Home renovations finally finished for Sanford family after builder went bankrupt
A young Sanford family feared their new home would never get finished after a builder went bankrupt last year.
5 On Your Side first spoke with the Knowles family in May 2022 when their home was about half finished.
Their builder, J&R Homes, had just declared bankruptcy. Money that the builder collected from the Knowles family should have been paid to subcontractors, but it wasn’t. The subcontractors then put liens on the Knowles home, meaning the family would have to pay twice for work that was already done.
It was becoming a desperate situation for the family, who just welcomed their first child.
A year later, their home is finished, and they are moved in thanks to the kindness of a different contractor and others.
"We were trying to figure out what all the options were and there weren’t really many of them," Joey Knowles said. "We were at a loss."
Knowles told us, most builders didn’t want to take the risk of finishing a partially built home.
After WRAL News' story with Knowles aired, Cameron Adams with GC Adams Construction reached out to the family.
"I met Joey and them and I said, ‘you know, this is the price I can do it for. Let me help you out.’ So, just trying to do the right thing," Adams said.
"He was able to keep the cost down for us and finish it pretty quickly," Knowles said.
Adams finished the home, attorneys got the liens dismissed and today, the Knowles are now living in their home – which seemed impossible just a year ago.
"It turned out even better than we expected or imagined," Knowles said.
Knowles told 5 On Your Side that everyone he’s talked to told him there wasn’t a whole lot he could have done differently to avoid this situation.
Adams' advice to anyone building a home is exactly what 5 On Your Side tells viewers: do your homework, look into the builder and contact references.
"More times than not, they’re going to tell you what they think about their builder when they get done. And they’re not going to hold a lot back," Adams said about talking to people who have used a builder in the past. "So, if you have a good one, they’re gonna tell you that they had a good one; but if not, they’re gonna say well, probably wouldn’t let them build my next house."
