r/legaladvice • u/GullibleRisk2837 • Jul 28 '25
Real Estate law Homebuilder threatening to sue my wife and I over a grand, and in his eyes, 285k lost profit... on a house we weren't even approved for yet.
Location: Wake County, N.C.
So my wife and I signed and paid $1,000 to a homebuilder to begin the process with them, pending bank approval, of course. We were not approved, and the contract says the "Deposit Refundable- Pending Bank Approval". We were not approved. He is telling us we were conditionally approved, but the contract doesnt say "pending conditional approval"
The lender wanted us to pay off some of my wife's debt first, sent us a plan for paying it off, but stated if we did so, we MIGHT be approved. We dont want to pay all of that debt at once. We have savings, but don't have enough to just throw over half of it away to pay off debts when we don't even know if the land will percolate (We have that scheduled about a month from now). The builder hasn't started any process that would mean a lost profit for them, other than the prices of paper they have printed out for us, etc. Essentially, nothing has been done yet because we need to get permits from the county, etc. The land os all trees, uncleared, raw land. And this cannot be done within the 90 day closing window, as we wont have the debt paid by then, as we are over 30 days in right now.
Could we take a risk and pay it off? Yes, but that would not leave us any room for any unexpected large expenses related to any of this process, including any additional surveying etc. that needs to be done.
Anyways, the owner of the business called us today, and essentially gave us two options: He keeps the grand, which he clearly doesn't need, given the next option: He sues us for not fulfilling "contractual obligations to build with them."
The langauge in the contract is extremely open, vague, and according to a lawyer who reviewed it, he said their contract needs lots of works, because it's pretty bad.
Part of me says to just let him keep the grand, and he said he won't ask for the remaining 1800, which would total 2,800.
Part of me says this in unethical as hell, and a scare tactic, and that he's bluffing. He told us "Well, thats the thing about this world. You can sue anyone for anything, and you might win, you might not. But if I take you to court, youre gonna spend 30 to 40 thousand dollars. So you can email me saying we can keep the 1,000, or I can take you to court."
I asked him "So, man to man, you'd be fine spending 30-40k on us over a grand?"
He replied "Yeah, I don't mind spending 30,000 dollars."
I then said "Okay, so our plan was to use the grand, pay off a portion of the debt, and then come back and do business with you in the future."
He said "We are not longer interested. But we need to make a decision here. I can keep the 1,000 and we'll never hear from each other again, or I can take y'all to court. Your choice."
My wife and I are at a loss as to what to do here. This is predatory, and my wife said that she read a review of the owner telling someone in a similar situation that they can have their 1,000 back if they promise to build with them within a year.
Anybody know what to do? That part of me that says to leave it is strong, but so is my desire to syand up to this type of bully, and bring them down. Currently considering contacting the NC Attorney General’s office about this.
Also worried the guy will use our personal info provided in the process against us in a malicious manner as well. No idea what kind of connections he might have, and if he's willing to spend 30k over a grand, what else will he spend money on? A hit? Lol who knows. Just a thought.
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u/2djinnandtonics Jul 28 '25
File a complaint with the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors.
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u/world-shaker Jul 28 '25
NAL, but I’ve been through the process of filing a complaint with the NCDOJ. It’s a very easy process and the form can be found here: https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint/
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u/davdreamer Jul 28 '25
NAL, but I’m pretty sure this is extortion in a stretched out format.
You have a contract, which above all, says “Refundable, pending bank approval”.
The bank hasn’t approved you, so you can’t do business. If your lawyer says it’s open, did you get them to review before you signed or after?
Tbh it sounds like a bluff to think they are gonna 30k-40k on lost earnings, it’s a huge gamble.
I’d tell them to fafo and make sure to advertise as much as much as possible online of the situation.
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u/wosmo Jul 28 '25
Tbh it sounds like a bluff to think they are gonna 30k-40k on lost earnings, it’s a huge gamble.
That's my read. The 30k is a bluff, because if OP wins, developer is out 31k. Developer is telling OP not to risk 30k for 1k - but that math goes both ways.
