TROTWODD — Some Montgomery County homeowners say they’re out tens of thousands of dollars after hiring a home builder they claim never finished the job.
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The I-Team’s Consumer Investigative Reporter Xavier Hershovitz spoke to Jessica and Jon Fugate, who were among the thousands in the path of the Memorial Day tornadoes in 2019.
“We just prayed, and you just felt this protection orb or bubble, whatever you felt God’s hand on you,” Jon said.
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Their home was one of the more than 2,000 in Trotwood damaged by the storm.
“Took us about a year to get everything back together, and then we started looking for land to build on,” Jessica added.
Their family decided it was time for a new start and found a property not far from their original home. They wanted to build their dream home and hired Pristine Custom Homes to do it.
“He was very patient, and he was going to allow us to do certain things that other builders weren’t going to do, and it seemed like a great, a great fit,” Jon explained.
Slowly, like any home project, their house began to come together, but then communication became a problem.
In March of last year, their bank stepped in.
“They’re like, ‘If he keeps taking money out and you’re not getting more progress, you’re not going to have enough money to finish your house,’” Jessica said.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, that’s when the couple noticed things that were done, weren’t done right.
The Fugates showed the I-Team around their home. They pointed out a staircase that will need to be ripped out and rebuilt, and the concrete on their porch that’s already been replaced. Their garage’s entrance is also feet off the ground.
“I’d say just in the driveway, we’re over $100,000 easily, just with what we know right now, not including everything else we have to fix,” Jon said.
Hershovitz looked through Montgomery County court records and found three separate lawsuits against Pristine Custom Homes and its owner, Joshua Turpin.
All three alleged projects were abandoned before completion, substantial funds were paid, with limited progress, and things that were completed were done incorrectly and had to be redone at the homeowner’s expense.
The I-Team called Prisine Custom Homes twice and left messages, but had not received a response at the time of this report.
Their attorney was also contacted, but the I-Team hasn’t received a response.
Court records also show Turpin filed for bankruptcy in May, putting at least one of the lawsuits on hold.
The Fugates have terminated their agreement with Pristine Custom Homes and are now leading the project themselves. They’re out of tens of thousands of dollars and many months behind schedule.
“I do know that one day it will - this will all be in the past, and we’ll be sitting on the porch enjoying it, you know, but it is frustrating in the moment, waiting to get to that point,” Jessica said.
The I-Team checked, and there are three consumer complaints filed with the Ohio Attorney General’s office against Pristine Custom Homes. One of them is still open.
Hershovitz asked the office about the complaints, but a spokesperson said they cannot confirm or deny any investigation.
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