Marcus Mars Interiors

Marcus Mars with Marcus Mars Interior Designs is a thoughtful, detailed artist with good interior designs. However it is not worth doing business with him because I found him to be dishonest and unethical. Here is a list of just some of the issues: - Marcus was dishonest about the budget. There were hiccups along the way that added to the cost, which were no one's fault. However Marcus' designs, although beautiful, significantly contributed to doubling the budget, and he took no responsibility. Have him design everything and get cost estimates for labor and materials BEFORE demolition. - Marcus doubled the amount of time the remodel should have taken. Marcus told us it would take 3-5 months. It took 8 months (11 months if you include the 3 months we waited for the contractor to begin), and only because I pushed for him to complete the project. Have a deadline in the contract with monetary consequences if he does not meet the deadline. - Marcus was not honest about how he gets paid. Marcus told me he gets paid by up-charging the furniture. Instead, he up-charged the furniture, labor and materials. Marcus requires in his contract that he creates the invoices. Do not agree to this! Instead, make him provide original receipts and then clearly outline up-charges/fees in the invoices. - On several occasions, Marcus verbally quoted a price on an item like a toilet or painting that we agreed to. But then Marcus charged us approx. double and denied the verbal quote. Follow-up verbal quotes with text or email for documentation. - Marcus lied to the contractors and told them we did not pay him as an excuse to delay their payments. However, we paid Marcus weeks, if not months, in advance. Require signed lien waivers from the subcontractors to ensure Marcus pays them in full, and to ensure they don't file a lien on your house if he fails to do so. Examples can be found in State of FL statutes: [*** Link removed ***] - Marcus often blamed mistakes the contractors made as the contractors' fault, even though some mistakes were his own. - Some of the contractors Marcus hired were not good and the work had to be fixed or removed such as the painter, kitchen cabinet maker and window tinter. - Last but not least, Marcus threatened to file a lien on our house because we took time to review all the invoices before giving him the final payment. I found numerous inconsistencies and inaccurate accounting in the invoices. There was a difference in over $5,000 between what we owed and what Marcus charged. We did not succumb to Marcus's threats and took our time reviewing his invoices. After more than doubling the budget (essentially getting paid twice what he was supposed to) Marcus had the nerve to debate what was owed. We settled on half just to be done with him. Because I am an honest person, I will say again that Marcus' designs are good and I am happy with the end result. Marcus worked very ho*** ** this project. However, there are more negative things I could say and I would not recommend working with him as a client or a contractor due to his dishonesty.

This project turned out really well. Marcus has excellent space planning skills, and came up with some clever solutions for my storage and work area needs. Was knowledgeable about local office/furniture stores and found some great pieces. I also like that he was able to tailor his design stye to fit my needs. It was a fun experience working with him, and I really enjoy spending time in my new office now.