What is the Statue of Limitation on home closing/settlement in Va.My builder says i owe him after 10 months .?

Question

10 months after closing he says I owe him for a sidewalk and overages on lights. We closed 8/19/05 and every other item was taken care of in the contract by a addendum all at closing. The amount of money is about $2,000.00. Can he just come back to me this late and expect the money. Every change or money increase do to construction should have been accounted for in settlement at the attorneys office. The charges are valid how ever the sidewalk in the contract says "to be determined". During the install of sidewalk I traded some things to place money for the walk. I asked the builder twice before closing if we were okay on the trade of these items. He said yes. It was all verbal agreement.He is showing a credit for these items, but wants the balance of $1.294.00. I feel like I did my part during the construction phase and at closing. Can he do this.

Answer 1

Without seeing the clsoing agreement, it's hard to answer, but if the object of the contract is more than $500, you may have a defense in the Statute of Frauds, which says agreements involving more than $500 have to be in writing to be enforced. Generally, the Statute of Limitations for agreements involving provision of services is 4 years.