It sounds like he needed to make more money than he previously thought. That sounds like a personal problem but depending on lein waivers and such you should follow Virgil's advice on the real estate attorney.

Cease communication with him. Have your lawyer send him a pound sand letter.

We are in Georgia. Our contract with him stated that if there were any changes, he had to provide us with a change order that stated changes to be made, costs associated and had to be signed by both the contractor and us as the owners. We have no change orders for these changes that he is now trying to charge us for. Our contractor affidavit states that he has been paid in full the agreed upon contract amount (which he has) and that there are no liens or outstanding debts owed to subs/suppliers/laborers/etc.

Yup, what Holly then. Although, if you didn't do the lien waivers, can't the subs still lien your house? I guess this is something the attorney will answer. Good luck.

Too late in this case, but for everyone else: changes that are "no cost" must be in writing, too, with "no cost" written in the document.

Ditto to prior post mentioning lien release. Must before final payment.

Good luck.

According to three different lawyers that I have spoken with, we can not be held responsible for any more payments to subs since GC signed the Contractor's Affidavit. They have to go after him at this point. One supplier has told me that they are contacting their attorney and the District Attorney and are going to have criminal charges filed against him. The contractor swore under oath that he did not owe any one else money so he broke the law by signing that affidavit. It is out of my hands in regards to what the subs/suppliers/laborers do at this point. I am just trying to make sure that I will not have to pay for these "extra" overages that we never agreed to.

don't pay him a dime for now.

review your state specific rules:

http://consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-topics/liens-against-your-home

this is also helpful in your circumstance:

http://consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-topics/building-contractors

in my state when I had such issues, I was able to call the office that handled construction licenses, and got a very helpful person who told me step by step what to do. As soon as I mentioned that I had gotten in touch with the state, a number of things got paid and I got my waivers from some of my "problem children."

none of them want to know that you have been in touch with the state because a formal complaint goes on their license for at least a few years. a complaint will make it difficult for them to work because the subs will stay away.

So, it is now four and a half months after we closed on the house and the contractor just informed my husband today that he is going to sue us. My husband told him to go ahead and try. We met with our lawyer this past week after the contractor started calling again (he needs more money since he didn't pay all the suppliers and they are now placing liens against him and are going after him criminally).

The lawyer reviewed our contract and says that since the contractor signed the Contractor Affidavit (stating that he has been paid in full and has no rights to any more payments, liens, materials, etc). AND because he never produced change orders for the changes in question, we should be off the hook. Of course, we will see what his lawyer says about all of this.

We are prepared to countersue if necessary. We have had cracks in walls that keep re-appearing after the contractor has come back to fix them multiple times. Hired a structural engineer this week and he showed me that the foundation was not done correctly. Basically, we are going to have to jack up a portion of the foundation and install more beams. Additionally, discovered that he did not do the soil compaction to the specs in the contract nor the envelope of the house. We have discovered multiple breaches of contract (did not use spec'd materials but instead used cheaper materials and charged higher price, etc).

This is turning into a nightmare. Have you ever heard of a contractor winning a court case over overages for which there was NO change orders and that were not brought to the owner's attention until AFTER the closing?

Talk with your attorney, and if you have basis, countersue now!

Good luck with your project!

I just want to say, that with my own experiences lately, and those I've talked to, and reading about all the troubles on GW, I'm so not surprised by this anymore. We live in a sad, sad world, where people can do a sub-par job and then think they can scare you with a law suit into paying them for a job they never did right. People make me sad.

Best of luck in this. Sorry that your new house, which should be exciting, is being ruined by this jerk.

Did you pay him the 5000+/- overage check?

This needs to stay with your lawyer now.
We can't be of any better help for you than you lawyer will be.
But, I encourage you to countersue. (I a not sue-happy, either). You will be paying for this build multiple ways without paying him another dime. If you counter sue, it could make him reconsider just walking away.

You are lucky, if it is true in your state, the subs can't put a lien on your own house. In Washington, where I am, homeowners can have a lien on their homes placed by subcontractors and suppliers of materials if they are not paid. To protect ourselves in this state, it is recommended you collect release of liens as the process/build goes on. This is nearly impossible (since most bills aren't due immediately to the contractor by the material supplier); AND most people in WA don't even know they are supposed to do this.

The fact that your house hopefully remains lien free from subs by law, is a nice protection that you get to enjoy.

I'm sorry this is going on. I hope you've talked to your lawyer and gotten the all clear to yelp away on this contractor to protect others. (but, first ask your lawyer)

Good luck.