Buying your first home is a huge life milestone, but as young adults, we can’t always afford the perfect home. Sometimes we settle for a home with potential, one we can fix up and love (or in my case sell). Sometimes that process is enjoyable and exciting, other times it is the most stressful and frustrating thing anyone can experience. For me, it was the latter. This is a story about how bad a home renovation can go, and how to avoid it. A story of lies, deceit and deception, that Lifetime couldn’t even conceive.

My girlfriend and I bought a home in February of 2016; it needed some work, but had good bones, it was a great investment property for a planned flip. I interviewed 4 different GC’s (general contractors), finally settling on the one who offered a fair price: $26,000 for a total kitchen renovation and two full bathroom renovations. This GC had strong references and seemed to be a family man (works with his son). My parents have had issues with contractors in the past, so I made sure to check all the references, checked with the BBB, wrote up a contract, asked if I could pay partially with a CC (which was not an option) and even wrote him emails about my concern. Of course, he assured me that he and his son do great work and they are honest individuals (see texts).

The GC asked for $12,000 upfront for all materials. I looked online and ⅓ seemed to be a normal/reasonable amount upfront. Ten days after I met him, I gave him the first check. A week goes by, he hires a plumber, electrician and tiler. Jobs are getting done (see pictures below) and progress is being made. He pays all the subcontractors by check, to the tune of $7,000 (total). That same day he asks me for an additional $7,000 for the granite (which I had picked out from a local stone company). He provided me a receipt for the “fully paid” granite from the stone company, and I gave him a $7,000 check to reimburse him. Turns out the the granite place gave him a receipt labeled “paid in full” before cashing the check–the check bounced.

Fast forward to today, and we have 4 “hot” checks, totaling $19,000, issued by the GC. I am not sure what he did with the $19,000 I gave him, but more on that later. The tile, plumbing, electrical and granite subcontractors come knocking on my door looking for their money. They are threatening to put a lien on my property if I do not pay them. I am calling and texting the GC, trying to figure out what’s going on, but after a quick chat with him I chalk it all up to a huge miscommunication, which is where the story gets interesting.

The reason I assumed it was all a miscommunication is because of a story the GC told me a week before. The sunday after projects got completed (before checks bounced), he called me all distressed and told me his son was in a car accident, and it was bad, he had to go directly to the hospital. Over the next week, he was giving me daily updates on his son’s health–we are pushing off work and he is hard to get a hold of.

When I do reach him, he is giving me in-depth details of the accident, his son’s condition, his wife’s state of mind, and asking me to pray for him. When I do meet with him momentarily at my house, he is in tears, breaking down about his son and even takes a “call” from his wife, to talk about updates on his son’s condition. Turns out that the son is suffering from brain damage and suffered a minor stroke. At this point I am (like most normal people) feeling incredibly bad for him and couldn’t imagine what it must be like. I tell him to take his time and he explains that all the issues with the checks are due to a bank account issue that he is fixing. At the end of that week, I get a message from him, he tells me his son passed away from complications with the injury. Once again, I told him how sorry I was for him. I had trouble sleeping that night I felt so bad for him, I offered to help his family in whatever way I could. Three days go by, when I finally decide I have given him enough space and still there was no solution to the checks, I call. He answers crying and telling me he can’t believe what has happened, he needs a day to get plans together and figure out next steps.

The next day I meet him at the local Starbucks, and I do something that makes me very uncomfortable. Since I was super suspicious at this point (because he refused to provide any proof of the cabinets he claimed to be building), I ask for an obituary, he can’t provide one. I ask him where the money is, he tells me he had to pay his rent and materials, but can’t provide any receipts. At this point he knows that I know he is lying. I finally ask him, “did your son die or is that all made up?” Made up. “Are there cabinets or is that all made up, have you done ANYTHING?” He tells me he has done nothing. When I ask him where the money went, he tells me his wife spent it, at savers. SAVERS (Goodwill)! I told him that was false, considering you could buy the whole store for $19,000. So I tell him that I am done with the games, I know he is sitting on the money and he has 72 hours to pay me back.

Please see Part 2, the story is just beginning.