you move your schedule.
If the job does not fit your trade, schedule, or type of work, say no cleanly and early. You can use this approach for turning down a job.
Write a new contract for your part of the job
Do not just “pick up” the old contract.
Write a new contract for your work. Identify the work you will perform. Identify the work you will not perform. State what existing work you are relying on, what you may need to repair or redo, and which parts you will not warranty.
If you sign the contract in the customer’s home, the federal 3-day cancellation rule may apply. See the 3-day cancellation rule for signed contracts.
Bella can capture the takeover story while you are working
Nail the Call’s receptionist is Bella, an AI receptionist for contractors. She answers every call, day or night.
During setup, you tell her your trades, service area, hours, price ranges, and what counts as an emergency. You can change her answers any time.
Bella works out the job: what the work is, how big it is, where it is, and when the caller wants it done. If the caller asks something technical, she writes it down for you instead of making it up. She will never quote a number you did not approve.
Urgent calls, such as water coming through a ceiling, get you a text right away. Every call ends with a text summary: name, number, address, job, budget, and what the caller said, in plain words.
On a takeover call, that means the story and the key facts are on your phone before you call back. Bella can also book the visit on your calendar.
Pricing is flat monthly. Starter is $95. Growth is $295. Pro is $495. There are no per-call limits, no per-minute meter, and no overage fees. See how it works.
Keep the first-call question list next to the phone. Look before you price. Put in writing exactly what is yours.
Keep reading
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