I would think not but what does your contract say?

That paragraph relates to your request for a change. It doesn't reference the builder's 'change orders'. From your OP it doesn't sound like you requested these additional changes. Do you have emails or texts showing that the builder is responding to your change order requests or that he acted on his own? This will help you when working with your attorney.

Are there other paragraphs in the contract about changes initiated by the builder?

Is the builder using allowances in your contract? If so, are these increased costs in those areas? Naturally, your attorney will be the best way to combat this but I would get as much info from the builder first if you can...like how did he calculate the overages?

omg, jn3344 that is a perfect illustration of how some builders work.....

Denita,

Thanks for the help. Some things we did request. For example, I signed a change order for the stairs to be painted/stained then all of a sudden it's $1800 more...?? The first indication I got that it would be more was with the "final" invoice from him. TO me that's garbage. There are other things too.. we specifically told him a number of time to let us know if things go over on cost so that we could be involved - that's in an email. We asked if we were on budget for the windows allowance to which he said we were. Then just weeks ago he sent us an invoice (not change order) showing the windows were $1000 more than our allowance (7 months after he purchased the windows). I can't operate like that. He sent us a change order for fill dirt that is DOUBLE our allowance. We received that change order in November and had indicated back in April when the land was cleared that we were within the allowance. The change orders he sent me I signed and returned. I thought that's why we have change order so that we agree on a cost and we both know where we stand going in?? I mean to me no change orders or lack of communication is the same as not even having a contract and just saying "build me a house and I'll pay you at the end".

I will say that of all the building contracts I've seen, I'm a Realtor not an attorney, the allowance's are the builder's go to method for charging more IMO. Especially when it comes to lot prep and fill allowances. There is no excuse for the builder dragging his feet on letting you know about the additional expense for months.

Truly, this is something that an attorney can help you with - but it should have been addressed up front with your attorney rather than on the back end. However, you are beyond that now since you are at the end of your build. Make sure you show the attorney all of your builder communications, even if not favorable to you so he gets an accurate idea of the ongoing communication. Keep in mind, an attorney costs money too so you will want to weigh your attorney fees and probabilities of success against negotiating directly with the builder for a reasonable solution. Have you discussed these additional expenses with the builder since you received this bill?

Not yet.. we got the stack of invoices from him Friday and has taken me hours upon hours going through them and picking them apart. A number of them are just receipts from lowes, home depot, etc and I have to look up every single line item to see what it is. He's trying to change me for random hardware, nails, grout and other things in the contract as a line item not allowance, diapers, starbucks drinks, swedish fish, toilet plungers, and snickers bars. There are also a few things in the "final invoice" 2 and three times and also called different thing. One item for $1572.30 is labeled lights on the invoice then plumbing fixtures in another line for the same exact cost.

Whoa! "....hardware, nails, grout, diapers(!!!), starbucks drinks, swedish fish, toilet plungers and snickers bars...." he sounds like a thief. Sorry, but that is going too far. You might need the attorney to intervene or point out in negotiations that you found a few errors. No one in their right mind charges diapers and food items and those other obvious items to a job. The $1572.30 is a good indicator that he is double charging you on this and other items - but in a deceitful way since he tried to conceal it as two different costs on two different line items. Makes you want to go through each and every expense again with a fine tooth comb, right?

That's what I spend my weekends doing... going through and trying to decipher what the invoices are. There are and have been a number of things he's tried to charge us for that are included in the contract. Not only does e continually try to charge us for things like grout, but I've had to go and buy the grout because the tile guys could not get a hold of him to go buy it and were delayed without it.

Make sure to bring all of your receipts to the attorney too, the receipts you have from having to buy material that was included in the contract. What type of contract is this? Cost plus or something else?

fixed price..?

The contract is the 'bible' in your build. If it's fixed price I don't see how he can change anything without a change order or an allowance. Sounds like your builder was either careless (like just looking at the total and adding it to your build) or truly was looking to just grab additional funds (thinking food and diapers here). As a strategy you may want to negotiate with the builder first as in "I see an error here, I'm sure we didn't get diapers added to the build for insulation" type and see his response. Once you get him to admit he made an error, he can revisit his documentation to correct all the errors. If he doesn't, then come back with an attorney. Keep your appointment with the attorney. I'm just saying you may want to have a conversation with the builder first to see how you ended up with these inexplicable, unjustifiable charges.

We are going to discuss with him first to see what he does as well as try and keep the process amicable. We already have issues with a number of things and have gotten estimates to fix them as well. For example, they ran the tile AROUND the door jams and they look like crap. To fix all the tile so it goes under the baseboard and mainly door jambs will cost about $7500 labor and materials. We have not even asked or discussed that.

Thanks Virgil

As other have said, take everything you have to your attorney. Also, much as it pains me to say this (because it's nice to follow along with posts like this and cheer for the homeowner) stop posting on Houzz and any other online forums. Anything you say here is discoverable by the other side, and while you don't think you're saying anything that could hurt your case, legal cases get complicated and you just never know. Better to play it safe. Good luck!

Ok I don't know why but the Swedish Fish killed me. I was thinking "he's charging for everything and the kitchen sink" but that would have been fair. I guess I have to change the saying for "everything and the Swedish Fish".

I agree with Virgil (and he friend Bob) do the best you can sorting them and noting the duplications and discrepancies and go to your attorney. I would also have what you believe are valid so that you can have a number that your attorney can work toward.

We are almost half way through our fixed cost build. Exactly as Virgil said: Allowances and Change Orders... arghhh! The allowances we provided have all been excellent. Some of their allowances have been far too low resulting in COs (cost + 15%). We have made some small changes too, those also trigger CO. It is a continual ongoing stressful struggle.

I'm wondering if cost-plus build would have been better for us.

I hate to say it but that GC is trying to rip you off. Ditto on what the contract states. 99.9% people have 'no' idea what it actually costs to build a house and they take advantage of this. It's sickening.

My remodel had a couple of change orders, billed at time and materials. I received receipts for the materials. Included were a couple of Home Depot receipts containing snacks and kitchen supplies. The change order billing did not include the; snacks, kitchen supplies, tools, gloves that were on the receipts.

I got a chuckle out of Swedish Fish and diapers because my response was similar. But I was not billed for them. I wish you well with your build and Billings.