What type of build? Do you own the land or is this a close at the end on all? Tract or developer home? What type of contract? Who is CFH?

Does the contract price include the driveway/walkway or not?

If it does not, then yes you will need to pay the builder or another contractor to do this out of scope work.

Don’t pay the 5% holdback allowed by your contract until the build per the contract scope (which may or may not include the driveway) is complete.

If you are uncertain how to proceed, consult with a real estate attorney experienced with new builds.

@Design Fan (NE z7a) The contract included the driveway.

@millworkman This was to have been a custom home on our land. We paid cash on demand throughout the process, no bank involved. In fact, it has not turned out to be a "custom home", because mistakes have been made and we didn't care to end up paying tens of thousands more to have those errors fixed. ("Yeah I made a mistake but it's going to cost more money to get what you specified" has been said more than once.)

CFH = Contractor from Hell.

MY advice get a alwyer and also check with the BBB and if this in a area where this builder works all the time check with others who used the same builder .maybe a class action is in the future

@Patricia Colwell Consulting Thank you. We are looking at possibly needing to do something like that. For present, my husband has countered that we pay the drive up front less the $5k then decide whether to have him complete the incredibly long punchlist of things done wrong/incomplete, or to hire it out to someone else and tell him he's sacked.

This man has gotten strangely squirrely on us, soon after the State Environmental officers started investigating our job and others he was working on. We had to call in a landscape architect to address grading and drainage violations that he refused to fix.

The contract has provisions you haven't shown controlling how, when and for what you are required to make payments. What is the exact language you both agreed to. Post that. Is the cost of the driveway broken out in the contract. Can you estimate it. Can you get an amount necessary to pay for the driveway submitted by the contractor.

Go over the bills submitted and make the payments for the work done as your contract requires.

Get a construction lawyer now. The was you handle these issues now will set the stage for the future if we need to go to court. I would be concerned that he's not paying his subs if he's already spent the money you have given him and has no working capital. Get documented lien releases from his suppliers so they can't lien your house for his non-payment.

You don't have to share that you are working with a lawyer - but their guidance is valuable. There are things you can say and do that will be favorable in the future.

Also - everything in writing now - EVERYTHING.

I would not give him another penny. If there are any number of items that have not been done to your satisfaction, and also questionable bills, why give him any more money at this point? Plus, you could potentially be adding the driveway to the long list of mishaps.

I would consider having a strongly worded letter drawn up by/ and sent from an attorney. The letter would outline all of the unsatisfactory issues with the build quality, would also reference the questionable billing practices, would itemize what you have paid him to date, and would also make it clear that you are severing ties.

Then, I would proceed with other contractors, handy men, etc., for the rest of it. It may end up costing you a bit more money than you had planned to finish everything.

I would not end up in court with him unless I absolutely had to. I would not sink any more time, energy, money into it. I would cut my losses at this point. Move on.

I caution you against advancing any money to a contractor who can't manage his/her business better than your CFH. My suggestion is that you offer to pay the concrete supplier and the concrete contractor directly and immediately upon completion of the driveway.

As Pegasus posted reconcile what has been done with what you have paid. If there are discrepancies, then get those ironed out first so that you know exactly where you are in the payment process.

Well. Hubby said "Let's pay him for the driveway less the $5k just to be done with him."

So much for acting in good faith, yet again.

The drive is to be poured this week, and we went to check the house.

He's got rebar placed 36" apart on a sloped driveway, and some of it isn't even tied off.

I was under the impression rebar should be 12-18" apart.

Your issues seem bigger than what an internet forum can help you with.

Even if you hire expert help to review the builder’s work, you don’t have a lot of leverage with a only a $5k holdback to compel the builder to resolve issues.

Best wishes that your issues are behind you once you move in.

Is your contractor licensed? File a complaint with the Registrar of Contractors in your state. You don't have to fight this battle alone.

His partner is the licensed one in the company, but I've never had face to face dealings with him. This one is only licensed for subcontracting in a few fields.

They were supposed to pour the driveway tomorrow.

Guess what? The forms and rebar weren't finished today. My husband called them and they are now saying they will get it done "later".

The kitchen cabinets are not finished -- after six months.

The house is filthy, and the floors need to be steamed and resealed. What do you bet they won't be?

There's a broken window and the screens are nowhere to be found.

The electrical outlets in the master don't work.

One of his people came today, and started digging in my new sod to place a line that should have been done weeks ago. My beef isn't totally with the electrical crew; the CFH clearly just didn't know or didn't care, what was outstanding at our job, which is now two months past due for completion.

Oh, and the State Environmental guy isn't happy either now, with the sod torn up. (We are on a waterfront lot and CFH has repeatedly been in violation with failing silt fences, despite my constant nagging/pleading.)

Have you talked to an attorney that specializes in construction law? gotten guidance? is everything in writing now? are you documenting the deficiencies and asking for a written plan to correct them?

This is unlikely to get better with throwing more money at him.

You need professional help to engage here. Again - NOT TO THREATEN TO SUE HIM - but to give you advice in the background and prepare in case you need to go the legal route.

In a partnership company, where one partner is the qualifying professional, their name is on the permits, etc. It's their butt in the sling. If this guy only has a handyman's type license, then his partner's license would be the one to be threatened by a complaint to the contractor's board.

Time to set up a meeting with the partner who holds the license. He has more motivation to keep his name clear.

