Do I have any legal avenues i can use to obtain the money?

You most likely can take him to court for return of moneys you spent on his house and potentially you could further lodge a claim for some sort of payment for your time however this would be dependent on what actually said and what you can demonstrate you have done. for example receipts for paints, tools and other products used that indicate you or you can show that you paid for without any reimbursement.