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hellojoepark

Contractor Document Submission Costs

hellojoepark
9 years ago

Renovating my NYC apartment kitchen.

Got a bid from contractor and this was a line item:

a. submit, documents ( licenses & general
contractor's certificate of insurance ) ( $1,000.00 ).
b. perform project management ( $1,000.00 ).
alt.: if requqsted to submit lic. plumber's
& Iic. electrieian's certificate of
insurance, add $2,000.00.

Is this a normal charge?

Thanks all.

Joe

Comments (13)

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    I'm not sure I understand ... $1000 for each trade to submit certificates of insurance? Submit them to who? There must be something else included to warrant a $1,000 a pop charge. Either I'm missing something, or things really are high priced in NYC! What exactly is he doing to warrant those charges?

  • calumin
    9 years ago

    I think what he's saying is that you would need to pay for him to do the work to get certified so he can show the licenses to you.

  • jakuvall
    9 years ago

    I've done a bit of work in NYC and it has extra issues for contractors. I usually just arrange for cabinet delivery and counter which is challenging enough and don't offer to provide anyone to do labor so I'm not sure....

    It is within the realm of possibility that those reflect real time and cost incurred the way things go around there. Ask him. It is a fair question. It may be in other bids just not as a line item.

    From what I know it would be very difficult to just go out and get get licensed in NYC quickly for any sum of money.

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    I'm lost on this ... can someone please explain what is meant by this:

    I think what he's saying is that you would need to pay for him to do the work to get certified so he can show the licenses to you.

    And this:

    From what I know it would be very difficult to just go out and get get licensed in NYC quickly for any sum of money.

    When you hire a contractor in NYC, aren't they already licensed and insured? I don't get it!!

  • SparklingWater
    9 years ago

    Is he talking about pulling permits for the trades? Like for the electrician and plumber they would be written up, with license documentation and you charged for them.

    As for GC: "submit, documents ( licenses & general
    contractor's certificate of insurance ) ( $1,000.00 )"-same thing but for "kitchen permit" written up for permit office by GC with his documentation on board?

    Your GC seems to be giving you a choice between non-permitting or permitting. Maybe he's just using the word license instead of permits? Seems low in price for NY.

  • Vertise
    9 years ago

    He is going to charge you thousands of dollars to present their contractors licenses and insurance information?

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    Permits cost that much money??? $1,000 for the general, $1,000 for the plumber, and $1,000 for the electrician??? For a kitchen remodel?? You've gotta be kidding me??? That ridiculousness aside, it doesn't cost a dime to call your insurance company and get them to issue certificates of insurance to whoever you want to "submit" them to.

  • SparklingWater
    9 years ago

    Trade and GC kitchen permits cost me ~$850.00-$1250.00. I think. Long story as new contract rolled in hvac MUA job too. Total increase in final contract for permits and basement mua ductwork etc was $2200.00 higher.

    Given NYC regs, I'd expect OP's to be considerably higher.

    This post was edited by SparklingWater on Tue, May 13, 14 at 23:18

  • SparklingWater
    9 years ago

    OP, the $1000 for the general kitchen permit seems about right for NYC but the project management seems odd, at least to me. I mean, I never saw a kitchen GC bid where project management was specifically priced separately out from the "scope of work" description i.e. part of the total contract value (payment due).

    But yea, seems he's iffy on the trade permits which seem high, perhaps to scare you off from getting them. One other point on permits, is upon completion of work by all trades and GC, remember to get in your hand release of liens paperwork prior to your final payment to the GC. Avoid lien(s) haunting you. just my opinion having gone through this.

  • hellojoepark
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The cost isn't for a permit but for submitting to the condo management. Per our association agreement:
    To authorize work we require:

    - signed agreement
    - scope of work (determines which agreement is used)
    - contractor's insurance/evidence of worker's comp.
    - plumber's/electrician's license (if applicable)
    - fee (based on scope of work)

    So I'm assuming this separate plumber's/electrician license is the request he will be fulfilling, for $1000 each. Sounds strange to me as well.

  • weissman
    9 years ago

    If that's to provide info to your condo board, then he's ripping you off. A xerox copy of his license should cost you 10 cents.

    By the way, condo boards often overstep their bounds in terms of their requirements. If you're doing work within your unit and not affecting any common areas, you may not legally be required to get their authorization despite what they claim. Coops on the other hand are different since you don't actually own your unit.

  • Vertise
    9 years ago

    So maybe these are his pia fees, lol.

  • bbtrix
    9 years ago

    This is normal part of doing business and should be a minuscule portion of his overhead and not called out. Hopefully you have other choices.