What is the name of your state? New York
This is a very long story...so here goes. We bought a house in Huntington , Long Island, NY on Sept 28, 2001. We started renovating and one thing led to another and before we knew it, we had pretty much gutted the whole place. Fast forward to Christmas Day 2001. My husband and members of our family worked on the house and left around 6pm that evening. Up to this point, our house was re-electrified(?), plumbing was done, sheetrock was up. I had also ordered new kitchen cabinets. The house was about 5-6 weeks from completion. That night, our house was set on fire, according to our insurance company, State Farm, the cause was never determined. The house was almost burned to the ground. We hired an insurance adjuster, Big Mistake, we didn't know any better. We had people calling us at home, cell phone, work! After much interrogation by the insurance company, I guess we were their first suspects, it was decided that we should get paid, unfortunately, it was only about $180,000, we had paid $315,000 for the house. It was determined that because the house had nothing of real value, that was the amount we were due. Anyway, we had not enough money to start building again, so we applied for a construction loan through IndyMac Bank(about 9/2003). We already had plans drawn up for the house through a local architect. We hired a contractor who was a longtime family friend. We got approved for the loan and construction began in Dec of 2003. The project was to be paid out by the bank according to the work that was completed at the time of their inspection. This past August 2004, the house had rough plumbing, rough electrical, septic tank, stairs, the siding was done on 3 sides of the house, windows were in, it was about 6-8 weeks from completion, enough that we would get CEO to move in. Well, the unthinkable happened, it was determined by the town that our house didn't have the proper setbacks as required by town code! It was off by 7 feet on one side, and about 10 feet from the front. The contractor hired out the foundation portion of the job to someone else. He claims that he didn't know that the house wasn't on the right site. We wanted to have the house moved to the correct spot, but the cost would have been about $100,000, which the contractor says he doesn't have. I have lost most of my backyard, and my side yard. We reluctantly were persuaded by the contractor to apply for a variance, with the contractor covering all of the legal costs. We finally got a date for Feb 10, 2005. My question is, can we sue the contractor after the house is finished? We have put up with many delays, we had to pay $10,000 to get the construction loan extended(it was due 1/2005) by 6 months. I have been physically ill due to the stress of the fire and subsequent problems. I would sue him now, but he still has most of my money for work yet to be completed. Do I even have a case? I don't know how the board will vote, maybe upon hearing our woeful tale, they will feel some sympathy. But honestly, I really want the house to be moved to the correct spot. I had said from the beginning that the house looked like it was too far, but the contractor assured me that was becasue I had no point of reference, i.e. the trees and all the bushes had been removed. I would appreciate any help, I am at my wit's end. I have lost my job due to health issues, applied for diasability and was turned down. I really don't think we'll even be able to afford the house after it's all done. Meanwhile I have paid for kitchen cabinets, $25,000 worth, a new front door that are all sitting in a storage rental place. I also lost my original $1500 deposit for the first set of kitchen cabinets, I was then sued by them because I cancelled the order, so I had to pay another $3500 to get them off our backs! I am so sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to get the major part of the story out. Thank You
This is a very long story...so here goes. We bought a house in Huntington , Long Island, NY on Sept 28, 2001. We started renovating and one thing led to another and before we knew it, we had pretty much gutted the whole place. Fast forward to Christmas Day 2001. My husband and members of our family worked on the house and left around 6pm that evening. Up to this point, our house was re-electrified(?), plumbing was done, sheetrock was up. I had also ordered new kitchen cabinets. The house was about 5-6 weeks from completion. That night, our house was set on fire, according to our insurance company, State Farm, the cause was never determined. The house was almost burned to the ground. We hired an insurance adjuster, Big Mistake, we didn't know any better. We had people calling us at home, cell phone, work! After much interrogation by the insurance company, I guess we were their first suspects, it was decided that we should get paid, unfortunately, it was only about $180,000, we had paid $315,000 for the house. It was determined that because the house had nothing of real value, that was the amount we were due. Anyway, we had not enough money to start building again, so we applied for a construction loan through IndyMac Bank(about 9/2003). We already had plans drawn up for the house through a local architect. We hired a contractor who was a longtime family friend. We got approved for the loan and construction began in Dec of 2003. The project was to be paid out by the bank according to the work that was completed at the time of their inspection. This past August 2004, the house had rough plumbing, rough electrical, septic tank, stairs, the siding was done on 3 sides of the house, windows were in, it was about 6-8 weeks from completion, enough that we would get CEO to move in. Well, the unthinkable happened, it was determined by the town that our house didn't have the proper setbacks as required by town code! It was off by 7 feet on one side, and about 10 feet from the front. The contractor hired out the foundation portion of the job to someone else. He claims that he didn't know that the house wasn't on the right site. We wanted to have the house moved to the correct spot, but the cost would have been about $100,000, which the contractor says he doesn't have. I have lost most of my backyard, and my side yard. We reluctantly were persuaded by the contractor to apply for a variance, with the contractor covering all of the legal costs. We finally got a date for Feb 10, 2005. My question is, can we sue the contractor after the house is finished? We have put up with many delays, we had to pay $10,000 to get the construction loan extended(it was due 1/2005) by 6 months. I have been physically ill due to the stress of the fire and subsequent problems. I would sue him now, but he still has most of my money for work yet to be completed. Do I even have a case? I don't know how the board will vote, maybe upon hearing our woeful tale, they will feel some sympathy. But honestly, I really want the house to be moved to the correct spot. I had said from the beginning that the house looked like it was too far, but the contractor assured me that was becasue I had no point of reference, i.e. the trees and all the bushes had been removed. I would appreciate any help, I am at my wit's end. I have lost my job due to health issues, applied for diasability and was turned down. I really don't think we'll even be able to afford the house after it's all done. Meanwhile I have paid for kitchen cabinets, $25,000 worth, a new front door that are all sitting in a storage rental place. I also lost my original $1500 deposit for the first set of kitchen cabinets, I was then sued by them because I cancelled the order, so I had to pay another $3500 to get them off our backs! I am so sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to get the major part of the story out. Thank You
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