[minn_stat]

So I'm set to buy a newly built home early next week, and I'm pretty unhappy with the builder. I'm looking for some advice - maybe even from a few of the lawyers who frequent CG, although non-legal advice is welcome as well.

When we signed the purchase agreement back in June, the home was already complete. We asked the builder to put a deck on the home and complete the basement, which he was advertising to do for pretty low fixed prices as an incentive to help the house sell. As we got into the process of providing specifics of what we wanted done, things were sometimes pretty hectic, but we always tried to always ask, "will this cost extra, and if so, how much?"

In early July, we sent an email to them (thru our agent) expressly indicating the things we wanted done, and our understanding of the price for these items. About two weeks ago, we were trying to get a final price into our loan documents, so we sent out another email, again stating what we understood had been/would be done, the costs involved, and asking the builder to please verify the costs. In both cases, they added no corrections; in the 2nd case, they stated that they reserved the right to adjust the prices based on the final bills from the subs.

So we just received the final bill, and for the electrician's work, which we had understood would cost $325, they claimed we owed them $1950. We tried to approach them about this discrepancy in a non-confrontational way, but they basically said "shove it, you have to pay it".

So now, I'm fairly pissed, largely due to the principle of not letting pricks get their way, but also because $900 is a fair sum of money to me. One item in particular is galling to me. They put in a security system and charged us $900 for it. We had mentioned the possibility of having one at one point early on, and asked them to provide us a quote. They never did, but apparently assumed we wanted it. The only problem is, there is no mention of it anywhere in the purchase contract, any of the addendums, or even in any of the email communications.

So my question is, what are the options available to me? It seems to me that I have every right to show up at closing with a check for the bill, less $900, and expect them to complete the close, as per the contract/addendum. They seem to think if I do this, I'll have refused to close, and therefore, I'll be in breach of contract if I do so, and they will file suit against me. It seems to me that they will be in breach, since I'm willing to close according to the conditions of the legal documents.