There should be something in your contract that states you are held resposible for any cost for all work performed beyond the scope and allowances outlined in the construction agreement. That includes any unexpected cost. This should prevent you from recieving your keys and moving in a whole year ago. Now, how dare he 1 year later come at you with a #19,000 invoice. It took him a whole year to figure out that you owe him $19,000? Yeah right. Take him to court. Better yet let him take you to court.

I think the point he is trying to make is do not come to him with any more $300 expenses a year after the fact when he has already given you $19,000 in free upgrades.

I do agree that he wants you to feel beholden to him. And while I don't think it's the right way to do business I also think that you should have established a more professional relationship when he first started giving out freebies.

I also agree that he is regretting his "generosity" - he threw in extras so that you would not hassle him about minor repairs in the future.

This is not the footing I would want to be on with my builder. A $300 repair is one thing, but what if a major structural problem was found? It sounds like both you and the builder are a bit disorganized.

solie, thanks for your response, but I was extremely organized. I did not suddenly come up with a $300 repair bill. The oven did not work from the outset, and he was made aware of it. All parties assumed it was a bad oven, but finally an appliance installer discovered it was improperly installed. Meanwhile, we've been trying for a year to get him to come up and address items on our punch list.

He did not give us $19,000 in free upgrades. Some of the items occurred due to failures in his bidding process. For example, the HVAC people didn't realize that 2 furnaces were needed until they actually started their work. Why is that? The heating and cooling requirements did not change. How can I be held responsible for that? The electrician made similar mistakes. It's as though they barely looked at the plans and specs that were provided to them. And yet we still asked him to put a dollar amount on it. How else to negotiate???

In a way I regarded these "extras" as acts of goodwill to make up for the many things he bungled and for him dragging out the project. I still can't understand why he couldn't be more direct with us. I have since been contacted by two other women that had similar experiences with him. The references we checked before the project were all positive.

I spent hours and hours building a spreadsheet for him BEFORE the bid came in. I specified everything down to doorknobs and doorstops. I even provided sources and prices. The architect also provided detailed drawings, window and door schedules, etc. At the same time I was very flexible when things on my spreadsheet were not possible. I expected to run into having to make alternate choices. Heck, I even provided him with second choices on my spreadsheet.

I could not force him to write up change orders or provide notice of upgrades. He resisted attempts from us to be business-like. He does this for a living. This is a once in a lifetime (I hope) experience for us. I'm good at my job and expected no less from him.

I'm fairly certain that the builder has missed his opportunity for a lien, but please contact a local attorney before you respond to his invoice. Your attorney can draft a response for you.

hi there! Gardenweb is a microcosm of American society which has become evident by the litigeous nature of most of the posts. Of course many of the "poster's" don't recognize their own ignorance when it comes to the law, contracts and professional relationships. Sure, hire and attorney and back the GC into a corner because what will likely happen is you will be writing a check for $19k. Case law has sided with GC's on this issue. You really don't know what happened, but have made assumptions that he is backcharging you for work that was done during the build, it could be possible that some invoices came in after your occupancy. However, if the invoice is for work done as described by you....pay the man, you owe him that money and stop whining.

Bellamay: "Case law has sided with GC's on this issue."

Please provide citations to cases *on* point. I'm familiar with Virginia law and I'm unaware of any case here where a builder was able to invoice "freebies" one year after closing. Of course, it is important to understand that "freebies" given by a builder are NOT the same as overruns and work that was actually contracted for. It appears to me that the OP has a mixture of all 3 categories.

I do agree that this is the builder's passive-aggressive way of saying "lay off of the little stuff since I gave you so much." Funny he doesn't have the chutzpah to simply pick up a phone and say it to you directly. I would be very surprised if he bothers to follow through.

You definately should talk to a lawyer but I am pretty sure there is a time limit
to file a lien . In my state I believe they have 6 monthes from the time the work
was done . So if he repainted the walls in january , then he has until September to file the lien . As to the "freebies or extras" - he definately should have gotten a signed change order from you . However there is a theory in law , I believe is called "quantum merrilat " which means he deserves to get paid for the labor he provided . I am surprised you were able to get your CofO with so many items on your punch list yet to be done . If you ever build again - I would suggest you hold out retainage on final payment until the punch list is completed . If you think it's possible - maybe
you should just sit down with him and try and work out your differences .
You can always hire lawyers and fight later . Good Luck

Thanks everyone!
I've been looking deeper into Oregon Construction law and have discovered that a contractor is required to provide the customer at the beginning of the project a "right to lien notice". He most definitely did not do this. He also failed to provide other notices to us as required by law. I think that this would be difficult for him to overcome. Also the "right to lien" expires (generally) in one year. He has actually been fined by the Board for not providing this paperwork to other clients.