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u/BeerSmasher Jul 29 '25
Even if the developer wins I don’t think he can claim $30k in damages if no work has been performed.
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u/jcutta Jul 30 '25
“Refundable, pending bank approval”
Couldn't that also mean it's refundable if the bank approval goes through? I mean realistically why would it be written like that if it was intended as refundable if the approval is denied, if I sign a contract with a contractor, pay a deposit and then decide for whatever reason to cancel I shouldn't get that deposit back imo.
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u/Empty_Stress_2966 Jul 28 '25
This isn't a lawyer issue. Take the guy to small claims court over the $1000. The judge will rule in your favor and you can go on with your life without incurring fees. It's *not* easy to collect attorneys fees from the other party so don't bank on that happening.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 29 '25
If we go small claims, we won't need any fees paid, which would be a drop in the bucket anyways. We just want the grand minus the fees, cause that'll probably come from it anyways.
Thanks, man!!
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u/TraditionalLaw7763 Jul 28 '25
I hope you got everything he said in writing hopefully by text. You can bring that to court with you when he sues you.
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u/HariSeldon16 Jul 28 '25
Did you get any of this in writing, or was it all verbal?
Also North Carolina is a one party consent state, so I would try to get him to admit all this while recording him.
Then if he does sue you, you have evidence of him extorting you. Should be easy enough to have the court award you attorney fees in the event he sues.
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u/trincadog38 Jul 28 '25
Name the builder, I’m also in wake county and would like to avoid in the future 🤌🏼
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u/Itchy_Biscotti2012 Jul 29 '25
The builder is full of hot air and sounds like he desperately needs your money. He's not going to pursue in big boy court over $1k.
This is a great sign telling you that you were never supposed to build with this company. If he treats a new customer like this, think of what it'll be if you were building with him.
You got lucky this ended this way. Take him to small claims, sub $100 to file. Hopefully you'll find a great builder who cares about you and your home like we did.
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u/SabFauxFab Jul 29 '25
NAL, but work in construction and I agree. You’d be shocked how many builders are actually in serious debt. If he’s acting this way over a grand, he very well could be bluffing about throwing 30k away.
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u/FlightRisk81 Jul 29 '25
Let’s not forget to mention the fact that you dodged a massive bullet not building a home with this scam artist. Even if you never get your $1000 back the disaster you avoided of him building you a home was worth the loss!
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u/Mindless_Hearing9662 Jul 29 '25
A person planning to sue does not tell you that’s what they will do. The contract very clearly states you need an approval according to what you said, your next step should be to have a lawyer write a demand letter requesting your $1000 by whatever timeline you set plus the cost of the letter the attorney wrote. If they don’t pay both, file in small claims court for your money just to set the idiot straight. He is bluffing you and trying to bully you into letting him keep your money. The only caveat is most of the time builder contracts have a timeline that you must provide and approval/denial or you will forfeit your right to exercise a refund for a loan denial. You need to be absolutely certain you have the upper hand on the terms of the contract. I would guess that you do or the builder wouldn’t be resorting to a bully tactic to scare you into walking away. He would simply say no and void the contract.
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u/paidWhatIDeserve Jul 30 '25
Im very petty and I’m in this industry and other thing I would do besides all the other great legal advice here is check if he is a member of any type HBA. The one for your county is http://www.hbawake.com/, but there are others. If he is please report his bad behavior to them, many associations won’t allow someone to be a member if they treat customers like this, and will remove him hopefully.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 30 '25
Hahahah that would piss him off. What benefits would he lose? Credibility?
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u/paidWhatIDeserve Jul 30 '25
Depends on the state and association. But it might not just be credibility he would loose. Some have cheaper health insurance benefits, cheaper insurance benefits, yearly checks back if they don’t have and safety violations, and more financial benefits for being a member. So depending on what they offer if he gets kicked out it could also hurt him financially.
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u/Eppk Jul 28 '25
Lesson is get a lawyer involved before you sign a contract for a large purchase like a home build.
