“Almost done.”
Two words that have cost real estate investors more money than any market crash.
My contractor said them to me about 321 Murray Ave in Clearwater, Florida. Said them multiple times. And I believed him — because I’m in Chicago, and believing him was easier than flying to Florida to check.
Then I sent someone with a camera.
What “Almost Done” Looked Like
Let me walk you through what I saw on that video.
The first thing that hits you is the mess. Every single room — every one — has construction debris in it. Paint cans in the living room. A 5-gallon bucket and mixing tubs by the front door. Tile tools scattered around. A toolbox sitting on the bathroom vanity. A vacuum knocked over in the bedroom.
This isn’t a house that’s being finished. This is a house that’s been abandoned mid-shift.
Then you start noticing what’s missing.
No light fixtures. In any room. Just open junction boxes in the ceiling. Some with wires hanging down. In the kitchen, there’s an outlet cutout in the backsplash with bare copper wire exposed. No cover plate. No outlet. Just live wires behind the tile.
Both bathrooms have beautiful tile work — dark subway tile surrounds, decorative floor patterns. They photograph like a magazine. But neither bathroom works. No showerheads. No faucets on the vanities. No tub spouts. Just rough plumbing stubs poking out of the wall. Tile with no function behind it.
The kitchen has cabinets and countertops and a nice backsplash. But no appliances. No range, no refrigerator, no dishwasher. The island base is built but has no countertop.
One bedroom has no flooring. At all. Every other room has LVP. This room has raw subfloor and a bucket.
The deck out back is raw pressure-treated lumber — no stain, no seal, no railing. The yard is patchy dirt with construction debris and leftover materials piled against the fence.
This is what “almost done” means when nobody’s checking.
The Verification Problem
Here’s what kills me. Every one of these issues was knowable. None of this was hidden. You walk through the front door and within 10 seconds you can see the house isn’t done.
But I didn’t walk through the front door. I’m 1,100 miles away. I was relying on updates from the person doing the work — and that person had every reason to tell me what I wanted to hear.
This isn’t unique to my contractor. This is human nature. When someone’s getting paid for progress, they’ll report progress whether it exists or not. When someone knows the boss isn’t coming by, standards slip. When there’s no independent verification, the truth gets stretched until it breaks.
What “Boots on the Ground” Actually Means
I’m not talking about hiring a full-time project manager — though if your rehab budget supports it, do that.
I’m talking about having anyone — literally anyone — who can show up at your property independently and tell you what they see.
Options:
A local home inspector. Pay them $200-300 to walk through once every two weeks. They’ll document everything with photos and a written report. They work for you, not the contractor.
A real estate agent in the market. If you have an agent who brought you the deal or will list the property, ask them to swing by. Most good agents will do this — they want the listing to go well too.
A property manager. If you’re planning to rent the property, your PM should be seeing it during rehab anyway. Get them involved early.
A handyman or inspector on retainer. Find someone local through your network. Even a retired contractor who’ll walk through for $100 and send you pictures.
The key is independence. This person cannot be your contractor, your contractor’s friend, or anyone your contractor is paying. They report to you. Period.
The Math
Let’s say independent verification costs you $500 a month. A walkthrough every other week, photos, a quick report.
My Murray Ave rehab is going to cost me thousands in additional labor to finish what David Tu didn’t. Plus carrying costs on a property that should have been done weeks ago. Plus the cost of finding and onboarding a new contractor to finish someone else’s work — which always comes at a premium.
Five hundred a month for verification looks like the best deal in real estate right now.
Trust Is Not a System
I trusted David Tu. Twice. First time he let me down, I fired him. Second time — same result, worse position.
Trust is fine as a starting point. But trust without verification is just hope. And hope is not a business strategy.
If you’re investing out of state — or even across town — build verification into your process. Make it automatic. Make it non-negotiable. Make it someone else’s job to tell you the truth.
Because your contractor won’t. Not because they’re bad people. Because they’re human.
And humans tell you what you want to hear when their paycheck depends on it.
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