A New Jersey man who thought he was building his dream home ended up with a worthless pile of bricks he says has cost him his happiness and all his money . Humayun Akhtar , 66 , built the sprawling Florham Park home for him and his wife in 2007 . Almost immediately , he says , cracks began to appear throughout the house , which he soon learned was collapsing into its unsound foundations and sliding off the side of the hill on which it was built . Now Akhtar is in a protracted court battle with builder JDN Properties , who he says have left him financially ruined and emotionally broken . This home in Florham Park , New Jersey was meant to be Humayun Akhtar 's $ 1.6 million dream home for him and his wife but substandard construction turned it into a nightmare . ' I used to be a singing , laughing person , ' Akhtar told WABC . ' I do n't listen to music anymore . I have n't seen a movie in ten years , I ca n't relax anymore . ' Akhtar and his family have not spent a single night in the home , which has buckled so severely that a marble placed on the floor will roll freely without the slightest push . ' I spent all the money I had and I was cleaned out . I have nothing now , ' he said . Akhtar successfully won a settlement against JDN Properties in 2011 for $ 7.4 million on claims the company defrauded him by cutting corners on soil beneath the foundation that was n't strong enough to bear the house . However , the company recently won an appeal of that decision . JDN Properties argues they tried to get Akhtar to let them repair the home before the damages worsened . Crack : Almost immediately after Akhtar closed on the home , cracks began to appear throughout . Ruined : Humayun Akhtar , 66 , says the years since the home was built in 2007 have been emotionally difficult and financially ruinous . Builder JDN Properties argues they tried to get Akhtar to let them repair the home before the damages worsened . Akhtar successfully won a settlement against JDN Properties in 2011 for $ 7.4 million on claims the company defrauded him by cutting corners on soil beneath the foundation that was n't strong enough to bear the house . Akhtar maintains he was too afraid the company would do a quick fix on the foundation . Now the case will be seen before a New Jersey jury , which will decide if JDN Properties knowingly defrauded Akhtar . Meanwhile , Akhtar 's attorney David Stanziale told ABC News that the home has gone into foreclosure . 'This whole thing has destroyed my life , ' Akhtar said . ' I feel like a fool . Now I have to live 250 years to recover all the money I lost . ' Akhtar and his family spent a single night in the home , which has buckled so severely that a marble placed on the floor will roll freely without the slightest push . Ongoing legal drama : The builders recently won an appeal and now the case is set to go before a jury .
Humayun Akhtar built a beautiful home for him and his wife in Florham Park , New Jersey but has never spent a night there . Almost immediately after closing on the home , Akhtar says the cracks began to appear and he soon learned the house had unsound foundations . Akhtar won an initial $ 7.4 judgment but it has since been successfully appealed by the builders and will now go to a jury trial . Comment: