Contractors need more oversight

Considering the stakes involved with building a new house, the lack of oversight in Montana for the home construction industry is stunning.

How can it be that plumbers, barbers, cosmetologists, outfitters, morticians, electricians and architects all have licensing boards, but building contractors do not? The cost of a new home in the Flathead Valley is typically in the $200,000 range. That's a huge sum, and it most often is the biggest investment a family can make.

How can it be that lawyers have been disbarred for unethical practices involving far less money?

How can it be that there are no requirements for something as simple as a performance bond?

Truth is, Montana is like the Wild West for the home construction business. There are lots of builders with white hats, conscientious contractors who value their word as much as their reputations. But there are a few polecats who cause immeasurable grief for their customers.

The consequences of dealing with a contractor who is less than scrupulous can be devastating, as we have seen in the Flathead Valley recently. The owners of Keystone Contractors now face fraud charges amid allegations by multiple customers who say the company took their money but failed to finish their homes.

This, of course, wasn't the first case of its kind in Flathead County, but it appears to be one of the most expansive - and expensive.

Future homeowners must share some responsibility for doing their "homework," but the fact is the reason they hire a contractor in the first place is to avoid the details and the headaches that come with a construction project. Most folks just want their house built for the exact amount that was agreed on.

The problem is that building a home can be a tremendously complicated project, involving multiple subcontractors, suppliers and overlapping work schedules. Because it is complicated, there are plenty of opportunities for foul play.

And it seems there is very little a prospective homeowner can do to mitigate the potential for foul play. There are plenty of instances where future homeowners take precautions, such as checking a builder's references, only to end up with a partially built home that is saddled with construction liens filed by jilted subcontractors.

We're amazed that the lack of consumer protection in the home construction business has escaped legislative scrutiny for so long in Montana. If that trend continues, perhaps it is the contractors themselves who should provide prospective customers with better ways to protect themselves.

Discouraging ripoffs would be good for business and good for the industry in the long run.