Juan Calixto was referred to us as a general contractor for renovations on our first home with the highest regard by our realtor, whom we trusted. He approached the initial meetings professionally and the prices he quoted were much lower (about half) than the other bids that we got for the job. Unfortunately, it turns out, despite the recommendation, that you get what you pay for. And with him we paid way too much for the horribly poor, and ultimately unfinished, job that he did on pretty much everything.
He presents himself as a contractor but he does not function as one. He was unable to manage relationships with any outside parties (with the exception of the painters) and he made us do all of the work trying to coordinate the multitude of things that needed to get done. Some of the work that was performed was not done consistent with code and had to be redone by the next *real* contractor that we hired. His goal for the project was to get in and get it done - no matter how poorly - as quickly as possible. When we expressed that we were unhappy with how something had turned out or that it wasn't quite right he became rude and difficult to work with - once even just getting in his truck and driving off. Things were left crooked and unfinished. He purchased things that were not what we discussed and then somehow attempted to put the blame on us and left us on the hook for the costs of his mistakes. He did jobs not in the contract and insisted that we pay for them. Worst of all perhaps, he insisted that we pay him in full for everything before the work was actually finished (the contract specified a final payment was due after all work was completed to our satisfaction). And then, of course, we never heard from him again.
We found out the hard way, and on our first home and our first project no less, that you do, in fact, get what you pay for. I had looked for reviews on him when we were weighing our choices and there were none. So I felt the need to share our horror story with others to hopefully spare others from what we went through. read more