Can You Sue if a Builder Sells Other People the Same Custom Home That You Bought

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: OH

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Ohio

Built a home with a contract for a "custom home" which we designed with the builder. The builder has since built 3 more of our "custom" home in our neighborhood. What are my legal options?

Thanks for your assistance.

Look at your contract - but I believe you're going to find that "custom home" doesn't necessarily mean what you think it might mean.

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Quoting 7474

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My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: OH

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Ohio

Built a home with a contract for a "custom home" which we designed with the builder. The builder has since built 3 more of our "custom" home in our neighborhood. What are my legal options?

Thanks for your assistance.

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A "custom home" is a deviation from the builder's standard home specs. That does not mean that the builder cannot allow other homebuyers to make the same deviations that you made. Unless you had a contract that specifically states that the floor plans are your property, the builder is free to use those floor plans for other homes as well.

Now, had you paid an architect to design a home for you, and then hired a builder to build that home, then the floor plan/specs would be your property. However, that does not appear to be the case.

Any particular wording I should be looking for? My understanding of custom is one of a kind. We did not want to chose from the model choices most commonly built in the development. There are five different floor plans with multiple elevation choices. However, we chose to design our own home.

Thanks for your time and assistance.

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Quoting llworking

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Now, had you paid an architect to design a home for you, and then hired a builder to build that home, then the floor plan/specs would be your property. However, that does not appear to be the case.

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Thanks for the reply.

The builder has 5 floor plans/homes which are built in the development. Each of these 5 homes have varying exterior elevations, etc. Our home was not based on any of these plans. Although we did not personally hire the architect I am sure we were billed for their services in the price of our home.

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Quoting 7474

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Any particular wording I should be looking for? My understanding of custom is one of a kind. We did not want to chose from the model choices most commonly built in the development. There are five different floor plans with multiple elevation choices. However, we chose to design our own home.

Thanks for your time and assistance.

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Again, unless your contract indicated that you owned the floor plans its a non-issue...and what do you think that you could be due?

If my contract read that I owned the floor plans, what do you think I should be due?

The profits the builder made on the 3 copies of my home? The future value of the loss of exclusivity of my home in the neighborhood?

"Custom" just means you are paying extra for changes. If you wanted exclusive ownership of the altered design you would have had to pay a lot extra if the developer was even willing to play ball.

If you were assigned copyright for the new design you would have a case for copyright infringement and breach of contract

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Quoting 7474

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If my contract read that I owned the floor plans, what do you think I should be due?

The profits the builder made on the 3 copies of my home? The future value of the loss of exclusivity of my home in the neighborhood?

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You SOLELY own the floor plans? I'd bet my last donut that your builder has covered his backside for precisely this reason.

Out of sheer interest, how have you seen the insides of the the other homes?

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Quoting Dogmatique

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You SOLELY own the floor plans? I'd bet my last donut that your builder has covered his backside for precisely this reason.

Out of sheer interest, how have you seen the insides of the the other homes?

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Owners of the homes are neighbors/friends...you visit people on your street and interact.

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Quoting 7474

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Owners of the homes are neighbors/friends...you visit people on your street and interact.

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I don't, actually. But that wasn't the point.

If you're certain that you somehow retain exclusive rights to the plans, by all means see an attorney.

I still think you're going to find that somewhere in the small print, he retains at least enough ownership to enable him to recreate the basics without legal problems.

And again, "custom home" might not mean what you think it means.