Legal Question in Construction Law in Illinois

I provided a punch list at the time of close for my new home. The builder's attny agreed to the items presented. A few months later the builder said he would not honor the punch list or the warranty because he has no funds and is closing shop.

Does Illinois require that money be put in escrow for punch list items at time of close?

If so, what party is responsible for this (builder, title company, bank?)

If I can recieve a judgement against the builder, would I be able to pursue the judgement through the builder's bond?


Asked on 4/24/12, 10:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

1. Money in escrow? No unless the contract called for it or there was a municipal development agreement that was the enabling document for the development in which setasides for this purpose was required; most don't, some do (especially if there was some kind of municipal incentives involved and that would take some research).

2. Builder is responsible and if shuttering, you have an unsecured claim.

3. If there was a performance/completion bond, you should make that claim now if possible. If there was a public setaside, that too should be addressed.

4. To verify if any of the above actually apply to your situation or other options may be available to you, you should have an attorney review everything. Of course you need to have a sense of the value of the items on the punch-list to help you decide how much "good" money you may want to put into this situation.

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Answered on 4/25/12, 10:52 am


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