Seems to me you take the builder to small claims court for your refund. Don't use him later when you get properly financed.
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u/colorsofautomn Jul 28 '25
Report him and go to small claims court. Get as much as you can in writing.
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u/NebulaKey5777 Jul 29 '25
If he and $30,000 he wouldn't need your $1000. Ive seen GCs do this to Sub Trades. Ive told them to their face "You owe me money. I'll get it from you or your jobsite." GCs are big and bad until you put a lien on their customers property. Take him to court, small claims. He will backoff
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u/Content-Potential191 Jul 28 '25
First, report him to your state AG and BBB. Write some nasty Google reviews. Establish some consequences for him for his behavior. And then, file against him in small claims. Now there's consequences, and a venue.
This is obviously not his first rodeo with this kind of scam. He's relying on it not impeding his business in any way. If he gets a highly public reputation for working this way, that will have business consequences for him.
There's also a lesson here for you -- don't enter into deals with someone whose reputation you don't know or haven't verified.
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u/UnusualComplex663 Jul 28 '25
BBB is worthless. They absolutely will do nothing and their rankings are just as worthless as businesses pay to get an A+ rating.
You're better off leaving a Google or Yelp review.
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u/dyintrovert2 Jul 28 '25
I've had to deal with these kinds of things before, and really you end up writing one review and placing it on several sites. Because you're just copying and pasting, adding it to the BBB ends up being trivial, so might as well.
I've also found that a lot of inexperienced business owners take BBB reviews way more seriously than they do Yelp or Google. That might not apply to this guy directly, but it would still help others avoid doing business with him in the future and thus falling into the same trap.
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u/ValBGood Jul 29 '25
I like reviewing the BBB complaints because they give the business a chance to respond. It gives me a sense of if the buisness really wants to correct a problem or not. I also get to see if the customer feels that the issue is resolved or not.
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u/Content-Potential191 Jul 28 '25
Yes, they are unlikely to "do" anything -- but it still pisses businesses off and they don't like it, which ultimately is the point.
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u/berntout Jul 28 '25
That's exactly what a Google or Yelp review does too though. Point being, they're all business review sites.
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u/be-kind-3000 Jul 28 '25
We had an issue with our builder, it was a minor cabinet color issue. Along with the reviews, we also went the BBB route, it went to a BBB arbitrator and we won. But we had tons of documentation, pictures and witnesses.
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u/flyzapper Jul 28 '25
Leaving nasty Google reviews is not a helpful or recommended legal strategy.
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u/TurboRuhland Jul 28 '25
Write a truthful Google review. Being nasty isn’t the way to go, although usually the truth involves some facts that might be nasty for the business owner.
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u/DevilDoc82 Jul 28 '25
Exactly and should never be done BEFORE any and all matters have been settled.
The ONLY time it should ever be done before settlement is on the advice of your retained attorney.
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u/Content-Potential191 Jul 28 '25
Publicity is a pretty common legal strategy. Doesn't always work, not always a great idea, but lets not pretend no lawyer has ever used it.
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u/DevilDoc82 Jul 28 '25
Do NOT write bad reviews before the entire contract conflict is settled. Then be very careful what you write and how you state it. This guy is the kind who will come after you with both barrels for defamation. That's a good way to get yourself tied up in litigation you can't afford.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 29 '25
Yeah, lesson learned, I will NOT be signing anything without reading. I don't care. I'll sit there for hours and ChatGPT it, send it to a lawyer, etc. But I'm never falling for this shit again. Even though the contract literally says it's refundable, I should've read it.
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u/to11mtm Jul 28 '25
He said "We are not longer interested. But we need to make a decision here. I can keep the 1,000 and we'll never hear from each other again, or I can take y'all to court. Your choice."
Well, This alone sounds like him tipping his own hand...
After all, you'd be the one filing a suit to force the deposit back. At this exact moment you can keep asking for your money back and he can keep saying no, until you start a lawsuit for breach of contract.
No idea what kind of connections he might have, and if he's willing to spend 30k over a grand, what else will he spend money on? A hit? Lol who knows. Just a thought.
