Comments for Post #C27861

A contractor is holding my family's life savings hostage

M26 I need help or suggestions for saving my family's property, which is worth around 20 lakhs. My dad and mom bought this property in our village 6–7 years ago. My parents are not very educated and do not have much knowledge about property matters. Around 6–7 years ago, they bought a 3,267-square-foot property for 7 lakhs and paid the full amount to the owner. The owner was also a builder/contractor, so my parents hired him to build the house because he assured them that he would easily transfer the property into our name after the construction was completed. We paid all of his installments, and only ₹15,000 is still pending, which we planned to pay after all the work was finished. The builder took 5 years to construct the house. Now the house is about 95% complete, with only 5% of the work remaining. However, for the past 3–4 months, he has been delaying the remaining work by repeatedly saying, "Give me 15 days," and making excuses. He also avoids our calls and does not answer the phone. The problem is that the ownership of the house cannot be legally transferred to us until the remaining work is completed. We also visited a government office to verify our documents. The officer told us that all the documents we currently have are temporary and do not prove our ownership. At the moment, the only document with our name is the electricity bill and banking proof the amount we transferred. The officer explained that we first need to get the construction completed and inspected. After that, we can obtain the property tax records and water connection, and then complete the remaining legal formalities to transfer the property into our name. For this process, we need the contractor to complete the work and sign the required documents. The problem is that if we argue with him or threaten him, he may refuse to complete the work or sign the documents. Because of this, we have been trying to remain calm and polite. Unfortunately, he is taking advantage of our patience by delaying the work, ignoring our calls, and making false promises. Even if we take the matter to court, it could take a long time and cost a lot of money. We are also worried because we do not currently have enough documents to prove ownership, although we do have proof of all the payments we made to him. Can anyone please tell me what the best solution would be in this situation? I am extremely angry because I feel he has taken advantage of my parents and cheated us after taking so much money. once that i'll done i surely punch him on his face or break his leg by cricket bat However, I know acting on that anger would only make the situation worse, so I am trying to stay calm and focus on resolving the property issue through legal and proper channels.