Okay, may have found the house with dockage I have been lookling for, needs work natch.

I'd appreciate recommendations of general contractors that can be trusted to do a good job for non residents.

House is stripped internally, needs complete kitchen counters, sink, appliances and interior tiling job.

What about permits etc. guy gave up half way, most likely NO permints were ever issued. Another can of worms?

unfortunately I only know commercial contractors in FL so can't help you much there. Maybe Cuda knows some residential contractors in your area as well.

Is this a private seller or listed with a realator?

First I would check with the building dept in the area to see if there are any open permits on the address. If there were, find out the status of them and the contractors (name, address and ph #) that pulled them (general, plumbing, electrical, and any others that may apply) Playing the Devil's advocate here...If work was halted by the contractors there could be liens on the property for nonpayment by the owner.

If no permits have been pulled (this is probably the better senario for you), find a residential arch who can come up with some plans for the work you want to do and can be submitted for a permit by you or a general contractor.

Good luck

From what you desribed so far no permits should be needed.. unless you are adding or moving the existing plumbing or electrical. If its just tile and cabinet work basically you are good to go.

Most of the contractors right now are slammed with hurrucane restoration work. I have been going non stop since them.. and more work just keeps comming in.

I can possibly help you get cabinets at a better price than a home depot, unless you want to go custom cabinets. Formulaoutlaw is a custom cabinet guy here on the board.. be to may be able to help ya out.

Thanks guys, the problem is I am not sure where anything was as the entire kitchen is removed, including the appliances. Hence, upgrading from the original is going to take permits I suppose.

Dock is old also, and will need a miniumn of resurfacing with planks.

I second Formula outlaw (Russ) and for tile work See Cuda (joe). There is a thread on here with some of cudas guys doing stucco on his house and it came out beautiful...Rob

Don't use any company that is assoiciated or has the name HOMECO in it. They are involved in a massive law suite for stealing money from 50 or so clients.

where about is dania FL from sarasota/ bradenton, I have a crew in that area that does great work, just got done with one on longboat key on the point.

Even with the kitchen completely gone.. you should be able to tell easily where everything was/goes. The electrical for the stove(or gas line) the electrical and water connections for the refrigerator and dish washer are all there.. as well as the water and sewer lines for the sink dont move. The rest is just getting a tape measure out and seeing what will fit where.. Kid of like a giant puzzle that you dont know what the final picture is supposed to be like.