‘You built a house on land you don't own’: Lawyer flips the script on builder whose poor craftsmanship led to client's ranch house getting foreclosed

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    Building - MEL S
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    Font - Posted by u/CampfiresInConifers 13 hours ago An Attorney's Dream Case: My Parents vs the Bank In 1973, my parents had enough money to build a little ranch house in the country. The small bank in town approved the mortgage & the bank 3
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    Font - signed a contract to give "Bob" the money to build the house. Bob, as it turns out, was overbooking himself all over town, leaving his clueless minions to do the actual work. The build took longer and longer, with more and more work having to be ripped out and redone.
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    Font - We're not talking about using the wrong color paint or nailing up some wonky trim, here. The architect forgot to fully erase a line on the blueprints & the framers built a wall through the bathtub. My mother was told "Don't put anything heavy in the kitchen cabinets" bc they were attached to the drywall - not the studs - using a few roofing nails through the back of each cabinet. The
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    Font - garage door opening was framed into the living room instead of towards the driveway. And so on. When the bank's representative showed up for the final inspection, my parents met him in the front yard & refused to sign off on Bob's work. Then representative became angry, as the bank had paid Bob a lot of money. He
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    Font - strode to the front door & pulled on the doorknob, whereupon the entire door - casing included - fell on him. It had simply been wedged (not nailed) into place. The bank called Bob, who finally showed up to supervise the work himself. The only problem was that Bob
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    Font - wasn't any better at building a house than his minions were. My parents still refused to sign off on the house. My mother was a SAHM in a nasty rental with two tiny children while my dad was working two jobs while this was going on. Throughout the entire process, the bank & Bob treated them
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    Font - very poorly, b my mom & lying to my dad. What should have been an exciting time for my parents was ruined. My mom cried a lot. Finally, the bank threatened my parents with foreclosure & Bob threatened to sue my parents for breach of contract bc the bank refused
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    Font - to pay him any more money. So my exhausted parents went to an attorney & gave him the rundown. Plumbing, electrical, tiling issues – the whole sorry mess. My parents were scared. All they had was their small downpayment savings, so if this
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    Font - became a lengthy court battle the bank & Bob would win. The attorney, "Tom", was kind, but my dad said he could tell that he and Mom were doomed from Tom's facial expressions as he sorted through the paperwork. Then, abruptly, Tom smiled. "Let's get everyone together for a meeting," he told my parents.
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    Font - "Tomorrow." So my parents, Tom, the bank's representative, the bank's attorney, Bob, & Bob's attorney met at the bank. Tom didn't give anyone else time to begin. He said, "Well, my clients have decided that they no longer want this house. Please remove it."
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    Font - Everyone else start to laugh. "Remove it? Have you lost your mind?" Tom, in a sweeping, theatrical gesture, placed a deed on the table. "My clients own the land the house is sitting on outright. They no longer want the house. Get the house off my clients' land."
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    Font - Bob's attorney stared at the deed, & then turned & stared at Bob. "You built a house on land YOU DON'T OWN?" Bob nodded. The bank's attorney started yelling at the bank's representative. "YOU DIDN'T FINANCE THE LAND THE HOUSE IS ON?" The representative stammered, "Uh...no...?"
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    Font - Tom said firmly, "As I said, gentlemen, you're trespassing on my clients' land. I expect the house to be removed & the land returned to its original state, AT ONCE." My Dad said he'll remember the blank looks everyone on the other side of the table passed to one another for his
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    Font - whole life. Sure, the bank could foreclose...on a house that wouldn't exist by the end of the week, with no way to recoup the money. They didn't even own the land it was on. Bob was out the 50% he'd paid out of pocket, plus he was on the hook for tearing down the house & removing it. On top of that, the bank would undoubtedly
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    Font - want him to repay the initial 50% they'd given him. Could they have gone after my parents? Sure. A foreclosure would have meant bad credit for my parents moving forward. They might lose their downpayment. But to sign off on the house in its condition at that time would have meant thousands and
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    Font - thousands of dollars in cash to replace/repair everything from the roof to the basement before the house could be safely lived in. The bank knew my parents didn't have that kind of money; they're the ones who approved the mortgage! Suddenly, my parents were good people, it was all SUCH a
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    Font - misunderstanding, & the bank & Bob couldn't do enough for them! The house was brought in line with the original blueprints & specifications immediately, at no extra cost to my parents (but at considerable cost to Bob). My parents signed the mortgage. Bob got the rest of his money (& just
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    Font - about broke even on the build). The bank's representative was fired. And Tom, attorney extraordinaire, got a stinging tale of triumph to recall to fellow attorneys for the rest of his life! * Before you question this tale, please remember that 1973 was 50 years ago. Banks did things differently back then.
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    Font - Smaller rural banks, in particular, were not run the same way the bigger, city banks were. There were far fewer Federal regulations, & in a smaller community people didn't always follow them, anyway. (I'm pretty sure they don't always follow them now.) * Yes, they built a wall through the bathtub. No, I'm not making that up. I
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    Font - even left out how a plumber left his lunch bag on a partially built kitchen cabinet, but the cabinetmaker didn't feel it was his job to move the bag so he left it there & built the rest of the cabinet around it. I don't know where Bob found these people, but they were gems, every one of them! /s
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    Product - Shish shirnatla · 11 hr. ago I absolutely 4633 633 love this Reply Share CampfiresInConifers OP. 10 hr. ago Thank you. It's one of my dad's favorite stories.
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    Font - Zakal74 · 11 hr. ago Extra satisfying ending! I bet Tom told this story for years. What a legend! 193 Reply Share
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    Font - epicenter69 10 hr. ago I'll add that small towns back then likely played the good ole boy game and Bob and Tom were probably the best of friends. The inspector (if they existed) were likely part of it. Glad they got some justice and their dream house. 179 Reply Share
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    Font - Sensitive Progress26 9 hr. ago Banking was way different back them. When my parents built their first house in the mid-1960s we lived in the house for 6 months before my mother signed the mortgage and deed. They had to wait until she was old enough to sign. Reply Share 87 ●●●
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    Font - GenerationYKnot - 9 hr. ago Great story. I do imagine that this being prior to social media and all the scrutiny it comes with, that Bob was one of those cowboy builders, as we like to call them. There's certainly levels of quality, and I've seen a wide range on all kinds of homes I've inspected. This is probably
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    Font - some of the worst trade work I've read about but not unheard of. Glad that OP's parents got some revenge and restitution on their home. Those attorneys got the shock of their lives, and hopefully Bob never built anything larger than a bird house after this.
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    Font - CampfiresInConifers OP 9 hr. ago Thank you. "Bob" went on to become a mega builder of suburban homes in the big city nearby. There are entire neighborhoods out there with wonky doorways, peeling siding, & damp basements thanks to
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    Font - Bob. He sold fabulously cheap & shoddily made houses to very young families for years. Sad, but true. 49 Reply Share

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