A deck with a hot tub, covered by dark wooden roofing sounds like a nice addition to make to a backyard to most people. Lula Booker thought so too. She even went as far to add a new floor in her attic and throw in some crown molding.

After hiring a contractor, several piles of red brick, planks of wood and the fiberglass shell of a would-be hot tub tilt against Booker's fence. The work was never completed despite Booker having paid contactor Greg Alexander of Alexander Repairs $8,200 of $10,800, the amount she agreed to pay him for a projects on her Corinth home.

The work began in April and still has not been completed. Booker also spent about $5,250 separately for the materials. Much of what she paid Alexander was given before the project was completed and some in cash, she said.

"I did it in good faith and I did it all wrong," Booker said.

According to Booker, he installed floors in their attic and built a cover for the backyard deck, but he didn't put in the actual brick deck itself, install fans on the ceiling or run electricity. He also did no put light posts he took down back or put the gutters he removed back on the house.

Booker said Alexander began asking for more and more money up front mid-project, saying he needed it for rent to a place he was moving in. When she wouldn't comply he began accusing her of not caring about him and his family's needs.

He then began asking for more money based off hourly wages, citing to Booker the amount of time he'd been on the project. The two agreed to a flat rate which some of was paid upfront, she said.

"If you wanted to be paid by hours, why did I give you that money?" she asked. "It really kind of shocked me," Booker said. "I could not believe it. Had I known how he could have thought he was working for free when he got $8,200. I don't get that."

After Booker inquired whether or not Alexander had gotten a permit for the project, he began moving his equipment out slowly, with a different excuse each time he came to pick up items. He told her he had a permit and would show it to her, she said.

According to officials at the city of Corinth, he had no permit.

Alexander could not be reached for comment.

Mark Hardin, a building official with the city of Corinth, has received multiple calls from residents complaining of home contract deals gone wrong.

"The citizens have been ripped off and they called the city asking if there's anything we can do anything for them," Hardin said.

Scam contractors often will take people's money for work they don't do correctly, complete, or do at all.

Many times they are unlicensed and don't go through the legal means of obtaining a permit to do the work they were contracted for.

"If someone comes in and pours the concrete and gets money for the next stage, it's not much of an incentive to come back," he said. "When they get a permit from the city, they check to see if they're licensed with the Texas Residential Construction Commission in Austin."

This offers the consumer a basic level of protection from being taken advantage of. When someone has a license, the TRCC can mediate or not renew the license. Many people are unaware of this, Hardin said.

According to representatives at the TRCC, there was no Greg Alexander registered with the organization. Representatives with the Secretary of the State of Texas also said there was no business with the name of Alexander Repair in its business database.

[HOT: Checking with the TRCC to see if the contractor was registered would have added little protection since anyone can register as a builder/contractor. All they need is to be 18 years old, authorized to work in the U.S., and be "trustworthy." Unlike professional licening programs, there was no test to make sure they were competent, and they weren't required to carry insurance. Besides, the TRCC only registered about 23,000 builders, even though the Texas Association of Builders counts some 45,000 in the state.]

"I'm trying to educate citizens," Hardin said. "If they get their permits, get their inspections, it's to their benefit. Do not pay people until you see the green tag from the inspection department."

A green tag shows that the city has inspected the project and that it meets city requirements.

"When times get tight there are probably more of these types of individuals that come into town," he said. "In order to get a permit you have to be a licensed contractor thorough the state. We check that out and verify that."

[HOT: We hear that a lot, but the state DOES NOT LICENSE builders and never has. Hardin is right in saying that contractors have been flooding into Texas, but it's because we have a supply of cheap labor and land and no accountability.]

In Booker's case the man didn't have a permit or called for inspections, Hardin said.

In order to protect themselves homeowners should ask the contractor to show them a green tag from the city which signifies it has been inspected by the city and that the project was done properly.

"The home owner needs to say, 'where is your permit?'" Hardin said. "Let me see your permit."

 By Anthony Scott, Staff Writer, The Lake Cities Sun, 07/09/2009
Source: http://www.lakecities.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=86&ArticleID=4433&TM=43316.42