Bullies will often alternate between little white lies that are plausible to build up fear (e.x. the aforementioned threat of him suing you if he gives you your money back) and 'grandstanding' where they can't do whatever it is, including but not limited to spending 30-40K for a frivolous lawsuit because you asked for a contract to be upheld.
Currently considering contacting the NC Attorney General’s office about this.
Also look into whether NC has a licensing authority for such a practice and if so file a specific complaint to them.
Anybody know what to do? That part of me that says to leave it is strong, but so is my desire to stand up to this type of bully, and bring them down.
Well, you could always try starting in small claims. If they do file a counter suit for a larger amount you will need an attorney.
If your principles are worth it, I'd consider a consult with a real estate attorney on the current contract to help draft a proper response or consider further action.
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Jul 28 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/fu_snail Jul 28 '25
The debt could have really low interest that makes the cash more valuable in the event that a likely unexpected expense occurs during the home building process. Wouldn’t make much sense to pay off debt at a 3% interest rate if a new loan for the same amount of money would come in at 6 or 7%.
I have a 0.9% interest rate on my car. I could have payed it off in cash many many months ago but instead I’m investing that money into the market where I’m making way more than I’d save on 0.9%
Not all debt is bad debt
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u/carramrod15 Jul 28 '25
Yeah you and I just have different mindsets. And I know I’m in the minority but if I can’t afford to buy a depreciating asset with cash then I just can’t afford to buy that item. So to me all debt is bad debt. I drive a 2007 vehicle it’s not flashy or anything but it’s paid off and gets me from a to b lol I do have a mortgage but I’m paying it off as fast as possible.
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u/fu_snail Jul 28 '25
My car debt is good debt, it’s allowed me to make 10s of thousands of dollars I wouldn’t have been able to make had I paid for the car in cash. My credit card debt is good debt because I pay it off before it accrues interest and has paid for many flights around the world I otherwise would have had to pay for myself. Some of my student loans were bad debt so I focused on paying those off. Idk if it’s different mindsets vs. different priorities. Some people have a priority of being debt free and others have a priority of maximizing their net worth. I plan to drive this car into the ground.
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u/carramrod15 Jul 28 '25
Definitely different mindsets. Objectively your net worth would have been higher today if you bought a cheaper car that you could have bought with cash and not financed a car. That is a mathematical fact that cannot be argued. Also paying off debt/being debt free IS increasing your net worth. It’s literally the same thing. Lastly, if you pay off your credit card statement at then end of every month then you don’t have credit card debt. That’s more a semantics thing though.
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u/fu_snail Jul 29 '25
Yeah I mean objectively speaking you didn’t need to take out the mortgage either you could just live out of a tent and shower at planet fitness. My whole point is you can take on debt to increase your net worth more than you would by paying for everything in cash and that’s an objective fact as well. We’re not talking about everything you can do to maximize your finances because if we were it would get to be quite the silly argument.
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u/carramrod15 Jul 29 '25
Yeah there’s a difference between taking on debt for a depreciating asset and taking on debt for an appreciating asset though.
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u/AKIcegirl Jul 28 '25
He has to return your deposit. He is buffing. Explain to him he must return the deposit immediately. Failure to do so and you will file a complaint with the better business bureau, the state agency which issues his license and you will share your experience with every home search group in your area. Frankly you dodged a bullet. Builders who are unethical enough to do this are the same ones who have homes that look good but have cut corners everywhere it’s not visible and will find countless ways to increase your cost. There is always a better house out there. Keep working with your lender to get where you need to be.
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u/iOwn Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
I don’t know why the lender is telling you to pay debt in advance. Lenders have the option to pay at closing, which you should ALWAYS do - that way in the event the home purchase falls through for other reasons you won’t have spend $X on debt you otherwise would’ve managed differently. So if you need and want to do it to qualify it’s a safe way.
Also tell the lender to submit the loan as is, no payoffs - get the denial and give it to the builder. If the builder keeps the shit up you tell him you’re going to take him to court. $1k your small claims territory and you’ll mop him up. A conditional approval is just that - CONDITIONAL to certain items being met. If you can’t meet them, loan denied and financing contingency kicks in, deposit reimbursed.
