Another homebuyer says Keyo Tiny House didn’t do the work

SHERRILLS FORD, N.C. — Eileen Conley wanted to downsize, so she hired Keyo Tiny House to build her a tiny home on a lot she bought in Sherrills Ford.

Conley said she paid Keyo in full.

“I gave him $227,000,” she said.

However, Conley said she didn’t get the price or the deadline in the contract.

Keyo texted her the home would be ready by November 2022 at the latest, according to Conley.

She said the company stopped work in November 2022, and the project was far from being completed.

“I was appalled,” Conley said. “There’s no other word for it.”

Conley said she sold the house she was living in assuming that she would have moved into the tiny home by then.

“I had a little ‘Come to Jesus’ with him and said, ‘You’ve got to get this house done. I am literally homeless, and I need a place to live,’” she said.

Conley said the ordeal is emotional.

“You get really upset, and then you get angry,” she said.

Conley thought about suing Keyo but said she was using that money, which was for retirement, to pay other contractors to finish the project.

“I want to shut him down,” Conley said. “I don’t want this to happen to anybody else. I would love to have my money back, but I just know in my gut, I’m not going to get it back. So now I want to shut him down.”

Action 9 tried to reach Keyo for three weeks but did not get a single response.

Five other customers sued Keyo before the pandemic claiming they paid the developer but didn’t get houses or refunds.

One of their lawyers said some of the plaintiffs won and others settled.

A few months later, the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors reprimanded Keyo’s owner saying he signed a contract he shouldn’t have because he had an expired license.

Action 9 followed up with the board and found Keyo had a valid license when it was working on Conley’s project up until March.

However, the board said the developer didn’t file an annual report with the North Carolina Secretary of State, which was what it should have done.

So the agency dissolved the company and because of that, the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors deactivated its license.

In other words, Keyo isn’t authorized to do business in the state until it resolves the administrative issues.

Anytime you hire a builder:

• Make sure you get the price and deadline in writing.
• Try not to pay the full amount up front.
• Research the company

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