If removing trees from your property is your main objective, then Juan might be your guy. He has all the necessary experience, equipment and man power to take down and remove even the most challenging trees quickly and at a relatively reasonable price for the area.
Unfortunately, we brought him in on a project that went beyond taking down trees. After finding a flyer on our mailbox advertising comprehensive services (tree removal, landscaping, clearing, etc.), we called him to discuss clearing about an acre of woods behind our new house - 8 or more years worth of debris (fallen trees, rotten log piles, barbed wire & glass) that had accumulated while the house sat on the market. We have two young children and was hoping that they could safely explore back there this summer!
After taking a walk through the entire property (that was equally neglected, as a whole), we determined that our best bet was to do a large-scale overhaul in one go - not just the woods. Take down several rotten trees, clean up the spaces around the driveway and house and clear the woods. Juan quoted us what seemed more than fair for the project. $6500. He said he had a big team that could do the work in 2 days and that they could start the following week.
Before we agreed to work with him, I did look at reviews. Most were positive with the exception of one that was very negative. I asked him about this and he said the reviewer was a "crazy lady". I assure you that I am NOT a crazy lady. I'm a mom of young kids that works her ass off in corporate from 8am-6pm every day and still finds time to coach soccer, be a scout leader and co-chair a board at church. $6500 was a stretch for our family, but we felt that it was worth the investment to get our property in top shape.
On day one, the trees came down and there were multiple people working throughout the day around the yard. Seeing that the woods were untouched at the end of day one, we spoke to Juan directly to make sure we were all on the same page about the scope of the project. We felt confident that we were. On day two, the trees were removed from the property and they made more significant progress on clearing the backyard. We weren't there to supervise, but I was told by people who passed the house that no one was even there at various points during the day - so not sure how many hours were actually put in. Long story short, the woods STILL had not been touched at the end of day two. My husband gave Juan $3K (on top of the $3K we had given him at the start) because my husband is a gentleman and saw that the workers were tired and waiting to be paid. Juan told him that they would come back for a third day to deal with the woods. We're not fools, but that decision was obviously foolish.
Despite him saying that he'd be back to finish, the woods are pretty much EXACTLY as they were when we did our initial walk-through. Juan did come back at some point to remove an old coil of barbed wire and a couple rotten log piles, but that really doesn't make much difference. The woods are not safe for our kids - which was our clear #1 priority - and the rest of the spaces (with the exception of the tree clearing) reflect sub-par work and no attention to detail. Please see our photos.
I've run the numbers multiple ways - market price per tree, labor, gas, equipment rental, etc. - and I guess Juan decided that he had done $6K worth of work. Maybe he did by his own business standards, but he did NOT finish the project and it was NOT a "great deal". Luckily, we held back the remaining $500 until the woods were done - or not, as it turned out.
In the end, we're happy about what he did well (trees are gone, back yard is cleared, a few other things) but incredibly disappointed that we'll be spending our precious weekends doing work that he said he would do - and that we paid for. To put it into perspective - especially if you have kids - $6K is a year of preschool or 24 after-school activities or another necessary house project or a much-needed family vacation. The fact that we gave that money to HIM is something that we'll always regret.
Once again, I'm not a crazy lady. I'm also not high-maintenance and don't have unrealistic expectations. We treated Juan with respect and fairness and gave him the benefit of the doubt..... until he screwed us. read more