A South Florida woman used her life savings to build a home for her family. Just as the framework of the project was coming together, she suffered a major setback. That’s when she called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer. Sasha Richardson: “Coming right in. The foyer. The living room is going to be an open concept with the kitchen behind it.” Sasha Richardson saved for years to buy a home for her family. Sasha Richardson: “I would get up every morning and just check the Zillow every single day.” But even with all her savings and searching, they had to get creative to pull it off. Sasha Richardson: “With the market that we’re in right now, we could only afford to buy a home and had to fix it up.” So they bought this home in Lauderhill. Then tore it down. Sasha Richardson: “That’s what came to me. You’re just going to have to start small and make it what you want it.” It was a family effort. Everyone grabbed a tool and got to work. Sasha Richardson: “We started tearing it down wall by wall, tile by tile, even taking off the roof.” A new roof meant new trusses. They found a company and signed a contract for around $16,000. Sasha Richardson: “They seemed nice. Spoke to them, shook our hands, made the first deposit, everything was fine.” The plans were approved, and Sasha paid the balance. Sasha Richardson: “The guys shook our hand again. Told us, ‘It’ll be ready in two weeks.’ No problem. Two weeks came, and we got a new bill for $28,000 additional.” Her heart sank. With no warning, the price for the trusses jumped to more than $43,000. Sasha Richardson: “I thought it was a mistake. I thought that it was just a typo, an error. It’s not us because we already paid our balance in full.” Howard, can a builder just increase the price? Howard Finkelstein: “No, they can not. The contractor set a price, and the price that the company wants to charge now, Sasha would have to approve, which she did not, so there is no contract.” We called the company and were told the price changed because the project changed. Sasha says that didn’t happen. Sasha Richardson: “We never got a phone call, we never got an email, we never got a heads up.” To continue the work on her home, Sasha was forced to hire another company to build the trusses, and this new builder had heard her story before. Sasha Richardson: “When I sat down and spoke with the other company, they said all of their victims come here.” Meanwhile, we kept calling the original company, and though they never answered, something did happen: Sasha’s trusses were dropped off. Brandon Beyer: “So no one was here?” Sasha Richardson: “No one was here.” Brandon Beyer: “They didn’t sign for anything? They just dropped…?” Sasha Richardson: “Just dropped it off.” Work on her dream home is again underway. This time with the new company Sasha Richardson: “After two and a half months, we are finally moving again.” It is not over for Sasha just yet. She’s going to have to sue the original company to come pick up those trusses they finally delivered and then fight for a refund, but at least the work on her dream home is moving forward. Got a problem? Need a hand? Below is how you reach us. It’s Help Me Howard, I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News. CONTACT HELP ME HOWARDEmail: [email protected]: Brandon Beyer at [email protected]: 305-953-WSVNBroward: 954-761-WSVN ...read more read less