Ben'z Remodeling & Roofing

Upon visiting my tenant after a rain storm, I saw a bucket capturing water from a water leak in the ceiling. I filed a claim for repairs. I met Ernesto of Easy E's Professional Services at LA Fitness, our gym. He had roofing advertising on his truck. We talked and met and he provided a bid as did 3 other companies. I hired Ernesto to do the roof repair. One of his workers was Ben (Bersain Narvaez Morales) of Ben's Remodeling and Roofing. Ben asked if he could bid on the interior project. I said okay. He and Ernesto walked the house and proposed $16,000. We met at my residence after they completed the roof to discuss the details and to sign the contracator. We agreed on $14,000 and a 3-week timeframe. I asked several times if that was enough time and I was told yes. They said they would start the next day. Since they had worked at the rental and had provided a quote, it made sense that they could start as they had prepared to do so. Ben and Ernesto were to start renovations on 8/23/12 and they did. At the start, I paid Ben $4,000 for materials and labor. The payment schedule was to be made in equal quarters based on satisfaction of each phase worked and completed. I visited the house every day or every other day and I called Ben every day for status update. When I noticed that progress was slow and that Ernesto hadn't shown up, I called Ernesto. Sometimes he answered and responded and sometimes he didn't. In week 2, I asked why they hadn't done this or that. I asked Ben if the was going to hire more workers because it didn't appear that they were going to finsih on time. He deferred everything to Ernesto's fault. I eventually told him to work directly with me on anything he needs so that we do not jeopardize the completion date. I wanted to be involved by purchasing materials to watch my budget and ensure I liked the materials. Ernesto had recommended a sink construction and I didn't like the color scheme or concept. So, Ernesto and I selected flooring, the sink and toilet. But, it took him well over a week to pick up the flooring. Ben and Ernesto purchased the sheetrock and I met them at the store. I asked if it were enough to do the interior and the garage and they both told me yes, when in fact it was not enough. And, they never worked on the garage. Light Fixtures - I purchased all of the light fixtures, but they only installed the ones for the living room, dining room, bathroom and two bedrooms. Not the den nor the upstairs bedroom. Stairs - They did not tear out the bad stairs and rebuild them nor did they close off the walls that lead to the garage from the kitchen as it was dangerous. Hot Water Heater - They were to install the hot water heater that I purchased. They did relocate it from the kitchen to the garage,but they never hooked it up. A plumber was supposed to have been hired, but after having several other contractors come out to work on the house after I released Ben, they each have said the plumbing has not been done. The electrician never came out either. Ben said he hired him and that he came out. He also told me that he had done some wiring as well. I told him that I wanted a licensed plumber and electrican....to spend the extra money to get qualified people for this important and necessary work. I was told many times that that had happen. I've learned that it never happened. The electrical wiring is jacked up and so is the plumbing. The toilet almost fell to the ground when the new guy came to fix it. Now I have a contractor coming on Monday, November 19th to do the plumbing. Smoke detectors - I purchased four (4) to be installed. Only one (1) was installed and it was not done properly. Door knobs - I purchased door knobs for bedroom doors and closets, but some were mixed up and not installed on the correct doors. The bathroom door jam was not installed correctly because when you lock the door, you were locked in. Someone else had to fix it. Door bell - I purchased door bell, but it was not installed. Gas Lines - I have to offer heat as a landlord. The house has gas and the gas pipes were exposed. Ben covered most of them. Now, I have to hire a plumber to locate them and expose them again as this is one of the laws governed for landlords. It appears that Ben was not aware of this when he covered them. A/C - The tenant can purchse their own window units, but they need to be on their own dedicated circuit breakers. I have a 100 amp box with 20 spaces. There are open spaces and breakers should have purchased by the electrician and installed, but that was not done. Lights keep tripping the circuits which is how I discovered an electrican had not come out. Cabinets and Back Door - The plan was to add upper and lower cabinets between the new stove and microwave. Cabinets were going to be made. Ben asked for $1,000 for both items and I paid him for them. They have not been installed. He has told me several times that he brought them but that the cannot locate the guy. Then he said the guy was jailed for DWI. I ended up buying cabinets and a custome door which cost me about $400 plus the installation by yet another contractor. I have had two more contractors and their crews trying to get the house rentable. Ben was well aware that I wanted to rent the property in October. I get calls every other day from those that want to rent. But, I can't ever give them a ready date to see the house and then to move in. I have lost 2 months of rent. I've been communicating with Ben and Ernesto via text messages. Ben continues to tell me that he spent his own money and that he has receipts and that he's going to come back and finish. We have had about 5 appointments in the last month, but he never shows up. Then he tells me that he couldn't come beause he was out of town. In addition, he has moved and I do not have a new address for him. I asked for the new address 11/16/12 and he has not responded. The last time I spoke with Ernesto was on 11/2/12 when he told me to "F _ _ _ Off" because I would not recommend him to a neighbor that was going to hire him to replaced the roofs of two of his homes in the neighborhood. The man came to my rental to ask me whether I had an issue with Ernesto returning calls and did I have to endorse my insurance check to him. I told him that I had had issues with Ernesto returning calls in a timely manner and that I needed one of his colleagues to step in because he had too much going on and wasn't going to start my roof on time. He say that they had not finished my hosue after having been working for over a month, so he decided he would not hire Ernesto to do his roofs. I did tell the neighbor that I had to endorse the check and that they did a great job on my roof but that I could not recommend either one of them because they had not finished my job on time and that they were paid. I also shared with Ernesto. So, he told me unless I put in a good word for him, that he would not help me with getting my rental completed by Ben. The materials for this reno should have been about $8,000 and $6,000 for labor for a total project of $14,000. Plus I was buying the hot water heater, microwave and stove from my appliance budget. Ben did not purchase all of the materials that were needed. I've had to buy materials and hire new contractors. I've spent an additional $8,000 and Ben owes that back to me. I will greatly appreciate any assistance with the resolution. Thank you, Daphne Martin 817-729-8999 daphnedmartin@aol.com