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Building a Home
katherineator

Why is our builder lying to us about having ordered materials?

6 years ago

We are one year into our custom build. We had a significant slow down due to framing problems, but those were fixed in August. We had drywall installed in September, so I think that most builders could have completed the build by now. We signed off on plumbing fixtures at Lowe's in November so that our builder could order them when he was ready. We've been asking him for a couple of weeks to order the finish plumbing because we knew it would take a few weeks for them to come in and we wanted them to be ready for the plumbers as soon as they're ready. Last Friday he said he was ordering them. We went to Lowe's the next day and found that he hadn't. This happened several times over the past week. Finally my husband texted the builder saying that he could understand if perhaps there were cash flow issues (there's evidence that he is having money problems). If that was the case, we'd see what we could do to help. He responded yesterday, saying that his assistant was at Lowe's and found that our fixtures would take 8-10 days to come in and did we want to order them instead, perhaps somewhere that was faster? We responded by saying that we would just let him order them since we couldn't get them much faster. He responded by saying that he'd call his assistant to relay the message. We realized today that we didn't see toilets on the order list, so we went to Lowe's again today, to be told that not only were toilets not on the order list, but the order was not placed. Now what?


Last month our builder said "for sure" we'd be in by the end of January, but I don't understand how he could say that and then not make any effort to make it happen. We still think that perhaps things continue to go slowly because he is having money problems, or maybe he just really hates us and is doing this to spite us. Who knows? If he is having money problems, I have no idea how he's going to afford the appliances, plumbing, grading, and flooring that are left to do. He has extended the building permit until March.


At what point can we say that this build has dragged on for too long and what could we do about it? The contract only says "180 working days". So far there have been 158 days in the 12 months.

Featured Answer
  • 6 years ago

    Yor builder is having financial problems and used your money for something else. He is having a hard time with credit and subs won’t work for him because so many of them have not been paid - not just your job but probably multiple jobs.

    Comments (15)

    • PRO
      6 years ago

      Only your builder knows the answer to your question.

    • 6 years ago

      I seriously doubt that he "really just hates you". That's being way too overly dramatic.

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    • 6 years ago

      @Belahn that was my lame attempt at humor and was not in any way meant to be dramatic.

    • 6 years ago

      I’m so sorry. And I applaud you for trying to keep a sense of humor in this situation. But Mark is correct. Only the builder can tell you, until you start hearing about liens...and we don’t want that to happen! It doesn’t sound good, and you should act on your instinct about that. Good luck.

    • 6 years ago

      Talk to a construction lawyer to know what your options are

    • 6 years ago

      Is there a Bank involved in this deal? If yes, then I would contact them asap and schedule a meeting.

    • PRO
      6 years ago

      He's lying because he doesn't have any money.


    • 6 years ago

      There is a bank involved. When the builder requests a draw, a representative comes out to the house and releases money according to percent completion. They check for mechanics liens before they release the money to him and they also request permission from us. He took a $60K draw on the loan a few weeks ago and said he was going to pay the building supply place. The bank has had no problem extending the loan past one year.


      One of the subs told my husband he wasn't going to take jobs from our builder anymore because he is slow to pay.


      We have spoken with a lawyer a few times for advice on this build. Last time we talked to him he drafted a letter to send the builder giving him until the end of January to finish, but it didn't seem to have any consequences for going past January and we thought it would only make our builder mad and cause him to move even slower. We figured that we were so close to finishing that anything we did legally to end his involvement in the build would take more time than just letting the builder complete the house.

    • 6 years ago

      Update...I don't know why I even posted this thread. I just read the build diary I've been keeping from the beginning. Time after time after time our builder has told us things were going to happen and they invariably never happened when the builder said they would and sometimes happened months after he said they would. The only difference with this time is that this one is something that he can't blame on another trade. So no change in behavior. I'm going to project March or April for completion.

    • 6 years ago

      Sorry you are having so much trouble!!!! Is he bonded?

    • 6 years ago

      Make sure you triple check that anything he says is finished that he wants a draw from is finished and verified by YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR THAT YOU HIRED (NOT the bank’s inspector) before allowing the bank to disperse the funds.

      If not done to yours and your inspectors satisfaction, do not disperse the funds for that item or only give a partial disbursement. That is what we did and it’s a good thing since so many things were done fast and incorrectly by unqualified subs. We are now having to pay out of pocket to get them fixed.

      You think you are being held over the coals by this guy but the truth is you hold the purse strings

    • 6 years ago

      Sorry your having to go through this Kathy. I feel for you, I really do. Our build is stretching on and on.

    • 6 years ago
      last modified: 6 years ago

      Why does anyone lie?

      - To avoid trouble /confrontation.

      - The truth makes him look bad /reveals an inconvenient fact.

      - To avoid saying, "I've screwed up."

      - To make someone else happy (temporarily).

      - To buy time /thinks he can fix the problem, and you'll never know the truth.

    • 6 years ago

      How did your story end up? Did you take over the build?

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