str8 up homes

What. A. Nightmare. I only used Angie's List because I thought you only recommend licensed professionals. I’m reporting Sundance Alba, a handyman and framer who works illegally in Eugene, Oregon without a license and expects woman customers to walk on eggshells. It turns out he has a criminal record, which includes forcible entry. After I called him out for his gross sexist and manipulative behavior, he gave a fake apology and—after I left—instead of finishing the job for which I paid him, he packed up his tools and drove off. He returned nearly a week later… not to finish the job but to trespass on my property and take his last tools and a wood stove I’d months ago said he could have (before I knew he was my enemy). For months, he worked on my property at an incredibly slow pace. I used Angi’s List because I thought it only included licensed professionals. I only hired him to close off an opening in the eaves, because a possum was getting into my upstairs crawlspace. Meanwhile, he started caulking around window frames and talking about how my siding and window frames need caulking. In hindsight, I wish I’d said, “I only hired you to close off the possum cave. Finish it and go.” Strangely, his caulking a window frame evolved into... his caulking all the window frames... and all the siding. It took months. In only a week or so his comments made it was obvious he was a straight cis dude who was extremely not a feminist, so I was on my guard to some extent—though not enough. On his first day, he said he talks a lot because he has ADD. Originally he seemed nice (sociopath red flag) and his loquaciousness reminded me of my father. On a Monday morning, October 22, I stepped outside to take out the garbage. As soon as the door opened, Sundance loudly said, “Hi!” I jumped, startled. He was right there on the front porch and wanted to talk, talk, talk. Three weeks previously, he said his phone was broken and needed to be replaced… but instead of replacing it, he stopped texting to let me know he’d just arrived or to let me know why he wasn’t coming today (another job, gout, a cold, rain, etc.). If he arrived at the same time every day, it wouldn’t have been as disturbing. But no, he’d just show up on my property. By then, he’d been on my property for months and I was so sick of his cooties and felt like it wasn’t my home until he'd pack up all his tools and leave permanently. That Monday, he asked me questions about my weekend, which led to his asking what I like to read. I answered haltingly and gave a vague answer: “I read lots of different things.” None of your business. Hello, boundaries. Usually, Sundance liked to talk on and on about himself, such as boasting about his work. (Show, don't tell.) After he’d been working on my property for months, he said he was preparing for a test to get certified. I refrained from saying, “I thought you were already licensed. Otherwise I wouldn’t have used Angie’s List and hired you.” That morning, he tried to manipulate me into getting more specific about my reading. He chuckled and said, “Are you playing hard to get?” I froze. That is a creepy, rapey, and manipulative phrase, as I immediately knew the instant he said it. What are my biggest pet peeves? Sexism/misogyny and manipulation… or misogyny, narcissism, and sociopathy. As is typical, I was too shocked to tell him off immediately. I went inside and processed and wrote about the situation. After a few sleepless nights, I confronted him. He knew I was angry at him but acted like he had no idea why and asked. I said, “You used that creepy, rapey, manipulative phrase ‘playing hard to get’ to try manipulating me into saying things I didn’t feel like saying. Sexism and manipulation are inappropriate and unacceptable under any circumstances.” He played innocent and apologized. The apology turned out to be fake. After I left, he didn’t continue working on my house. Looking around my property later, I figured out he packed his tools (all except a ladder, 2 extension cords, and a pressure washer) and drove off. A friend who had a similar experience with a housepainter predicted he wouldn’t return and finish the job, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. After no-showing for nearly a week, he trespassed on my property just to get the few tools he hadn’t picked up before and to take an old woodstove I had months ago (before I knew he was my enemy) said he could have. Most of the work is done, but I’ve had to touch up his messy paint job. After that predator left, I couldn’t get in and out the front door without pushing hanging electrical cords out of the way. I couldn’t find the clips used to keep them in place, so I used a screw and pulled the electrical cords out of the way of the door. However, there are still many loops of electrical cords all along the front of my house thanks to that parasite. He only halfway painted an upstairs window frame, and he left a large cloth pad on top of a shed roof—and I have acrophobia. Between the window frame, the cloth pad, and the loops of electrical cords, I must hire someone to clean up the mess Sundance Alba left. One of the weird things he’d do is stop working on the siding to do some random job like trimming trees and bushes or cleaning up a shed—probably to make sure he’d be on my property as long as possible. First he claimed it was because he has ADD, then he said it's easier to get around the yard without all the branches in the way, and he claimed branches touching the house can damage siding and shingles. At least twice he said he did such-and-such task (that I didn’t agree to) and wasn’t charging me “because you’re nice to me.” I instinctively felt like his use of that phrase was manipulative and threatening, especially since he badmouthed another customer to me, but I didn’t analyze that phrase until after he trespassed to collect the last of his tools. People on Nextdoor said an unlicensed handyman can’t legally make more than $1,000 from one customer. I added up the many checks I wrote Sundance Alba to $7,539.19. I added up the receipts I have from home improvement stores—because he didn’t have enough money to purchase the materials himself—that adds up to $488.20. He used my politeness and kindness as an invitation to try walking all over me and manipulating me. His sexist microaggressions escalated to the point that I was no longer capable of being polite to him. Because I called him out, he put on an innocent act, gave a fake apology, didn’t finish the work for which I paid him, and trespassed on my property. I now have a padlock on both my front and back gates.