Right? I looked just to be sure, and it sure seems to my untrained eye like what Fox 2 is describing as a shaming offense is what a Michigan DA would call multiple counts of felony larceny by conversion at ten years a pop. His hand-wavey “I’ve been going through some stuff” type response is basically an admission of guilt because that money wasn’t his and should have been kept at strict arm’s-length from whatever his personal “stuff” might’ve been.
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This week, of all weeks, we’ve learned that some people have no shame. And this week, of all weeks, is when I need stories about justice and bad guys getting what they deserve.
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Whenever I hear about a businessman taking money from customers then not using the money for the intended purpose, my first thought is “he’s in serious financial quicksand”, basically it suggests he’s robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’d guess he’s in deep debt and is desperately trying to find a way out.
(I witnessed this kind of behavior from a previous employer who was told “you can’t pour water in a sieve” and replied, “sure you can, you just have to pour it in fast enough.”)
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Just FYI, everything but the word “never” is actually SOP for residential General Contracting. That’s not to say this guy is even a little legit, just to say, he’s operating in an environment where the default arrangement is a firewall between the client and all financial decisions/operations, while ALSO having the client be financially liable.
Better builders give you guarantees in writing, fixed pricing at the outset, and transparent itemization of labor, equipment and supply purchases and their markup on those purchases. The best one are expensive and hard to find though. Architects can help in being a separate set of eyes, and making sure the specified materials aren’t secretly swapped out and the difference pocketed by your GC, but they also come at a premium.
Just bought a piece of land and am serisouly considering and owner-build (GCing the project ourselves with consultants).
Even in an owner-build, it’s strongly recommended to segregate your money for the build (loans and cash-on-hand) from the rest of your assets.
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Are you suggesting there’s no point in journalists reporting Bad Things happening unless the journalists also provide clear solutions for those problems? I don’t get it.
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It also serves as a cautionary tale so that other consumers avoid falling into the same hole. For people in that area, knowing the builder’s name and company info. serves a purpose. Outside of that area, people should learn to check into the background of the builder instead of choosing based on the look of a model home.
I got burned by a contractor once, but fortunately no loans or liens were involved. He was taking the money I paid and leaving his subcontractors hanging. Before seeking a legal remedy, I shared my experience with every licensing bureau and on every contractor search site I could find. Like one of the people in the report, I slept better at night having done what I could to keep someone else from getting the same treatment I’d received.
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I wondered how the builder could file for bankruptcy, but the homeowners couldn’t (or didn’t for some reason). Also, it’s a shame the IRS couldn’t be involved because taking business funds and using them on non-business purposes should fail to pass an audit. The builder said he used the money to buy land, but that’s probably just another lie.
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Then, when the inevitable charges come he’ll insist they are a partisan witch hunt.
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This happens with any kind of construction job, not just home builders. My personal example:
I had some concrete poured in the back yard. Paid the guy after it was done. Get a call from some concrete company threatening me with a lien because the guy is behind on his payments for the concrete, and wants me to pay. So I ask “So, lemme get this straight, you know this guy is always behind by one job and is using the new job to pay for the last one. And you continue to sell to him anyway?”
Pregnant pause…
Yelling at the contractor got things resolved, but I guarantee you that he continued to be late with the concrete guy, the concrete guy continued to sell to him, and then continued to threaten the homeowners in a vicious cycle.
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OK… I want to sympathize with the homeowners… But, I can’t figure out which side is the ethical side to be on. The fecklessness and fraud of this Esposito guy, while regrettable, is preventing one more McMiniMansion home from being constructed:
But, but:
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Hmmm… sounds familiar…
That show was as much ripped from the headlines as any Law&Order, it just tended to focus on the kinds of everyday crimes that get inflicted on people without the resources to fight back.
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This isn’t a difficult call. The owners of the house didn’t scam anyone, weren’t trying to get a windfall, and have had to deal with a incredibly unpleasant and stressful situation that likely will financially cripple them for some time. The builder is simply a predator.
Whatever you or I might think of the taste and aesthetics of their home is utterly beside the point.
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That would be a start. But “It’s not our job”. Then whose job is it. Mine? I’m completely spent trying to do my job, look after my kid, keep the cards paid off.
All I get all day long is a litany of stories about how some sociopath fucked a bunch of people over, or killed a bunch of people, and how they got rewarded for doing it. The only service that provides is hopelessness.
Well, I guess if you live in that town you know not to do business with that guy, so if everyone where that guy lives and everyone anywhere he moves to reads that story, then something is accomplished. Am I going to somehow keep a tally of every grifter on the planet, assuming that someone has done a piece on them?
What if a story like this went through the specifics of how to ensure that you don’t sign a bad contract, assuming these people feel any need to actually abide by their contracts (Trump never did)? That might help a little. Why not ask how it is that contracts like this can be presented and people tricked into signing them, or how people can just dump contracts and get away with it? If so, what is the solution? No one in any position of power seems to give a shit about the fact that pretty much all contract disputes are simply a matter of who has the most money to pay on lawyers. Maybe a link to someone who is trying to do something about it. Maybe contact information for politicians and justice officials to ask them what the hell they are doing about it, or better yet tell them what they need to do about it.
Did it keep someone else from getting burned? Did any licensing bureau suggest that something would happen? Remember, they get paid by him, not you…
He went out of business. However, I search periodically to make sure his name generates results that include my posts and reviews. Like the builder in this report, sometimes they lie low for a bit and re-enter the market with a slightly different business name. If this guy decides to legally change his name, then he’s taking it to another level.
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In my case, one of the subcontractors getting shafted was supposedly the GC’s friend. He stopped calling when I offered to show him proof of payment, because his buddy was telling him he never got the money from me.
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Journalist: The city is currently on fire.
Reader: Fuck you, Debbie Downer. I don’t need that kind of negativity unless you’re going to provide specific instructions for how I’m supposed to put it out. I’ve got shit do do, y’all!
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!
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There are lots of ombudsman offices, advocacy groups, news-based troubleshooters, and even home shows (like Holmes on Homes) that do provide assistance/solutions for people who have been victimized. In my metro area, at least one of three major network news stations and two newspapers cover them on a regular basis. The number of sites that focus on inspirational stories and only report what they consider to be positive seems to grow whenever I enter “good news” into a search engine. When reading articles on this site, sometimes I have to remind myself that “Mostly Wonderful” is right on the label.
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I have a dream of one day retiring and building a cabin or something similar out in the boonies, but my one (although small) incident with contractors/builders has really made a sour impression on me. It seems so common that it’s unavoidable.
I like the ideas presented here about getting guarantees and other things in writing, but wow - this needs to be made more apparent.
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