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Promises and Pitfalls: The True Cost of Home Renovation Gone Awry

07/05/2024

Embarking on a home renovation journey with Megan D. Kaiser of Kaiser Construction is the biggest regret of our lives - a trauma that still haunts us to this day. What should have been a seamless and beautiful transformation left us with shoddy work, 90% of which needed to be redone. It began with an  illegal contract and an unlawful demand for a very large  down payment, 51 times the legally allowed amount that left us handcuffed. Please note: CSLB requires a deposit of no more than 10% or $1,000, whichever is less.
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When we decided to move forward with Kaiser Construction, Megan claimed that she was "wrapping up small projects" and would "focus solely on our project." However, within the first week, Megan informed us that she took on a  new project  in La Jolla that she had bid on before ours. Consequently, her skeleton crew, consisting of the unlicensed "foreman," helper dad, and occasional painter brother, would bounce back and forth between the two projects. Half a day here, half a day there, and often days where very little was done due to exhaustion. We felt handcuffed because Megan had $51K of our money tied up in the illegal deposit. Megan falsely claims we were under a tight deadline. If this were true, and if there was such a tight deadline, why would she have taken on a new project? She clearly did not have the resources to manage more than a single project at a time. In fact, Megan couldn't even manage our project either!

Megan's narrative about the project being stopped mid-construction is quite the twist. The truth is, Megan claimed the project to have been 73% complete—well beyond mid-construction, as she falsely claims. In fact, Megan gave us a punch list,  (1)  (2)  (3)   typically given near the end of construction. That last week before we requested a new “foreman,” she had the electrician, tile setters, and quartz installer scheduled. However, she stealthily “postponed” the electrician and quartz installer and claimed she could not meet our request for a replacement for her unlicensed foreman. Our only option was to have him and his family back in our home, which was unacceptable for the reasons outlined below. What was supposed to be a two-week wrap-up became a month and likely would have extended well beyond, given the amount of work that needed to be redone. Also, she wanted us to sign a new contract and set up a payment plan. She demanded that we sign a new contract with previous change orders, which was never submitted in writing. This was the final straw, and we filed a claim with the CSLB.

Due to poor workmanship quality, we asked Megan's crew to leave our property. After their departure, we discovered a message written on bags of thin-set outside our home that read "Pinches perros," which translates to "Fucking Dogs!"—a derogatory term in Spanish. This message made us feel unsafe in our own home, leading us to file a police report. In arbitration, Megan claimed that the vulgar message must have been written by someone at Home Depot, where the bags were purchased. This claim was absurd. A police officer was assigned to the case, and Kaiser's crew was no longer permitted on the premises while we awaited the outcome of the CSLB and contractor’s bond process.

During arbitration, Megan, represented by her lawyer, tried to falsely argue “termination by convenience” and asked for $20K on top of what we already paid—despite all of our very well-documented grievances. We represented ourselves, claiming Kaiser did insufficient work, unpermitted work, paint bait and switch, and asked for $66K to be returned. The arbiter asked Megan about the unpermitted bath and how she planned to have that inspected when the walls were covered up and tiled. She nonchalantly said, "open the wall from the other side," except that the other side is a second-story exterior stucco shear wall. We knew at that moment she was cooked!

What we didn’t understand was that while the arbitrator fully agreed with us on the $66K, we had a large remaining budget from which the arbiter subtracted the award amount. We didn’t understand that we needed to factor in all the remaining items, the replacement of quartz, and its installation. So, the award  (1)  (2) was much smaller than we anticipated . However, not giving Megan a cent more was vindication, especially given the shady business practices and being threatened twice with a mechanics lien. So, we ask, which part of our review is false? The vague wiggle contract, the illegal deposit of $51K, the paint bait-and-switch, or the unpermitted bath? She claimed to have done work “free of defect,” yet the construction consultant, in his  professional assessment, stated, “Kaiser failed to meet an acceptable standard of workmanship” and “failed to procure a permit prior to the commencement of work!” Something Megan falsely assured us was  "ALL COSMETICS!"

If potential customers are reading this, we urge you to dig deeper. Don’t be fooled by those glowing reviews. Always get multiple bids before starting any work on your home. Be sure to check they are bonded, insured, and have worker’s comp. If they don’t have worker’s comp, be sure all subs are licensed, bonded, and insured! Remember, forewarned is forearmed.

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