I fired my contractor. Then I hired him back.
That’s the part of this story I’d like to skip. But I’m not going to, because if you’re in this business long enough, you’ll face the same decision. And you need to hear how mine turned out.
His name is David Tu. I hired him to rehab my property at 321 Murray Ave in Clearwater, Florida. I’m in Chicago. He’s on the ground in Florida. The deal was simple — gut the place, bring it back to life, get it rent-ready.
The first time around, things fell apart. Missed deadlines. Bad communication. Work that didn’t match what we agreed on. So I cut him loose.
Then he came back. Said he’d do better. Had excuses for what went wrong the first time. And I — against my better judgment — gave him another shot.
Here’s what I got for my generosity.
The Walkthrough
I had someone walk through Murray Ave with a camera last week. Let me take you room by room.
Living room: LVP flooring is down. Walls are painted. Looks decent from a distance. But there are paint cans on the floor, a roll of underlayment just sitting in the middle of the room, and no light fixtures anywhere. Just open holes in the ceiling.
Kitchen: This is the room that tricks you. White cabinets, quartz counters, tile backsplash — it photographs well. But there are no appliances. Not one. The island doesn’t have a countertop. And there’s exposed electrical wiring where an outlet should be in the backsplash. Bare copper and black wires just sitting there behind the tile.
Bedroom #1: Flooring done. Walls painted. But wires hanging from the ceiling where a fan or light should be. A vacuum knocked over on its side. Extension cord running across the floor. No outlet covers.
Bedroom #2: Open the door and it’s raw subfloor. No LVP. No nothing. Just concrete and a pink bucket. This room was straight-up skipped.
Bathroom #1: Dark tile surround looks sharp. Decorative floor tile is nice. But the vanity has no faucet. There’s a toolbox sitting on the counter and a paint can next to the toilet. It’s being used as a storage room, not a bathroom.
Bathroom #2: Tub is in. Tile is done. But there’s no showerhead. No valve trim. No tub spout. Just rough plumbing stubs sticking out of the wall. This bathroom doesn’t work.
The closets: No doors. Step ladder still inside one of them.
The deck: Raw pressure-treated wood. No stain, no seal, no railing. Just bare lumber in the Florida humidity.
The yard: Patchy dirt. Construction debris. Pavers stacked against the fence. A mess.
What “Almost Done” Actually Means
David told me the house was almost done. Multiple times.
Let me translate that for you: “Almost done” means “the parts you can see in photos look okay, and I’m hoping you don’t ask about the rest.”
No light fixtures in any room. No appliances in the kitchen. One room with no flooring. Two bathrooms that don’t function. Exposed wiring. No interior doors. No closet doors. Deck with no finish or railing.
That’s not almost done. That’s 70% at best — and the 30% that’s left is the part that makes a house livable.
Why I Gave Him the Second Chance
Honestly? Convenience.
Starting over with a new contractor mid-rehab is painful. You’ve got to find someone, vet them, negotiate, get them up to speed on what’s been done and what hasn’t. It’s weeks of lost time. Maybe months.
David already knew the property. He already had subs lined up. He said the right things. And I wanted to believe him because the alternative was harder.
That’s the trap. The second chance isn’t about mercy — it’s about avoiding the pain of starting over. And contractors know that. They bank on it.
The Lesson
If you fire a contractor, they’re fired. Period.
The reasons you fired them don’t go away because they promise to do better. A guy who misses deadlines will miss more deadlines. A guy who does sloppy work will do more sloppy work. A guy who takes advantage of your distance will keep taking advantage of your distance.
I’m not saying people can’t change. I’m saying your rehab budget isn’t the place to test that theory.
The cost of my second chance? Weeks of additional delays. A property that’s nowhere near market-ready. Exposed wiring and safety hazards. And now I have to bring in someone else to finish what he started — which is always more expensive than if I’d just done that from the beginning.
Don’t be me. If you fire them, keep them fired.
Leave a Reply