I make the biggest mistake I've made since I've owned my house in Osterville…read more
I rented my house to John Ryley and his family for the winter.
After they moved in, John called me all worked up and stated that he expected that I would install a new exhaust fan in the master bathroom because "for what he was paying, it was too steamy in the bathroom after multiple showers."
John explained that he could do the work for just under $3,500 (what???) and that if I thought I could get it done for less, then "I didn't know what I was talking about."
He became very aggressive and began threatening me with inspectors, etc.
As a contractor he should have known that with 2 operable windows in the bathroom, all codes were met, but that aside, I offered to have it done for them anyway.
Well, I hired a local electrician and had the fan and electrical work done for.... Wait for it.... $900!
So John's quote of almost $3,500 was not only way out of line, but the fact that he tried to threaten me, the person who was allowing them to stay in his house, shows that he likes to try and intimidate people into working with him. Also, you will see in the screenshots of the texts that he told me that I don't know the market, even though we've owned our home in Osterville for 12+ years.
It would seem that John doesn't know the market and simply adds on the "Osterville tax." That's dishonest to say the least, as there are many wealthy older families that live in Osterville who he probably has gouged because they didn't know any better.
Taking advantage of people is wrong, especially when you are a contractor and people rely on you.
It was after this that I reached out to a few other respected contractors in the area, and when I shared that I was renting our house to John and his family, I was warned by everyone that I told to be careful of him, as he is known to be dishonest and "price gouge."
Not only that, many people shared that they suspected him of having some sort of substance issue, which seems to help explain some of his behavior over the 8 months they were in our home - screaming and threatening the owner (me), as well as workers who came to the house to help.
As I cannot verify the substance issue myself first hand, when I heard it from multiple people who had either worked for him or knew him, it makes sense to me.
If that's how he treated me and people who came to help,
I can only imagine how he treats his workers.
When they finally moved out of our house, they left it in such awful condition that we had to replace the carpet, replace all the towels, have a cleaning service come back again to pull the house apart to clean the mess they left as well as have a variety of things fixed.
Not only would I never recommend Ryley Construction for the fact that John, the owner tried to threaten me into accepting his ridiculous quote, but for also for the complete lack of respect he showed someone who was helping he and his family with a home to live in when they had no other place to go.
Don't just stay away from Ryley Construction, run and run far.