Our contract with him also clearly states the any changes or cost overruns would require a change order signed by both parties. This didn't happen either.

Bellamay, there are so many items that he didn't provide (eg custom, frameless glass shower doors) that were on the contract and enough lousy workmanship that I am disinclined to pay him. His invoice is very clear, so I am not making assumptions. He also dragged out the project so long that we had to pay a LOT more interest on the construction loan. I'm willing to call it even.

I usually do not side with the builder...but in this case I think I have to.

He painted the whole house for you for free. He wanted you to be happy and fixed several stuff and after one year (in most places the warrantee is just 1 year) you fix your oven, and you want him to pay you $300?
I think it was not fair.

Can you talk to him to see if he is serious?

I think you need to talk to a lawyer.

Good luck

The GC had his chance to get his $19K over a year ago when the owner offered to pay for the upgrades. He didn't want the money then. That was his decision. It's her decision that she wants the $300 owed to her for a defective oven. Just because he was unprofessional enough (or stupid enough) not to obtain change orders and charge her then doesn't mean that she has to operate under the same guidelines.

pie girl

I have a similar situation going on..... loved my builder but sadly we were both a little "too casual" and find ourselves in a similar situation. I don't live in a place that requires a C of O or we would not be in.... and it would be a much bigger fight. We have dozens of items on the punch list plus a lot things that were just "not done" ( missing trim etc). To top it off, we also have found out (the hard way) that the builder put a nail through the plumbing to an upstairs bathroom while putting up the crown molding. We now have a real mess on our hands- we have to replace trim/drywall etc. It was a slow leak for several months.

He has never actually shown us documentation- no invoices, no bill etc so it's just what he says we owe. The total he says we owe is less than 1.5% of the total cost- and probably less than what the plumbing disaster repair will cost..

Our state has a 3 month limit to place a lien - we are well past that so it's just a metter of working it out, with or without legal help. We will see.

I am sorry you are going through this... don't let it take away from the enjoyemt of your home!!

PD

Ouch. Assumings facts are as presented, neither side held to the contract during the build. Of course, a lot depends on the type of contract and just how specific it was in detail.

It would appear that there was poor planning and a lack of oversight during the build (such as the need for another furnace determined *after* installation), payment for which should have been covered in the contracted details, as well as what sounds to be disregard for the contract -- "wrong" shower door installed by builder but buyer did not follow up on correction.

A lot of the counter-claims are dependent entirely on the contract. If neither the contract nor the agreed-upon specs list specified model #xyz shower door, then the builder is not required to provide that model. A change-order would have clarified the requirement and the payment. If there is no change-order, the implication is that the builder appropriately provided a shower door as stated in the contract, but not a particular model# because none was stated. If the specification *was* covered, then it seems to become a case of the builder not abiding by contract. And so on, right down the list.

So, yes, I join with others in thinking a lawyer is needed to protect the buyer's interests while clarifying the actual status of the charges. Builder can list and claim all the "up-grades" he wants to, but if they weren't specified in the contract or in a signed change-order it is likely to be viewed that he made the changes on his own cognizance and the buyer is not responsible for payment over the contracted amount; this applies to everything that was not specifically stated in the contract -- including re-painting.

It would be nice to adhere to word-of-mouth-and-a-handshake, but it's rarely realistic or sensible to do so -- and if handshakes were thought to be realistically binding, there would never have been a contract in the first place. Without having written word, signed in agreement by all concerned parties, we are looking at a situation of he said/she said/I said/you said and the clarification, justification, and solution of the disagreement will most often involve legal staff.

For those who consider it justified criticism to say that many GW posters leap to advising litigeous solutions, please consider that "good" builds don't need such solutions; and that "bad" or problematic builds all too often DO need the direct advice of a person knowledgeable of the laws of the OP's area -- which the GW posters realize may differ from their own area.

No one has mentioned that GC might have gone back over his own financing because of the economy. A man not working sees $19k worth of generosity where you see mismanagement. Then a $300 bill comes along and possibly puts him over the edge both mentally and financially.....
.......chances are though, he's just a bad businessman.

We've been "home" for 16 months and 3 days ago got a first/final notice for $400 or lien threat from some sub. He said he's tried to get paid but GC isn't returning his calls. Well, our bank is now handling it since all construction payments were made through our bank. GC was required to get written paid-full statements from each sub prior to final draw. I wouldn't put it past GC to fake something but per our contract it's now between the bank, the sub and GC.

It's apparent you need to see a lawyer since so much comes down to how your contract was written. Like us, I hope you got your subs pay signed off before final draw. You could be looking at a cockroach effect if in your GC's generous mood he "forgot" to pay the HVAC and electric for their additional work. If they haven't you might lose since you're the one that profited from that work. It all depends on how your contract was written.