We've been in for 4 1/2 months now and overall are very happy with how our new home turned out. Things I love: Wood floors - Ours are 4" white oak, site finished in a medium stain color, satin finish(not shiny). Dover white laquer painted woodwork, mouldings, and cabinetry. We have stained cabinets in a couple of bathrooms, and I'm glad I didn't go stained in the kitchen and rest of the house. The stained acts like a dust magnet and washes out the paint color on the walls. But most of all, white wood against painted walls and hardwood floors just makes me happy.:-) Love my kitchen. Thank you kitchen forum! Definitely pay a visit over there if you're just getting started. -It turned out beautiful(white custom cabs, arched hood, wood floors) -Lots of well placed lighting all on dimmers -Functional, large layout with specific work zones -Danze faucets and pot filler -Silgranit sinks(love the big single basin and the round prep!) -Bosch ovens -Dacor 36" gas cooktop -Kitchenaid DW and Fridge -Giallo Ornamental granite -Microwave built into the island -Trash pullout -Tons of deep drawers instead of cabinet doors -Step in pantry Smart Strand carpet - feels and looks great - LOVE IT!!! Love our huge paved, curvy driveway and walkways. Lots of room for the kids to ride bikes, scooters, and play basketball. Huge covered porches front and back Exercise room off of master for treadmill and weights Walk in attic access from upstairs Huge bonus room upstairs Big laundry room with 2 washer and 2 dryer hookups, quartz folding countertop, deep stainless sink, and plenty of storage. Love that the dryers vent right outside, not up through walls and then to the roof like our last house. Makes cleaning the duct a huge pain and cuts down on effiency. Sound system with speakers throughout and on back porch Paint colors - Tobacco Road(main), Dover White(woodwork) Lots of lighting throughout almost all on dimmers Schlage door hardware and deadbolts Love being out in the country on a little land with tons of trees and a pond. Peaceful and lots of room for the kids to play and explore. Things I'd do differently - Insulate wall where upstairs bath plumbing runs downstairs for sound reduction. Put in sprinkler system - On the list to do next spring Wish we would've upgraded to satin or eggshell paint in the bonus and kids rooms. Went with flat to save money figuring we could always repaint later.

Thanks dixie and sue for your responses. I appreciate your information. In the end, I paid the interest charges and all the invoices that he has provided. I didn't agree with all of them but we decided it was worth it to just pay and get him out of our lives. The anxiety of having to deal with him just became too much and I need to focus on other things like my family who have lived in 5 different places (3 hotels!!) in the last year. We just need to get settled an move on. The only outstanding items are the 10% hold back which we will pay when the 55 days is up and the lien is removed. There are a few things that need to be completed on the house but we have arranged to get done. There were 10 outstanding items noted on the Oct 25th inspection but no safety issues so the city inspector allowed us to move in. The items were things like completing the tile tub surround, caulking around the tub, installing a range hood, inspecting the attic and installing a timer on a bathroom fan. We still don't have a CO and he is blaming that on us but it is because the cabinet guys haven't shown up to install a piece that is required before we can install the range hood despite us contacting them every 2 days. Everything else is done but only because we arranged to have it done. "Your GC must have been a delight to work with through this experience..." The fact that he cashed the cheque for final payment and then filed a lien against our house 3 hours later because we held back the legally required hold back is a good example of the sort of stuff we were up against. But to be fair it was a learning experience for us too. I wish I had found this board before we signed the contract. Our last build was easy and not stressful at all so although we did a lot of research we should have focused on different areas. For example, he has built a number of different homes but we discovered after the fact that they were all spec homes that people had bought while he was building. We were the first cost plus contract he has done. Looking back it is so obvious that it was a question that we should have asked but we didn't think of it. We were too focused on the quality of workmanship etc. Guess we will be smarter and more prepared if we are ever silly enough to build another home. :-) The most important thing is that over all we are happy with our house and in a few months I am sure I will be able to laugh about what an ass he was/is. I did tell him that I could not and would not budge on the holdback amount and if he wanted to sue me over it he could fill his boots. I pointed out that it would cost him money and the holdback funds would most likely be tied up until the spring due to court scheduling. Until I pointed it out I don't think he even realized that he was arguing about a date that would be long over by the time we went to court. The money would have been sitting in trust all along and the judge would probably ask him why his was wasting his time.