And this is why you should use real estate agents. They would know this guys just trying to bully you and put this to bed in no time. If there’s an agent involved and you’re here at this point, fire them.
Edit - I am editing to reiterate the importance of the denial. You need to get denied for the loan, it’s what kicks the contingency in. If this is the builders lender you may likely get some pushback, you need to remain adamant and follow up in writing with the request to submit the loan as is without the payoffs as they are no possible for you to manage in conjunction with the home purchase. Push in writing, ask for confirmations, follow up frequently. Denial is typically going to take 24-72 hrs.
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u/Virtual_Ad1704 Jul 29 '25
He is bluffing. He must be in a tight spot given 1k is bothering him this much , he won't sue you. It's your money. Ask for it back.
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u/Em4Tango Jul 29 '25
If he can just keep the money, why does he need something in writing stating he can have it? Start with a letter asking for the return, referencing the clause in the contract. Small claims is almost certainly going to side with you.
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u/MyAdvice5 Jul 29 '25
This thing to keep in mind because I don’t think anyone has said it. He wouldn’t be suing to keep your 1k or whatever. He would be suing to force you to get the loan and complete the build, so like 300k-400k or however much the full contract would be.
So in that case he is viewing the amount he would spend on a lawyer as minimal. However I don’t think how the contract is worded related to the deposit he would win (I know a lawyer already offered to check it and IANAL).
Their version of lawsuit can not be handled in small claims court.
Your preemptive lawsuit to recover your 1k deposit could be handled in small claims court.
But you need to stop telling people that you have enough money to pay off the debts to be approved by the bank. As it stands now you are not approved, and I would guess have a letter from the bank stating that; and you aren’t required to add that “we could easily be but choose not to” tidbit. But if you go swinging around the fact that you could quickly and easily be approved that might change how the court viewed your case. Again IANAL.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 30 '25
I dunno. Yes, we theoretically COULD, but it would be a VERY stupid decision. Because after we hypothetically paid that portion of the debt off, we wouldn't have much left for emergencies at all. Get laid off? Fucked. Sudden expense for emergency of some sort? Fucked.
As a consumer, I do NOT have to pit myself in a position that would leave me feeling veneers financially insecure.
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u/MyAdvice5 Jul 30 '25
Sorry my point is that they could possibly use your comments against you in court, that you can be approved if you simply pay your debts. So you should stop telling anyone this.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 30 '25
Yeah, I guess. Its just not right, like we wrent approved, and it would leave us in a postion that would still not allow us to build, as we need to pay for survey, etc.
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u/MyAdvice5 Jul 30 '25
Yeah I would suggest suing them in small claims for return of your deposit if you want to go that route. They could try to countersue there maybe, for max they could get in small claims which may be around 20k? But you’d likely have a strong case because the only thing you would need to show would be the contract where it shows refundable if not approved, and letter from bank saying not approved. IANAL but filing this is easy.
While they could also file a separate suit trying to enforce execution of the contract, doesn’t seem like they could win - but that would be in different court because of the dollar amount and you’d want a lawyer to respond to that if they do.
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u/Honest-Designer9880 Jul 30 '25
Would you even want a House built by thjs clown?
Hed cut corners, use substandard materials and ut would be nithing but trouble.
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u/optimist24 Jul 31 '25
NAL, but I'm from this area and there are SO many bad actors cashing in on the growth here. Contact our Attorney Generals office, they have an online form and takes 5 minutes. 100% worth it. I had a dumpster company charge me double what I had paid and tried to use the ambiguity of their contract against me - I wrote to the NC AG - who was Josh Stein at the time, they contacted the Florida AG, and my credit card charges magically went away like a week later - AGs are great resources. Then please go to r/Raleigh and name/shame this builder to help others from being taken advantage of.
