moving 7/12/07 (insurance, appliances, lawyer)

[jess18lee]

i will be moving to bozeman montana on thursday. my cousin owns beartooth fishing lodge in Cameron and i have been told constantly i will do well in montana because i am the outdoorsy angler/hiker/easy going/nice person. after reading some of the threads in the montana part i was utterly shocked. i couldn't believe how some people are because everyone i have ever met in mt have been as nice to me as you could ever imagine. i know people have their opinions and cant stand others invading their space because i live in a small town now, but montana has become such a second home such an inviting place that i fall in love with her more and more each day. i really hope people wont turn their backs on new comers because they could be the nicest people you'll ever meet.

[jandjblue]

moved to montana from alabama 5 weeks ago and have not had that problem some folks have asked about my southern accent but in a playful joking way I think more of the negative views come from here not in public we have made several friends already and love it here good luck and dont worry

[jimj]

jandblue,
No, just not to your face.....

[mandapanda]

Just be careful. There is no consumer protection in Montana. Have had a problem with a builders - our house is so badly built we are being told it should come down. We are on our own. Nobody wants to help you. It is the old - blame the victim. The first thing everyone says is that so many people are coming here to take advantage of the building boom. These people are from Montana. Everyone loves them. We have lost our life savings.

Also, the two year plan is alive and well here. People build a cheap house, live in it for two years, then sell it at a huge profit. So beware. It may look nice, but it may not be built well. This is an earthquake area, so structure is critical. Good luck.

[rickers]

Lawsuit may be an option.

[jimj]

That is a big problem here, I am currently in litigation with our flooring company who did a horrible job and then walked away. Had to replace all of what they did. The only consumer protection you have here is a good lawyer and money enough to pay them. The other problem is absolutely no license requirments here so all they have to do is put on a tool belt and they are contractors or, they change their name when they are litigated and voila they are back in buisness. Dang, sometimes I miss the days of a meeting in the street at high noon......

[mandapanda]

No, they walked, left the house unfinished and sued us for a completed house. Anyone could see the house wasn't done, no appliances, railing, floor, shower, etc. Guess it will be a jury question.

They lien you then sue you. Then they accused us of everything under the sun. Best defense... We have countersued, but it has been 3 years, over $100,000 (all borrowed) and another year and a half to go. Not surprised these people lied, just surprised how aggressively their lawyers fight for them and then the lawyers lie too. And once you are in a civil suit (remember, they sued us) nobody wants to get involved. We paid them, but they didn't pay suppliers. So, we were liened by them too. Paid at least twice.

Sorry about your flooring, but not surprised. Lawsuits are pricey. Oh yeah, his insurance company is paying their expenses.

[mandapanda]

I called the state to see if anyone could lose their registration. I was told, yes, if they let someone use their number or if they didn't pay their $75. Everyone says they are for more consumer protection, but nobody does anything. You can't even file a complaint with the BBB (in Washington) if you are in litigation! Nice way to cut off any publication of what is going on.

[jimj]

What you need to know about the registration thing is it means pretty much nothing! All it means is that they have workers comp and a registerd name. Anyone can get it for the $75 filing fee and a simple name change if there is a problem. On our last house we ran into kind of the same thing you are dealing with now, it is very prevelant here. Start the job, don't finish or mess it up and then want full pay. I said go ahead, lien me and get me into court! The judge was ticked to say the least and told the guy that what he was doing "flies in the face of Montana law ans sprirt".
It turns out that the judges here are getting REAL tired of seeing this going on and tend not to be too nice to the companies that try and pull this mess. If I build again I am going to REQUIRE a performance bond, even if I have to buy it myself, that way if the job is not finished it will pay for the finish. Like I said before, pity about the meet in the street at high noon thing going away!
Good luck, keep us informed.

[mandapanda]

JIMJ, even a performance bond wouldn't have helped us. The house is literally coming apart. The garage walls are pulling away from the house and the living room wall seems to be flexing with cracks going up from the lower windows and coming down from the upper. The foundation and framing were approved by the city. We are missing major footers and some basement window headers.

Thought of having a CHARADE of homes. There is a legislator in Park COunty who is going to try to get something going next session. It is being funded by the good builders who are fed up with the bad ones.