I waited a few months to write this, just to avoid doing it while I’m angry, and settle into my new place, but I still think people deserve a fair warning if hiring Sergey.
He estimated to be done in 2-3 months, but took 6.5. I was paying rent and mortgage during this time.
It quickly became obvious that we’re not on track, but Sergey told me repeatedly not to worry, he'll be done on time and with "highest quality". After 3 months we were barely half-way, and he told me it was *MY* fault, as I haven’t provided professional drawings for the remodel (it was very simple, so I made them myself). He hasn’t told me if anything was unclear or asked any questions until that 3 months mark. When questions started coming, I answered them within a day, sometimes within minutes, but still, he proceeded to use this excuse for literally everything that went wrong.
For electrical work, he insisted that we have to move electrical panel in order to pass code. Then they started burning 300 amp fuses for the entire floor (10 units). They did it several times in one day to the point that the building ran out of fuses, and all residents were with no electricity till next day. My HOA charged me for the damages.
When I asked Sergey to look into it, he **screamed profanities** at me, saying, roughly, that my HOA should go f**k themselves because he just passed electrical inspection, and it couldn’t have been him. My HOA sent their own electrician to figure out this mess, and it turned out, when they installed the panel, one of the screws was too long and perforated wiring inside, shorting the electrical lines onto the box itself. High quality work indeed!
Then Sergey told me that there were $13K extra costs for “change orders”. I never requested any changes, and it was him who failed to realize what work was needed to pass code. He said that he’d take on half of that cost because he’s very “honest and nice guy”. I questioned if I should be responsible for the costs that he didn’t include in his quote, but he'd just stop work, so I was forced to pay, since I was losing money on rent as long as the project is stalled. Some would call this extortion.
Some other examples:
- Charged me extra for evening out the floors, look at the result: https://youtu.be/S3r0afki3o4
- Cracked my bathtub, refused to pay for it
- Wrote memos on the walls with a red marker. After painting, I still see them through the paint!
- Grout between tiles cracked already
This isn’t even half of it! Feel free to contact me for a full list, if you're morbidly curios.
When we got the condo to the point that I could move in and he had no more leverage to charge me extra, I wanted to renegotiate those "change orders" he forced me to pay. I already paid the total sum of our contract, but we still had $8K left in originally scheduled payments. When I brought it up, he stormed out, saying he’ll sue me, file for a mechanic’s lien, and I won’t be able to pay my utilities, and I’ll owe him $40K by year’s end.
I tried to have a constructive discussion over email and come to a consensus regarding how to handle final payment. He would just repeat how great a job he’s done and reiterate that he’s going to sue.
This is his explanation for the extra electrical work, I quote: "The truth is that we confirmed change order for $3,700 then it came back in a miracle way with the number of $13,300.”
I didn’t want to waste time on court, so I agreed to pay him a portion of what he asked, which one might say is also extortion.
You might wonder about other 5 star reviews, and here is my take:
He worked for his brothers’ reputable company Zeus Remodeling for a few years, and recently decided to start his own (he actually used his brother’s license, as he did not have one himself). He probably made connections with some good teams, which he now employs, and generally they do a great job, as reviews indicate. In my case, he told me that he hired another subcontractor who he’s not worked a lot with.
When things started going wrong, I understood that all he does is find work and pass it to a subcontractor. He’s a sales agent, and he really has no idea how to manage projects, and he will NOT put effort into keeping them on track, or control quality.
Why haven't I fired him? It would cost me more to look and wait for another contractor.
My main gripe isn’t even that the project took longer and cost more. It’s how he behaved when things don’t go according to plan, completely absolving himself of any responsibility, shifting the blame, making excuses, and repeatedly telling me that I don’t know what I’m talking about when I tried helping him with organizational issues, which is HIS job.
His behavior was disrespectful, childish, and not an any point did he take ownership of any mistakes.
He told me, and I quote again: “There are no mistakes of mine here. I don’t make mistakes. This is how I work.”
You decide what to make of it.
****UPDATE****
Aside from calling me a liar, he claimed to Thumbtack that he hasn’t worked with me and tried to have this review taken down. Thumbtack reached out to me for proof, and, of course, I have plenty of it, which is why review shows as verified. Nice going Sergey... So who’s the liar?
Wise Stage of Remodeling
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