Major "settling" cracks throughout the home. One portion of drywall has pulled away from another in an upstairs corner.
Am I entitled to anything? What can I do? What's a reasonable settlement?
answered on Jul 12, 2023
You may or may not have a valid claim depending upon the extent of the deflection or tilt measured by your structural engineer and what he determines is the cause. The foundation and major structural components of a home are subject to a minimum warranty period of ten years from the date of... View More 
Water leakage, sewer issues, window casings cracking out. All documented emails, pictures and work done so far.
answered on May 24, 2023
Common defendants in such a lawsuit include the builder, the soils engineer, the foundation design engineer, the foundation subcontractor who built the foundation, and the landscape design engineer who designed the landscaping.
It really depends upon what your structural engineer expert... View More
I won a small claims case in TX as the defendant and the Plaintiff was ordered to pay my attorney fees. My attorney billed me after the court date. Should my attorney bill me or the Plaintiff?
answered on May 2, 2023
Your attorney must bill you as you are the party who hired him and agreed to pay him.
You are entitled to recover your attorney fees from the other party
So you pay your attorney and then recover the same amount from the plaintiff.
Hi, We bought a brand new built house from a Builder mid December 2022 in Katy, TX.
3 months ago, my wife suspected termites. We called the builder company and the pest control company linked to the builder: They suspected termites but then they said it is not...
We got an... View More
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answered on Apr 27, 2023
A refund on a house purchase is a rare event. The hardest part of bringing such a case in your situation is proving that the termites were already in the house when you bought it. The second part of proof that you will need is that the contract did not say the house was sold "AS IS."... View More
OpenDoor was the owner/seller. We had it inspected before closing and it was noted it had been treated for termites but no mention of damage or live mites. We paid full price because opendoor would not negotiate price. After closing we found extensive termite damage and live mites. Many of the... View More
answered on Mar 30, 2023
In order to prevail in a lawsuit against the seller, you will need to prove that the seller was aware of the termite damage and infestation and that the damage and infestation were hidden such that they could not have been discovered before you purchased the home.
You mention the inspection... View More
a 3-5 day job has turned into 7 weeks, way over materials budget. I had to provide transportation everyday for him. somedays he did not show up, some days he showed up but did no work. I have cameras in my yard. I have a crappy shell of a shed and no money to finish the shed and he is now... View More
answered on Mar 9, 2023
There are some very specific requirements before a contractor can put a lien against your homestead. So, if this is your homestead, I doubt he can put a lien against your property.
On the other hand, a shed is most likely a removable. A contractor can use self-help to repossess a... View More
He was taking to long and missed several days, and I tried to communicate with him to check how We can proceed with the cancelation of this project but he is not answering any of my calls. Can He put a lien on my property? Do should be worried about it? Do I need to hire a real state lawyer?
answered on Feb 15, 2023
Yes, I would be concerned.
You should have consulted an attorney experienced in construction law before unilaterally terminating the contract.
A contract is binding on both parties. In the absence of a clear expression in the contract of a fixed completion date and that time is of... View More
I signed up to have solar installed on my home. The installer came out and put panels up but they did not finish the installation. I cannot use my solar panels. The finance company says I still owe them money, however.
The installation company is ignoring me and the finance company.... View More
answered on Feb 13, 2023
It's possible that you may be able to void the solar contract and the financing contract if the work was not completed. A lot depends on the wording of what you signed and on how Texas courts are currently interpreting these contracts. You will need to take all your paperwork to an attorney... View More
I am hiring a subcontractor - They do not have workers comp. Can I have them sign a release of liability?
answered on Jan 2, 2023
Yes, the TWCC has a specific form especially designed for this purpose.
The home seller in this case specializes in buying extremely distressed properties, hiring cheap labor to fix them up, then offers them to people with poor credit at high interest. One of the contractors who worked on a lot of the houses entered into verbal agreement to buy two houses on two... View More
answered on Jan 1, 2023
Contracts for the purchase of real property are required to be in writing. There is no such thing as a verbal contract to buy a house.
You can verbally rent a house on a month-to-month lease.