@just_janni and @Minardi a lawyer is our next step -- as is complaint to the licensing board.

It's gotten ridiculous. I mentioned yesterday -- after they'd ostensibly stopped work on our house and were working on another property elsewhere -- one of his crews showed up and started digging up my new sod to put in an electrical conduit for the dock that was supposed to have been put in months ago. They left the sod ripped up and the sprinklers ran and now there's a river of mud going through my lawn to the waterfront.

I just want these wankers gone.

Y'all are worrying me as we are about to clear land for our retirement home and debate builders and how to handle these issues.

Good luck with your CFH. hubby will appreciate that term as he has worked with those before.

Kathleen MK (and anyone else worrying)... Research your prospective builders and general contractors. Check the state Registrar of Contractors website for any complaints or issues. Then get a written contract and if you are really nervous, have an attorney look at it prior to signing.

I have been in your position twice. Do not pay another dime. Money is your only leverage. Look at the contract. Does it include the driveway.? When is the payment due that covers that work being done?

Contractors pull these punches at the end because you are over a barrell. Guess what, paying them doesn't guarantee they will do the work either.

I certainly would not involve a lawyer at this point in the game. Stick to your contract and push back.

It is easy to say you will get someone in to finish the punch list, but hard to do. Few contractors, or even handymen, want to come in on a job at that point. Often the only kind of contractor willing to come in and clean up someone else's mess is an even messier less skilled contractor. I had many contractors turn me down on doing the last bit of work on projects. They flat out didn't want the liability of things popping up that 1. were not their fault, and 2. made it a never ending project.

Make sure all of the subs have been paid in full by the CFH. That is extremely important!

Thank you everyone. @AC M I've already contacted those of the subs whose contact details I have. Electrical and Plumbing replied they were paid. HVAC hasn't responded. I don't have the contact details for the roofer and masonry contractors, so I have to track them down.

The So-and-so actually received a Certificate of Occupancy and sought to keep it a secret from me, so he could keep billing.

I'm now working with the permits department -- as the rightful property owner -- to have the Certificate of Ownership given to ME.

What state are you in? I am in Ohio (also lake front)I am going through a situation with my custom home builder but much worse (repairs are over 1 million), I hired a construction lawyer who has been helpful I'm building the case . Make sure you get all receipts if he has been charging more than the contract allows that's fraud and is civil liability. A lawyer will help you navigate what liability are personal and what liability is company. Please keep in mind you also probably have a warranty period so the "relationship" doesn't end for a while

Update.

I now discovered that he lied when he said we had a Certificate of Occupancy.

In fact, he claimed we had a Certificate of Occupancy so he could extort that last nugget of money with his "final billing".

When the CO never came, and I needed to make sure we had all our t's crossed and i's dotted, I discovered that he had LIED TO US. In writing. May 10. I have it in writing. Hiss hiss hiss.

We failed our inspection and no CO was issued.

We have hired a lawyer. Both the lawyer and I have spoken with the building officials and are working on getting an inspection expedited for this afternoon.

Apparently it was minor issues, but I'm LIVID that the man LIED. Here I am, planning to move in later this week with my disabled elderly mother, and I discover that I cannot actually live in my home.

I am in South Carolina. Never hire a builder named Cribbs.

I'm SO sorry bjstem. I hope that once you are able to move in you will love your house despite this bad actor.

I am also building a house inSC, not using a builder named Cribbs, but it is daunting as I live over 500 miles away from the building site.

We built our first house 20 years ago in Florida, had to fire our corrupt kick-back king, pathologically lying contractor, sue him, and of course the party holding the cash wins. My husband had given him a big draw before the "final straw event" and we got almost none of it back because he had spent it on purchasing a new house for himself. (protected asset in Florida)

My hard learned advice is, do not pay him another dime until your lawyer has advised you what to do. You probably need to have a meeting with all parties present, including your lawyer, to negotiate the end of this "relationship" and sign an agreement specifying the final payments, liens etc.

I am crossing my fingers that you get your CO today, and get this creep out of your life as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Thank you @AC M. We were very grateful that our lawyer is apparently acquainted with the county manager. Within twenty minutes of talking to him this morning, the inspections office had people calling me to follow up, and apparently one of them contacted Cribbs to inform them our lawyer had talked to the county manager and they were expediting an inspection follow up this morning.

I got there this morning to unlock the house to let them in. I stayed until after the inspector was gone, and spoke with him. We passed, he informed his office, and I already have had my CO emailed to me. Apparently after they failed inspection, they just didn't bother to fix the things that failed it, even though they were small problems that would cost nothing but a little time to fix.

He's issued many questionable "invoices" over the last year and a half, and told many "small lies", but this really took the cake. It became quite clear to me, that if I hadn't brought a lawyer into play, he would have just kicked the can down the road again. I had to be clear that I was no longer "asking".

As I told my lawyer, I will be happy to just be in my home and never have to speak to that man again.

Unfortunately, we have concrete failures already, but they aren't in *structurally important* areas (just the front porch and back patio), so I'm not sure how much fight I have left in me for those. Apparently he thought pouring the patio on wet clay with no rebar was a good idea.

My husband anticipates that now, with the landscaping in place, it would probably cost $30k or more to get someone in there to fix the cracking patio, then repair the landscaping.

Great news about the CO!

Change all your locks RIGHT NOW.

Thank you @just_janni I made sure they never had a key. And we've changed the garage door codes. We also have installed cameras.