My family wanted my (newlywed) wife & I to live next door to my grandmother. However, due to local ordinances, we could not simply start building.instead, we needed to 1) get the land surveyed and divided, and then 2) get a variance from the county to allow us to build.
I talked with the people who were going to build our house; they recommended JD Knoths Land Surveyors (hereafter JDKLS). I called them, and they sent out an individual to talk with me at the property. They said that they often had difficulty with planning and zoning boards, but that they would simply keep going back until they got through.
The representative warned me that it would take a few tries, and likely several weeks. I wasn't afraid of how long it would take, so long as the job was done. Thus, we agreed that they would get the land divided in such a way as to allow us to build on half, and give the other half to my grandmother. Then I was handed a very long and difficult-to-read contract. I asked if this was just saying that I had to pay if he did the job, and he said yes. Thus, I signed.
Weeks passed, as expected. Finally, the day arrived of what was supposed to be the first of many trips to the Planning & Zoning committee. I heard nothing back from them that day, so I figured I would wait until later to talk with them.
A few days later, I received a call from the same rep that met me at the beginning. He had quite a bit to tell me.
First, he informed me that we would never acquire a variance now; that Planning & Zoning did some finalized voting on it and that they simply didn't want to allow a variance for this property.
Second, he informed me that his drawing of the land was not legally binding to anyone (and, thus, not useful at all to anyone). The dividing line in the middle of the map was specifically not allowed by Planning & Zoning.
Third, he informed me that he thought I owed him $1,285, which was full price.
I was on the road at the time of the call, and said that I would need to talk with him later about it, and that that wasn't good news at all.
A week or two later, I called him back. He still thought I should pay him for a service that he did not perform. I asked for him to get the land divided so I could build on half of it.instead, he went home, drew a map of the property with a line in the middle of it that means nothing to anyone in a legal sense, and then demanded $1285.
I told him that it simply wasn't fair to ask for payment for a service which was not performed. He replied that he had "done something, " and needed payment. I replied that it wasn't the something that we had originally agreed upon, and after a bit of this, he threatened to put a lien on my grandmother's property, and hung up.
Now, my wife, in fear of the lien (which does not seem legal at all), feels compelled to pay. And I find it singularly unfair that I would be expected to pay $1285, even though I have received absolutely nothing¬ even the inaccurate survey map (which, I think anyone would say, is a defective survey map).
I do not want to be stolen from.
Please... Help.
0 comments