David Douglas of OHF Construction and Home Life Village Realty, lured us into buying a property he insisted his company could renovate for $55,000. We had met him when we attended his seminar, "Building Wealth from Real Estate". The costs climbed quickly and before long we were over-budget to $75,000. He said they were nearly done and that they would carry the remainder until we could sell the house, reminding us of our contract to pay all costs. Many months and broken promises later, he walked off the job with a total project cost of $137,000. At that time the house was completely uninhabitable, no kitchen, no bathrooms, and had failed City of Winnipeg inspections. He put a Builder's Lien on the property and said he would sue us if we didn't pay the o/s bill. We found out later the work was sub-standard, and required another $58,000 in re-work to finish the project properly. The majority of the cost over-runs were due to exorbitant labour costs. The damages are estimated at this time as the house remains unsold.
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