Thanks all! Already great advices and concerns. Now my biggest concern, is does liability really fall on the one who pulled permits? If that's the case, that's pretty huge, they are taking no responsibility for the build? That is something that wasn't mentioned, and that I will have no part of. Thank you very much for that info! Do you have any links that explains that, so that I could print it and show to the PB if needed? Equipement purchase: He told me he's done that a few times already to save the owner a few $. I was actually the one who asked him if I can buy the equipement directly, and he said "sure, let me put you in touch with my suppliers see what they can do". His suppliers are a well know reputable business, so not worried about them. Yes, if something stops working, I assume I'd have to call the manufacturer directly, instead of calling the builder and have them call. Power Line over pool: He did give me the official document from the DWP that states you can have a line over water if above 12ft. Mine is 12ft on the dot on one corner. Just seems too close so I want to double check, I might want to move it but need to know what's involved. Final Payment: So I can change the contract to have it include last payment is at swimtime? I just don't know what to think anymore.. Again, I did have a pretty good feeling about the PB in general, and the company is not a fly-by-night ( http://www.designerpools.net ) although I believe the original Bill Smith sold the franchise to a few builders a few years ago. He is going the extra mile to try to make it happen, pricewise, maybe he's just really trying to help me deal with this situation. He knows we're building the pool for my 3 year old son with a muscular disease, I just thought he was trying to help us. But now with this new permits/liability info, I wonder.. I'll try to make some calls to the city to see if I can get the liability info in writing. Thanks for all the info, keep them coming.

If no contractors would agree, that would be troubling, (and would be an opportunity for a new company that was willing to provide such a contract to enter the market) - but I found that did not happen. Here is my experience - perhaps typical? perhaps worse than usual? In any case, it demonstrates that some contractors will agree to these terms, and that bad things can sometimes happen if the steps are not followed: For countertops: After getting recommendations from friends and looking online, I started with 7 fabricators to consider (not nearly all the ones in the Chicago area). I rejected 3 without requesting a quote based on their reviews and/or court cases. I contacted one who said they don't work with Quartzite. I got quotes from the remaining 3. One of those 3 decided not to work with me based on my contract requests. One of them I decided not to work with because their price was a bit high and their response times during the sales process were erratic. One of them agreed to all my terms and had the lowest price, and I seriously considered them, but I rejected them in the end because I felt they were not being sufficiently transparent in their process. The remaining one had no negative reviews online at all, was perfectly responsive throughout the process, talked through the contract terms with me and came to ones we both were comfortable with, was the only one willing to do the work without a seam between the sink and the stove, and showed me with physical templates made of wood that it would work, and generally has been responsive and responsible in every way. For a GC, the first time, I did not follow any of this advice. I lost more than 15 thousand dollars and 6 months of having a livable home to a fraudulent contractor. The second time, I followed these steps. It took a lot of contractors before I found one with a price I found reasonable and with workman's comp, but the first such contractor I found did agree to my contract terms - they made him a little nervous initially, but we talked it through and he became comfortable, and has done a great job and fixed the only mistake he has made free of charge and free of disupte. For a flooring contractor and an electrician, I followed some of this advice - checked reviews, but I didn't go through every detail ahead of time nor did I put everything explicitly in the contract - and I got middling results - basically competent electrical work that was 1/3 over budget and had a non-safety-related code violation in it, a floor finished in the wrong color because he didn't know that was one of the properties of the finish he used, which he will refinish for free, but he was difficult to deal with around it and he won't refund any $ for the hassle nor for the fact I lose 1 of the 3 refinishings the floor can have. Yes, the process I've described is much more work up front than picking the first number out of the phone book. But it gives me tremendous confidence in the companies I have selected, and I find that often I pay either way - either up front with due diligence, or later with problems. Is it scary to have a reputable contractor say they won't work with you because the think you are being unreasonable or too picky? Yes, somewhat. Is it scarier to have something go wrong and realize you have never discussed that scenario and your contract doesn't protect you? For me, definitely. Up to the reader to decide what you prefer - after all the difficulties I've had with contractors, I much prefer due diligence and the peace of mind that comes with it. This post was edited by GardenerDev on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 22:33