I hired a general contractor in August of 2020 to complete a kitchen remodel. We added on about $5,000 worth of stuff and removed $1,000 worth of stuff with those add ins. The contract was never written to update with the add ons or pricing... The work was mostly completed, but not in full (there’s still sealing, a few trim pieces and some electrical outlets that need covers in the back of cabinets). We paid the initial $1k deposit and the first 2 payments after that as well as an additional payment of $3k that he requested because of our add ons (needed in order to pay staff). In October he sent a final invoice via email- we had a verbal conversation (last time I saw him) of work that still needed to be done before we would pay the final invoice and that I had questions about pricing. The last time I saw his employee was 11/9/2020 when he was doing some of the work that still need to be completed. I had a cashiers check ready - because I thought he would have finished work that day and I could pay him in full. He never returned calls (had 2 calls with voicemails in November). Haven’t heard from him since (over 5 months now). He has finished work for other friends and mentioned to them, no I’m not finishing their (my) job. Does he have recourse for a mechanics lien or do we have recourse to cancel the contract and no longer pay? Do we need to show proof of hiring someone else to finish the job to offset the cost of what we owe? At what point are we relieved of obligation to his contract if he doesn’t respond to calls? I would like to finish this job and be done and am willing to pay, but only if the job is complete. Also, his contract states that the final 30% payment is due and if unpaid will accrue interest at 1.5% of the balance beginning 30 days after installation. The final balance is due at time of completion by the contractor. Since he hasn’t ‘completed’ the job- no interest can accrue until he does, right?