MJ HOME IMPROVEMENTS INC

Where to begin? The guy aggressively pursued the work, and as he was a neighbor, I wanted to help him out. I figured he was local, so there would be no excuses about finding the place, etc.; he could walk to my house. Let's start with money up front, then not showing up to start the work until a week later. When the work finally started, he and a partner were on the roof and inside the house. At least one of them smelled like alcohol, and reeked of cigarette smoke. He would not stop talking. I know more about this guy's personal life than I ever needed to. His commentary about the work done by the company that installed my gutters--which he said was the cause of the problem--was racist, and unprofessional. He showed up without a LADDER and without the items he needed for the job, like wood and sufficient sheetrock. Then the excuses began. His business partner died. Then his uncle died and he had to be away. When he "got back", we made another date to continue the work. He was a no-show. His girlfriend called in the early afternoon with some story about how their cat ate tinsel from the Christmas tree and had to be put to sleep. Boo hoo--I'm a pet owner and an animal lover, but seriously? Then not a week later, he goes missing. No call. I wait all day, and NOTHING, not even from the girlfriend. Turns out the guy is hospitalized. Again, I'm not unsympathetic, but NO CALL? Unprofessional in the extreme. A week or two later--we're now MONTHS into a week-long project--he returns to work and pops his stitches, which sends him back to the hospital for a month. His work was messy--I'm still finding places where the plaster he put up was wiped up but not quite wiped clean (including the glass-fronted doors of cabinets near the repair). I finally paid a friend's husband $500 to finish the job. The ceiling looks good, it doesn't leak, and I am over this guy. Or so I think. Wouldn't you know that a month later, as I'm getting my house in order for a sale, he skids into my driveway while I'm outside, and asks when he can finish the job (with a whole story about why he wasn't able to even call)?! And to pick up his tools, which he left at the house (and are rightfully his). AND angling for more work. Are you kidding me, dude? The quality of his work remains to be seen; it hasn't leaked yet.