Have You Taken Your Contractor to Small Claims Court???

We had an issue with the builder for the first house we built and we did pursue going to court. However, on the day we were to show up for court, we were notified that they would settle in order to stay out of court.

You better believe my word of mouth spread like wildfire. Before we ever attempted to go as far as the court level, our attorney advised us to go through the step process of the BBB first, which we did.

Our issues were also over the last punch list and they were resolved after the builder knew we were serious.

Yikes. Well, you didn't have a lawyer then but you can get one now. They will go over your paperwork and let you know what your options are and the best course of action to take. Best of luck to you and the other purchasers.

don't be scared of small claims court! it's generally very sensible and low-key, and your type of situation is exactly what it's set up to handle.
you may be able to avoid it all, though, by having an attorney write up an Official Nasty Letter. it'll cost you $50 or $100 (which you can recoup) but often galvanizes an 'unmotivated' business owner into action.
good luck!
khairete
S.

Small claims court isn't daunting at all however if you win your case it doesn't mean you'll ever see the money. If he loses the case there's no requirement that he cuts you a check or makes any effort to pay. Nope it's up to you to use the legal system to get the money.

We had a tenet who was terrible and left the apartment is shambles. Took them to small claims court and won the case. The judgment said they had to pay $10 a week until everything was paid off in addition to the fee for court filing and the charge to the paperwork to be served. They paid 2 weeks and then stopped. We had to face having to shell out more money to get a lien put on their house in order to get paid when they sold the house 8 yrs later.

our contract includes a binding arbitration clause with the arbitrator of our contractor's choice so we couldn't or I totally would.

Did you discuss this "punch list" at your closing with the mortgage company? Perhaps they or your realtors might have a little more muscle in dealing with this contractor. If he is still an active builder, he needs to do business in this community. You might try that before you head to small claims court. One lesson we always learned was to get a "release of lien" from any sub contractors or suppliers before we issued final payment to our contractor. Good luck!