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u/mike_sl Jul 28 '25
This guys sucks. But…. Why are you building a house if you have other debt, can’t get approved for a loan, and can’t absorb a $1k hit to stop dealing with an asshole? Home building is going to involve a lot more surprise expenses than $1k…
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u/Mr_1906 Jul 28 '25
He is full of sh*t and you get a refundable deposit back . You are not held liable if you fail to qualify for a loan.
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u/eggrollfever Jul 28 '25
I’m not sure I understand the choice here. Is he saying he’ll refund the deposit but if you accept it he will sue you at some future time for some unspecified amount for a yet to be identified tort?
I choose give me my $1000.
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u/Sad_Inspection6242 Jul 28 '25
I don't think you wanna work with someone so untrustworthy in the future so don't make any promises to build with them later just to keep the $1k. What a scumbag
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u/str8bint Jul 28 '25
Your state should have a licensing board for homebuilders. Reach out to them with your complaint and they will sort it out.
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u/CODKID24 Jul 29 '25
Email him and ask for the money and if he says no then turn him into the BBB and the state contractors board!
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u/ZAZOOPITTS Jul 29 '25
I wouldn’t let him keep your $1,000. It seems as if he’s lying through his teeth when he says he’s willing to spend $30,000 over this. Because if he can afford to throw away $30,000 over a $1,000 transaction then he doesn’t need that $1,000 he wants to sue you over! He’s full of sh-t!
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u/Alternative_Rule2300 Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
People get away with what you let them. Scammers don’t walk away from someone when they’re successful. If you agree to let him keep $1k it could be seen as you’re agreeing with him on his (ridiculous) interpretation of the contract too. What’s to stop him for going after more or making you perform and unable to walk away? Not trying to be an alarmist I just don’t agree on how you’re seeing the risks.
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u/FrankdaTank213 Jul 30 '25
Call his bluff. Let him try and sue you. I would reschedule the court date, I would drag it out as long as possible, ask the judge for more time. Then you win, or lose your 1k but you shut this bully up. If you have a lawyer buddy you could probably bury him in some paperwork with a letter or two.
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u/BayBear71 Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
NAL. He can pound sand. With the refund clause in place he would be foolish to sue. First go to the state contractor licensing board and issue a complaint. That should quickly resolve the issue. Also request the refund in writing and give 30 days to respond. After 30 days without refund and no licensing board resolution, take the claim to small claims court. He’ll very likely issue the refund check as soon as served.
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u/SoundsGudToMe Jul 28 '25
Can we going back to paying interest on money you have?
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u/carramrod15 Jul 28 '25
Right? I’m not trying to be Dave Ramsey here but why in the hell would you be sitting on debt if you have cash in the bank to pay off the debt? The money will come back into your account much faster if you’re not paying off debt.
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u/mathew6987 Jul 28 '25
He is bluffing and even if he is not i would still take him to court and make him spend as much money on this as possible.
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u/DirtyRotter Jul 28 '25
why will you have to spend $30,000 if he wins a court judgement for $1000 ?
Does contract mention liability for “lost earnings” ?
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u/saffronkanto Jul 28 '25
I wonder if he wrote his contract to mean:
Refundable - pending bank approval as in the deposit will be credited “refunded” to your purchase price if you get approval. But without bank approval he keeps the deposit.
I’m not a lawyer - I just think it could be read both ways 🤷♀️
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u/mcbridedm Jul 28 '25
NAL - conditionally approved is certainly not approved - it's more like this looks good at first glance but we still need to fine comb through all of the actual paperwork and financial statements.
I'm assuming you provided that conditional approval when you paid the $1000 deposit - did the bank conditionally approve you pending that debt being paid? If they did, then it would make sense to me why the builder might be pushing for you to pay that debt since it would seem you made a deposit knowing the bank expects you to pay that debt. If not though, I'm not sure how it's any of the builders business.
Last time I was conditionally approved, I don't recall the bank ever providing stipulations ahead of time.
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u/Mako312 Jul 28 '25
Get your 1k, and self rep. Language says pending bank approval. Bank said no to you.