Short question is I had a lawyer that was going to take over my felony I was under the assumption that he had talked to my lawyer and got that paperwork taken care of I had called him regarding a court date he informed me that it had been canceled rescheduled in fact it hadn't been and now I... View More
answered on Dec 11, 2022
Retain a new lawyer and get the warrant taken care resokved,
I put in a fence and the client is satisfied with the work. However, after completion, the gentleman accidently created a divot in the yard. Client does not want to pay for the fence until the divot is complete. Hired someone to fix it and they were still not satisfied
answered on Dec 1, 2022
In the absence of contractual language to the contrary (which would be highly unusual), a customer cannot withhold payment for a satisfactorily completed project as a result of subsequent accidental damage to the yard not caused by the contractor or its workers/subs.
*Mispelt road sorry*
I'm pretty sure the dip was caused by water somehow, because over time a fairly straight street turned into it. Every time it rains there is basically a small pond at the end of my driveway. We've contacted the city numerous times about it, but the last time... View More
answered on Dec 11, 2022
A Texas attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for three weeks. There wouldn't be an injury case for almost slipping. The standard is one of actual damages. If it's an engineering-type problem involving inadequacies in municipal storm drainage infrastructure, you could... View More
We had a contractor come in to remove existing framing and put in new framing per plans. Most of the studs are anywhere from 13 to 21 inches apart and warped studs, per inspector. He also did not follow plans. We do not want this contractor back on the property. Can we sue for labor and cost of... View More
answered on Oct 25, 2022
When a contractor does non-conforming work, you have the choice of either accepting or rejecting such work.
Non-conforming work is work that is not defective but which fails to conform to the plans.
Think you wanted the paint to be salmon in color but instead they used coral... View More
AUSTIN TEXAS: I have paid the full amount to the general contractor ($17.5K) but they have not paid the subcontractor for over 3 weeks. They ignored texts/calls and so the subcontractor stopped by our house to let us know that they are going to file a lien against our house.
What do we... View More
answered on Oct 18, 2022
Because the amount is less than $20,000, you can file suit without hiring an attorney in justice court. I would sue both the general contractor and landscaping subcontractor in justice court.
Given the small amount involved, it would most likely not be cost effective to hire an attorney.
Homeowner in Texas. I contracted with (name withheld) for concrete and electrical work. I paid 50% upon signing. Work started 5 weeks after the estimated start date. They worked 3 days (some light excavation) and then all communication abruptly ceased 3 weeks ago. The contractor is unreachable by... View More
answered on Sep 21, 2022
If I were to take this case, I would start by reading your contract and creating an effective litigation strategy. After outlining the strategy, I would move forward with the plan. It looks like you have taken a few steps already, but it does not look like you have taken any formal steps. If your... View More
The contractor already accepted the money from the manufactured home company where we got the loan through to do the work on the septic system. Now he says because his mini excavator cannot penetrate The Rock underneath the dirt that we're going to have to spend an extra $2000 to put in an... View More
answered on Sep 7, 2022
That depends on the wording of your contract with the contractor and what it says about subsurface soil conditions and the allocation of risks. You should take your written contract to an experienced construction law attorney for a consultation. If the contract is not overly long, you should be... View More
It has been 5 months and they kept blaming cps for delays. I have been in contact with CPS and they show no active work order on my account. Found out today they messed up on the contract and cps has been rejecting it. They want me to sign a new contract. Stated if I don't original contract is... View More
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answered on Aug 20, 2022
You should not have to sign a new contract. The former contract is valid and enforceable. If you sign the new contract, you will have waived any remedy at law or in equity.
Unforeseen variables must be reasonable, but without actually reading your contract, I cannot be for sure. Here are... View More
The installers had to reset the tracts across the entire roof left original holes open my house flooded they sent an inspector out he said they were at fault. The company said they would fix my roof This was in December 2020 we started having issues with the outlets and breakers popping we would... View More
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answered on Aug 20, 2022
I am terribly sorry this happened to you.
I recommend not taking serious legal action on your own, since there are many legal issues, deadlines and hurdles which are difficult to cross as a pro se plaintiff.
But to answer your question you would have to sue the company and serve... View More
We closed on our home in April 2022. Have made two payments already! Still not living in it. Our general contractor hired a sub contractor to do our floor. Has attempted 3 times, left a razor blade in my daughters closet in the epoxy! Now is not answering calls or texts. And our general contractor... View More
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answered on Jul 14, 2022
I can answer your question generally. But I would want to see your contract or written agreement to be sure of how to advise you.
I'm assuming that the mortgage you are paying is for a COMPLETED house. Meaning all the construction, including laying the floors, were part of your... View More
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