The original post: /r/amitheasshole by /u/AccomplishedPen1871 on 2025-02-21 04:06:20.
I (40F) hired a carpenter (39M) to replace a basement window and install trims on all the windows in my rental property for a total of $740(I pay for the window). On 2/10, he requested a $350 deposit, which I paid promptly, and he assured me he would start on 2/11. As I also want the entire place painted, I asked him if he could do it and for how much. He claimed to have 10+ years of experience painting. After that, he started suggesting other repairs—replacing the flooring, caulking the bathroom, patching holes, and even painting the bathtub with enamel. He offered to do all of this for $850, provided I bought the flooring.He requested a $650 deposit, which I paid. On 2/11, he did no work because, his wife called, and he needed to go home. I reminded him that we had families scheduled to view on 2/15 and asked if he could meet the deadline. He assured me he would. By 2/13, very little had been done—only the living room and kitchen were supposedly painted, but they already looked fine before, so I couldn’t even tell if they had been repainted. Meanwhile, wallpaper had been peeled off and left scattered on the floor. On 2/14 at 9PM, he texted that he couldn’t finish everything on time because he had prioritized snowblowing for other customers over our project. He promised to show up at 6AM the next day to clean, mop the place, and install the basement window. He also said he would bring a helper but assured me that he would cover the extra cost. At 7AM on 2/15, I called him since I was at the house. He said he overslept but would head over immediately. Then, at 7:26AM, his wife texted me, saying he had fainted and needed to go to the hospital. He never showed up that day or the next.
We gave him another deadline—2/20—and he promised he would finish by then. But on 2/17, he was still absent, so we asked for our $1K back so we could hire someone else. He reassured us he’d be done by 2/20. On 2/18, he told us that he had been evicted and had no money so asked us to buy $340 worth of materials and deduct it from the balance. We agreed just to keep things moving. However, when we arrived at 2:30PM, he still wasn’t there. By 2/19, we reminded him again about the deadline. He said he would finish "a majority" of the work that evening. When I checked on 2/20 at 2PM, the window trims weren’t installed, the floors weren’t done, and nothing else had progressed aside from the painting. He then claimed that his wife had gone through a traumatic experience 2 months ago, and he couldn't leave her alone due to her anxiety. While I sympathize, he never told us this before and had consistently given other excuses. Tonight (2/20, 8 PM), he called my husband (41M) and said we needed to pay him $130 now for paint because his estimate wasn’t enough. He said it was his grocery money. I told him I had no problem covering the $130, but I wanted him to provide the receipt and that I would only pay him once all the work was fully completed. So, AITA?