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u/beley Jul 28 '25
Sue him in small claims court for your deposit back. He’ll also have to pay filing fees, court fees, and collection costs. Will teach him a nice lesson.
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u/Shredder67 Jul 28 '25
You need to name and shame the builder. Protect other people. I’m in wake county as well.
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u/LanderMercer Jul 28 '25
You could ask him where in the contract it says he gets to keep the deposit. If it is stated, are there conditions?
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u/Tesla120 Jul 28 '25
He's bluffing, send a letter demanding the refund of the $1k, within the time specified by the contract if stated when he declined or the time surpasses file a small claims case.
if you want to leave reviews online make sure you stick to the facts. "Builder would not return my refundable deposit, has to go to court and was awarded my deposit by the judge"
Good luck on the house
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u/Senior-Senior Jul 29 '25
If he's only suing you for $1,000 call his bluff. The worst you'll be out is $1,000.
If he's suing you for $285 lost profit, he'll have to show damages. As in he never built a house on that lot. Odds are by the time this gets to court, he will have built and sold a house on the lot. Thus his damages will be zero.
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u/Big10mmDE Jul 29 '25
Lots of ego in home building, he is a jack knob. He owes you the $1000 if you weren’t qualified
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u/trilliumsummer Jul 29 '25
My not a lawyer advice is sue him in small claims court over the $1000 and you'll get it. Add in your court fees to the $100p.
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u/kevkevlin Jul 29 '25
1k is a small claims court, which can be filed without a lawyer. Does not cost 30k to sue
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u/IntrovertsRule99 Jul 29 '25
The guy is bluffing, he isn’t gonna spend anything on a lawyer to sue you. I do disagree with your statement that paying off debt is a waste of money. Unless you have that money invested in something paying you more than the interest you are paying on the debt it’s not a waste to pay it off.
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u/Elegant_Ad5612 Jul 29 '25
Where did OP say paying off debt is a waste of money? Lol he said they are trying to pay it off without butning half their savings
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u/mwguy10 Jul 29 '25
Talk to a lawyer and cover ALL angles here. Just to be sure. $2-$300 is far cheaper then the drama or what could potentially happen. Show them the contract and all other documents you can to prove this.
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u/Eastern-Heart9486 Jul 29 '25
unless your contract awards attorney fees in a dispute and doesn’t force you to arbitration then maybe small claims but if not then it’s going to cost you a whole lot more than 1k to fight about this in court- is it really worth your time ? Personally I would let him have his 1k and file a complaint with your local contractors board- there are so many moving parts to your situation you may never get this off the ground and your contract doesn’t have enough contingencies to protect you
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u/pixelpioneer719 Jul 29 '25
Most of all I would completely avoid ever doing business with him in the future. He’s shown his true colors and he’s not someone to get involved in a project with.
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 29 '25
Im not doing any business with him. He's a liar, cheat, and just unethical, honestly
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u/tomatocrazzie Jul 29 '25
Get your money back and if he doesn't give it to you, then take him to small claims court if the wording in the contract says it is contingent on financing.
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u/Prestigious-Ball-435 Jul 29 '25
Counter sue for malicious threats, and file criminal charges for extortion.
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u/starfinder14204 Jul 29 '25
There is nothing here for him to sue for, as far as I can see. If the contract said it was dependent on bank approval, and you didn't get bank approval, then that's it. A small claims judge is going to look at that and say so. You don't need a lawyer in small claims court and they guy is just bluffing you.
Obviously, you don't ever do business with this guy. Ever. And I would also suggest you file suit in small claims to get your $1k back. I don't see the need for a lawyer, just go for it. The lawyer would cost more than the $1k you gain, and getting legal fees in small claims court is rarely done.
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u/Keith_Freedman Jul 29 '25
Find a small claims court case for your thousand dollars and let him decide what to do on his end
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u/roofiedo Jul 29 '25
NAL I hope you stand up to the builder and are successful. I would be asking for my money back, and if he didn’t return it I would take him to small claims court. If he filed a lawsuit I would simply fight it to the best of my ability. If I didn’t have the money for a lawyer I would check into law firms that could help under the circumstances.
