Scam Alert - Contractors

What I learned helping senior owners who trusted the wrong person — and why patience, not pressure, is what finally helped.

Every building owner I know has preferred contractors they swear by. Someone who has come through for years, who knows the building, who picks up the phone. That trust is earned, and it matters.

So I want to be careful telling this story. The clients in it are good, capable people who have looked after their building for a long time. They are not foolish, and this is not a story about anyone being foolish. It is a story about how hard it can be to see a problem clearly when the problem is a person you trust — and how we worked through it together, slowly.

A trusted contractor, and a growing unease

Recently I was working with senior clients whose contractor had become, over time, the person for everything. Every repair, every project, every question went to him first. That is a comfortable arrangement, until it is not.

From the outside, concerns started to add up. Work was being recommended and priced in a way that did not sit right, and I began to wonder whether my clients were getting straight answers or a fair price. I raised it, as gently as I could, because that is my job. I look after the building with them, and part of looking after it is saying something when a number or a recommendation does not make sense.

Like many of my clients, they retained control over paying bills, and which contractor to hire.

Why questioning the work felt personal

My clients did not always want to hear it. At times, they were very angry when the contractor's work was questioned. Over and over I was told "We Really Trust Him" I also heard that from the super, and even the cleaner.

I understand that anger, and I did not take it personally. If someone questioned a person you have trusted for years, you would probably defend him too. Loyalty is a good quality. Independence is a good quality. These are owners who have made their own decisions for decades, and being told that one of those decisions might be costing them money can feel less like advice and more like an accusation as if you are being told you should have seen it sooner. The anger really came out when I suggested that they were being scammed. No one wants to believe that they are a victim.

You cannot brute-force a moment like that. Pushing harder does not make someone trust you more. It makes them dig in, and honestly, it would have been disrespectful to try. These were not people to convince by winning an argument. They deserved time, and they deserved proof that did not come only from me.

You cannot brute-force trust. You bring in other eyes, and you let the facts speak quietly.

Finally people have the inherent right to spend their money how they like, you want a Lambo? You want a Diamond necklace? You want to hire a certain contractor? My opinion is not what matters, your dignity matters. My issue comes when people think they are getting a good deal from a trusted friend, when they are not.

The kids got involved

Fortunately their kids got involved, one is an accountant, the others professionals. They were very concerned by the invoice amounts and the loosey goosey invoices, 10 line items, none with totals, and a very big number at the bottom.

It didn't make sense to me and it didn't make sense to the kids either.

We had ultra luxury prices and no ultra luxury finishes.

Site Visit with the Owners and the Family

First step was to go with the owners and one of their kids, and do a scope of work, which essentially is a list of all the work you want done, sometimes specifying certain products, such as a certain vanity from a certain supplier. All contractors get the list and that's the only list that matters. All quotes can be fairly evaluated.

All contractors including the "trusted guy" got the same list and were asked to quote.

"Mr. Trustworthy" did not give a quote, but he's a silver tongued devil… while we were in the process of quoting the work, he spoke to the owner, somehow convinced him to increase the Scope of Work and include work that was not necessary… new kitchen, new bathroom, new windows, and remove the plaster and install drywall on strapping instead.

We did not argue our way there — we brought in other eyes

So we slowed down.

First, we got a bunch of alternate quotes for the projects. Not as an ambush, and not to prove a point — just to answer a simple question: what would this same work cost if other contractors priced it? Is this work even necessary? Getting more than one quote is ordinary, good practice for any owner, on any job. It should not feel like a betrayal to ask.

That helped, but quotes on paper were not quite enough. My clients needed to hear it from even more people with no stake in the outcome.

Their daughter came to the building with two other voices her parents could actually hear: a retired contractor they trusted, and another contractor who was actively quoting the work. Nobody came to start a fight. They walked the building, looked at the projects, and gave their honest opinions, in plain language, in person.

That visit changed things in a way my warnings never could. It was not one property manager saying, "I think you are being overcharged." It was 5!!! independent tradespeople, standing in the same rooms, looking at the same work, arriving at the same conclusion. My clients could ask them questions directly. They could take their time. The decision stayed theirs.

What the second opinions made clear

Once the same work had been priced and assessed by other people, the pattern was clear — without anyone having to win an argument to prove it.

The contractor my clients had relied on was taking advantage of that reliance. Work they did not need, prices they should not have been paying, and recommendations that served him more than they served the building. Seeing it laid out side by side, from more than one source, is what finally convinced them. Not pressure. Evidence, delivered patiently, by people they could trust.

I am grateful their daughter was part of it. Families see things from a different angle than I do, and in this case her presence said something important: this was not about taking control away from her parents. It was about standing beside them while they looked at the facts for themselves.

The End

The trusted contractor already started the work, he had circumvented my email and the daughter's conversation. He hadn't even provided a quote!

We ended up pressing him for an itemized quote and it was 4 times higher than the next highest quote, of course he's also added a bunch of unnecessary work, and now the walls were ripped out.

No one panicked, we all continued quoting the work and giving more quotes to the owners, finally they agreed… and "Mr. Trustworthy" was asked to stop and remove himself from the job site.

What I would tell any owner — and any family

If you own a small building, especially if you have owned it a long time, please take this part as respectfully as I mean it: getting a second quote is not disloyal. Checking a price is not an insult. The best contractors I know welcome it, because their numbers hold up.

• Get more than one quote for every significant job, even — especially — from the contractor you use most. Compare the scope, not just the bottom line, so you are pricing the same work.

• Ask for the work in writing. What is included, what is not, how long it will take, and what happens if something extra is found. Vague quotes make fair comparison almost impossible.

• Let someone you trust sit in. A son, a daughter, a friend, or a manager who can be there for the walk-through and ask the second question. You do not have to carry these decisions alone, and you are not giving up independence by accepting a second set of eyes.

• Watch for pressure to decide right away. Urgency is a sales tool. Most building work allows time for one more quote and one night to think it over. If you are being rushed, that is information in itself.

• Notice how questions are received. Loyalty goes both ways. A contractor who values your business will answer questions about price and scope calmly, and will not punish you for checking.

• This is not your house, this is a business. You are never going to live there, so using good quality but less expensive tile, or flooring, and sticking to neutral paint colors is where it's at. It has to be clean, it has to work, and it has to be neutral. Bland is great so your tenants can add their own personal touch.

And for families: if you are worried about a parent's building, lead with patience. Bringing in a retired tradesperson your parent respects, or one more independent quote, will do more good than a dozen worried phone calls. People do not change their minds because they lost a debate. They change their minds when they feel respected enough to look again.

You can keep your contractors — and still be protected

At Landlord Rescue, owners can keep their own contractors. I am not here to replace people you trust or to take decisions out of your hands. My job is to help with the tracking, the follow-up, and the prompt notices — and when you need a new contractor, or a second price on a big job, to help you get quotes so you can decide with real options in front of you.

That is what happened here. My clients stayed in charge from start to finish. We just made sure they were deciding with the full picture.

If you have a project coming up and you would like a second set of eyes — or if you are a daughter or son quietly worrying about a parent's building — call me. No pressure, and no obligation to change a thing. Sometimes the most useful thing I can do is help you ask for one more quote, and then step back while you decide.

— Rachelle

Landlord Rescue • Helping small building owners keep control, with support where it helps

Call / Text 416-880-4126 • landlordrescue.ca