BadTasteInMouth
New Member
My wife an I have just built a beautiful 2 story country home in a rural setting 2mi. from
where we both work. We went with a contractor that we felt was a reputable one, but
now at the finish we are beginning to wonder. Most people around here do Owner-Builder loans but we decided not to because of the personal work involved (we both work days). I think that this is probably the first time my builder dealt with this type of loan and possibly sees an opportunity to cash in. He contracted with us to build our house at a set price....any changes along the way we have paid out of pocket for....(we added 6ft to the length of the garage and added a storage area under the porch), any allotments that we went over we were willing to pay. We originally wanted to do some jobs ourselves so that we would end up with money coming to us that we could pay for our sand mound. We discussed this up-front with our builder and he was fine with it....I asked for prices on various jobs prior to signing the contract....he gave me prices for painting, tiling, hardwood floor installation, electrical, etc. We wanted to paint, tile, and do the hardwood. When it came time to start these jobs he basically bullied us out of everything except painting stating that we'd never get it done in time and he couldn't be held up.....ok, we caved and just did painting. Now, at the end, when we were expecting to submit for the final draw and he'd get paid and we'd get our money for painting we find that he has hit us with all kinds of trumped up overages and has reduced our allotment for painting so that we owe him $1,800.00! Mind you, the original allotment for painting was $11,000.00! We argued that the original allotment shouldn't have been changed and that if we are to be charged for what is over, then we should be credited for things that were under......the builder responed by revising his first bill to include more charges and tacked on additional percentages, so now we owe $7,400.00! Can they do this?????
We think that the whole problem is due to a possibility that they under estimated the cost of building the house....I feel for them on that, but that's the risk they take....secondly....there is a more pressing matter. They made a big construction error...
The builder orginally discussed with me that we should build with 2x6 exterior studs....thats all he does....better quality! OK, fine.....you know best. Then I find out that the front of my house is off....door not centered, porch ceiling not centered, stairs and railing off......they blamed it on our choice to go with 2x6 studs and it threw things off.....
BS!!!! I think they forgot to adjust the foudation for the structural change and that is what threw things off!!!! DO I HAVE TO TAKE THIS????? Can they be financially responsible for this mistake????? Can I get a financial discount for this mistake since fixing it would require the entire house to be rebuilt???? Please help!
Thanks,
BadTasteInMouth
where we both work. We went with a contractor that we felt was a reputable one, but
now at the finish we are beginning to wonder. Most people around here do Owner-Builder loans but we decided not to because of the personal work involved (we both work days). I think that this is probably the first time my builder dealt with this type of loan and possibly sees an opportunity to cash in. He contracted with us to build our house at a set price....any changes along the way we have paid out of pocket for....(we added 6ft to the length of the garage and added a storage area under the porch), any allotments that we went over we were willing to pay. We originally wanted to do some jobs ourselves so that we would end up with money coming to us that we could pay for our sand mound. We discussed this up-front with our builder and he was fine with it....I asked for prices on various jobs prior to signing the contract....he gave me prices for painting, tiling, hardwood floor installation, electrical, etc. We wanted to paint, tile, and do the hardwood. When it came time to start these jobs he basically bullied us out of everything except painting stating that we'd never get it done in time and he couldn't be held up.....ok, we caved and just did painting. Now, at the end, when we were expecting to submit for the final draw and he'd get paid and we'd get our money for painting we find that he has hit us with all kinds of trumped up overages and has reduced our allotment for painting so that we owe him $1,800.00! Mind you, the original allotment for painting was $11,000.00! We argued that the original allotment shouldn't have been changed and that if we are to be charged for what is over, then we should be credited for things that were under......the builder responed by revising his first bill to include more charges and tacked on additional percentages, so now we owe $7,400.00! Can they do this?????
We think that the whole problem is due to a possibility that they under estimated the cost of building the house....I feel for them on that, but that's the risk they take....secondly....there is a more pressing matter. They made a big construction error...
The builder orginally discussed with me that we should build with 2x6 exterior studs....thats all he does....better quality! OK, fine.....you know best. Then I find out that the front of my house is off....door not centered, porch ceiling not centered, stairs and railing off......they blamed it on our choice to go with 2x6 studs and it threw things off.....
BS!!!! I think they forgot to adjust the foudation for the structural change and that is what threw things off!!!! DO I HAVE TO TAKE THIS????? Can they be financially responsible for this mistake????? Can I get a financial discount for this mistake since fixing it would require the entire house to be rebuilt???? Please help!
Thanks,
BadTasteInMouth
