FitzGerald Homes

The project started fine in summer of 2007. We signed a contract in Aug 2007 that specified the exact amount to be paid for the work, which was detailed in 6 pages of architectural plans by a local design firm. An additional 2 pages of "included items" was provided to us by Bill Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Homes that listed out the features of our garage & pool, such as granite countertops, custom cabinets, copper pipes, hardwood floors, etc. Work on the project began in the fall of 2007, and proceeded very slowly. At the time I was in stationed in Iraq (Sept 07 to Apr 08), and my wife was pregnant with our first child, so we did not pay close attention to the project, trusting our builder to do the right thing and abide by our contract. In April 08, we were contacted by our lender and were told that the construction period that Fitzgerald Homes told our lender he would finish in had lapsed, and the project was not close to finishing. At that point, I had returned from Iraq and we began keeping after Bill, who assured me that the project finish in the 4 month extension granted by our lender, and for which we were charged $500. In July, my wife asked Bill if there would be overages for premium upgrades we had selected and Bill said there would be $20k in overages. To offset the overages, my wife and I paid $16k for the granite tops, tile, installation, exterior light fixtures, and a bathroom sink. The 4 month extension ran out in mid Aug, with the project still not close to complete. Again we had to get an extension from our lender and pay a $500 fee. This time our lender simply asked Bill how much time he needed, and Bill said Sept 30, 2008. In late August, Bill presented me an invoice projecting an additional $100k+ in overages. At that time Bill also stated that he believed we had made a verbal agreement that my wife and I would pay for all construction costs in excess of $150k, despite the fact we held a written contract to the contrary. We told Bill that there was no such verbal agreement, and that we had a written, signed contract that specified the amount to be paid for the project. We told Bill that we expected him to honor his contract, but to incent him to finish on time we would pay him an additional $20k as a bonus, to offset what he said were cost overruns. Bill said his business was very slow, and $20k extra was not enough for him. Bill wanted an extra $100k to finish the job. We told him absolutely not. September 26 was the last day we saw Bill or any of his subs on the job site. Our attorney sent him a letter in October giving him 10 days to return to the job or we would assume he had no interest in finishing the project. To date neither Bill nor his subs have returned. We have received 2 lien notices from 1 subcontractor that worked under Fitzgerald Homes, that appear to date back to work performed in July. Other subs have told us that Bill has not paid them either, totaling $10k+ despite Bill receiving $207k from us via our lender.