earnhardtfan
New Member
I really don't know what to do. My community is suing me for non-compliance regarding a garage issue. We bought this property from the estate of my wife's parents 2 years ago. We knew when we purchased it that the driveway needed to be paved but we were not told that we had to have a garage. We submitted plans for an attached 3 car garage that were approved in June of '06. We went about the usual tasks of getting bids on materials and labor that we could not do ourselves. We then went about the task of refinancing thinking that there would be enough equity to build this addition and make everyone happy. Our first appraisal came in 22,000 under what we had purchased it for. Needless to say, the shock was horrendous. This put the project off indefinitely. Now, even though planning commission members told me that as long as the plan has been approved that we may build at a later date when we can afford to do it. In the mean time, the village board has started legal action for non-compliance of not having a garage. It's like one hand doesn't know what the other one is doing. My question is, can a community force a property owner to do something they don't want to do or can afford to do at this time? We are aware of other properties in this community that are allegedelly "non-compliant" and when we ask about them all the village attorney says is they are on our radar screen. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