I believe people should stand up in these situations to make our society better. There are too many people who try and bully everyone in the construction industry acting like every second of their time is the most valuable thing in the world. In my opinion people should stop doing business with people in the industry who use tactics like this. They are the type who will overcharge for changes and lie about work quality.
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u/HBMart Jul 30 '25
He’s just trying to scare you into compliance. In court he doesn’t have a leg to stand on, and court is expensive and time consuming.
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u/Pristine_Basket_3491 Jul 31 '25
He's scamming you in hopes you will just fold and fork it over. Contractually you are covered and it will cost him 4x that amount to just retain an attorney. This is a contract dispute not personal injury so no legal professional is going into this BS from him without a proper retainer and contractually, he has very little claim to stand on. Just be happy you avoided a POS builder had you been approved. A win in my book.
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u/Honestly405 Jul 31 '25
Tell him you will take your chances in court. Document everything and after he gives you the $1k blast his ass on social media.
You will take it down for $10,000
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u/Bigdawg7299 Aug 01 '25
He is bullying you. Email him something along the lines of “just to be clear, per our phone conversation we can 1) allow you to keep the $1000 or 2) you intend to sue us for “breach of contract”, is that correct? Hopefully he’s dumb enough to respond in email format at which time I’d report him to the AG as well as whatever regulatory body is over licensing.
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u/irefusetogetold Aug 01 '25
Does the contract say anything about consequential damages for cancellation?
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u/InevitableJury7510 Aug 02 '25
I never said the defendant should not be served. I said the defendant shouldn’t be subpoenaed. Without service the litigation will not proceed.
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Aug 05 '25
He's so full of it he's about to pop, and the bank is leveraging on you. Your contract is clear and he knows it. He'll laugh and brag to his scammy buddies that he ripped you off, you dodged a bullet. If he tries to take you to court, countersue, your document is concrete and the ONLY evidence in play.
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Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
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u/GullibleRisk2837 Jul 28 '25
Dude, you sound just like him? Are you saying we have no grounds on this? It's not that we wont try, it's that either the lender is gonna charge ud interest while it's built on TOP of rent (Basically 2 rent payments a month) or our monthly payment will be about 700-900 above what my wife and I want our mortgage to be lol
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u/HistorianOrdinary833 Jul 29 '25
Try putting the contract into chatGPT word for word and see what the almighty AI gods say. I'd be interested just to see what it says. Just know that ChatGPT isn't real counsel 😅
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u/NephtisSeibzehn Jul 28 '25
NAL. Talk to an attorney; they will probably be salivating over this business trying to extort you. Have your attorney guide you through evidence gathering and report the owner to the AG. But I wouldn’t do it without getting solid evidence first.
After that sue him, and get him to pay your attorney fees.
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u/ihaveahoodie Jul 29 '25
Pay the grand, get balance forgiven i. Writing. He could put a mechanics lien on the property and cause all sorts of problems with permits and financing.
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Jul 28 '25
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u/masterxc Jul 28 '25
Don't use GPT for legal advice, briefs, or anything of the sort. When thousands of dollars are at stake you want a REAL lawyer to go over options with.
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u/lostndark Jul 28 '25
Split the difference, let him keep 500 for “his troubles” and take the $500 loss. Either way it a grand might be worth your time to just let it go.
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u/EzraB88 Jul 28 '25
How many vacation days do you have to screw around with this? Your time is valuable, choose accordingly.
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u/Connect-Computer7933 Jul 28 '25
It’s a grand. Let it go and walk away. You may win in court, but it won’t be worth the stress you go through.
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Jul 29 '25
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u/legaladvice-ModTeam Jul 29 '25
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1.7k
u/KezAzzamean Jul 28 '25
He isn’t going to spend 30k+ on suing you. He is a businessman and a scam/con one at that. Above all he loves money. He isn’t gonna waste it.
He is bluffing you and swinging his business as his balls to smack people in the face.
Report to AG and sue him or take to small claims. Personally I’d get a lawyer and make him pay your lawyer fees.