Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Builder didn't pay me back

A builder friend of my boyfriend asked my boyfriend and I to purchase a lake home that he was building. At the time, we were led to belive there would be a considerable amount of equity in the property when we purchased it. We never signed a purchase agreement... just a verbal agreement between the builder and my boyfriend. As the home was being built, the builder asked us to purchase several items ourselves -- appliances, lights, flooring, hardware, and more to keep costs down and pick out what we wanted. Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think we would not get the home, but in the end this builder ''friend'' obviously inflated several costs, and not only was there no deal to be had, his asking price was way more than we could afford. So...sadly for them and for us, we had to back out of the deal.

We figure we put at least $8000 into the home. We have asked the builder to reimburse us for the items we bought. He refuses stating that we ''walked out on the deal, and therefore forfiet any items there.'' His argument is that since we ''walked away'', he was ''stuck'' with an unsold home, additional bank interest payments, insurance and more.''

The home has since been sold. Are we entitled to the $8000 we put into it?


Asked on 6/10/06, 1:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Kelly-952-544-6356 Kelly Law Office

Re: Builder didn't pay me back

You might have mechanic's lien rights. But there are time limits and notice requirements, and you better take this story to a lawyer promptly. You may be required to give a pre-lien notice - and there's a 45 day time limit on that. Also, the outside limit is that the lien has to be filed within 120 days of providing the material or labor.

In order to prove that the lien is yours, you may need assignments of lien rights from the providers you purchased the materials from.

You might also have an unjust enrichment claim, which would be simpler to pursue.

This is a good example of why you should not mess with real estate without consulting a lawyer.

This response is for general information only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You are advised to consult the attorney of your choice concerning the details of your case.

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Answered on 6/12/06, 11:12 am


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