I was shamefully unprepared to handle home maintenance issues. My late husband could fix most things. Those that he couldn't fix, or chose not to take the time to fix, he would have repaired or replace - without my needing to get involved. He was dependable and quite good at handling repair issues. So, I never bother to learn how to do even the simplest of fixes. Additionally, the repair population in Los Angeles is predominantly composed of male immigrants, or at least most of the ones we found were. They seemed to consider repairs issues male domain. I remember trying to discuss an plumbing issue with one while my husband was alive. He vigorously shook his head and said, "No. Where is the man. I want to talk to the man." On a different occasion, I'd convinced my late husband to make changes in the kitchen (because I told him that I would pay for them). The contractor showed up before my husband could return from his meeting. The man refused to assess the kitchen, even for simple measurements, because my late husband was not home. He said that he was tired of women calling him for estimates without their husbands' consent and then having the husbands veto the changes. That wasn't the way my late-husband and I lived. However, no amount of discussion would persuade the man. I told him to leave. My husband arrived home ten minutes later. We went with another kitchen company.
My lack of knowledge and experience resulted in my being victimized by unscrupulous repairmen after my late husband died. The most egregious occurred at the hand of a neighbor who works as a contractor. It was very subtle at first. After my husband's memorial, the neighbor came to my house and told me that he was available to help me with any repair issues. My house was built in the 1930's. It wasn't long before something broke. It was small things at first: leaky sink, blown light fixture, etc. I'd call, he'd come fix something, I'd offer him money, he'd decline other than the cost of materials. I trusted him implicitly. I began to have him do repair work on my income property. For these, he charged his "standard" fees. When the city's code enforcement team asked for a long list of repairs, it was the neighbor who I asked to do them, even though another contractor offered a lower bid. At first I thought that his work looked great and he'd always take his time on the projects, even though his prices seemed high. However, after paying him for a very expensive painting job, I went to the building to discover paint chips all over the ground surrounding the building. Two children live in the building. Paint chips are a big safety no-no. I called him about them. He was very apologetic and went to collect them. The building passed code enforcement inspection.
Things seemed fine until the winter became spring. As the temperature began to climb, I began receiving complaints from tenants that their windows had been painted shut. One tenant managed to break the paint seal on one of his windows and it came apart in his hands. Repairing the window was for an additional fee. The repairs never seemed to stop. The contractor kept pointing out things that needed to be fixed to me and later to the tenants, "as a precaution because dire results might otherwise occur." I began to feel squeezed. Whenever I complained about the mounting costs, he'd say confidently, "You have plenty of money." (How or why he would think so was curious to me.) When I went to my CPA for taxes at the end of the year, he told me that the prices I was charged were nearly three times what he normally saw for that kind of work. He gave me the, "What were you thinking" look. I was embarrassed. It was too much.
Getting rid of the guy was difficult. I don't know what he'd said to the tenants, but at one point they were calling him about repair prior to calling me. He would go fix things and then present me with bills. One tenant even sent his rent check to the contractor's home, instead of mine. That scared me.
I started watching repair shows on DIY and HGTV.
My lack of knowledge and experience resulted in my being victimized by unscrupulous repairmen after my late husband died. The most egregious occurred at the hand of a neighbor who works as a contractor. It was very subtle at first. After my husband's memorial, the neighbor came to my house and told me that he was available to help me with any repair issues. My house was built in the 1930's. It wasn't long before something broke. It was small things at first: leaky sink, blown light fixture, etc. I'd call, he'd come fix something, I'd offer him money, he'd decline other than the cost of materials. I trusted him implicitly. I began to have him do repair work on my income property. For these, he charged his "standard" fees. When the city's code enforcement team asked for a long list of repairs, it was the neighbor who I asked to do them, even though another contractor offered a lower bid. At first I thought that his work looked great and he'd always take his time on the projects, even though his prices seemed high. However, after paying him for a very expensive painting job, I went to the building to discover paint chips all over the ground surrounding the building. Two children live in the building. Paint chips are a big safety no-no. I called him about them. He was very apologetic and went to collect them. The building passed code enforcement inspection.
Things seemed fine until the winter became spring. As the temperature began to climb, I began receiving complaints from tenants that their windows had been painted shut. One tenant managed to break the paint seal on one of his windows and it came apart in his hands. Repairing the window was for an additional fee. The repairs never seemed to stop. The contractor kept pointing out things that needed to be fixed to me and later to the tenants, "as a precaution because dire results might otherwise occur." I began to feel squeezed. Whenever I complained about the mounting costs, he'd say confidently, "You have plenty of money." (How or why he would think so was curious to me.) When I went to my CPA for taxes at the end of the year, he told me that the prices I was charged were nearly three times what he normally saw for that kind of work. He gave me the, "What were you thinking" look. I was embarrassed. It was too much.
Getting rid of the guy was difficult. I don't know what he'd said to the tenants, but at one point they were calling him about repair prior to calling me. He would go fix things and then present me with bills. One tenant even sent his rent check to the contractor's home, instead of mine. That scared me.
I started watching repair shows on DIY and HGTV.
No comments:
Post a Comment