Howdy Ags,

I need the collective wisdom here.

I am building a spec house in Travis County. We hired a trim guy to do trim/closets/cabinets.

We have paid him fully. He has done about 60% of the work.

Now he is demanding more money than his original bid to finish the job without any change orders.

What is my recourse?

His business is based in Comal county.

He has been paid 55k.

I don't want to add legal cost for a judgement I don't think this guy can pay. But I want some justice.

1. what county do I pursue in.. where project is or where he is?
2. best path?

Ask around in local Facebook groups for Travis & Comal County to see if anyone is familiar with him. There are contractor blacklist groups. Google his name + other surrounding counties. Look in the court records to see if he's been sued before. You should get an idea real quick if he's legit or not.

It could be he got underwater, used your money to finish up other projects, and now doesn't have enough to finish yours, especially if the time between getting paid and today has been a few months. People aren't bankrolling big projects as much anymore. I would not give him a dime though. Buy the materials yourself, take possession of them yourself, then he can come to the house to finish.

If he's habitual you may be able to talk to police about fraud charges. Comal County will probably help more then APD, but if you live in Travis County limits the sheriff may look at it harder.

For a $55,000.00 construction project, I hope you have a written contract. If so and the contractor is refusing to perform after already having been paid in full, you might try to get the District Attorney involved.

If you had a written contract, is it with an entity or an individual? I wouldn't let him just walk out on the job and I wouldn't give any more money at this time. If he did good work and will complete the job for a small additional amount, you might consider that, but don't pay until completion. If he says no, pursue the D A option.