When a freak electrical fire caused a portion of the roof to cave in at Agith Ananthagobal’s Scarborough bungalow in January, his family saw a silver lining amid the ashes — the chance for a fresh start in the form of a full home renovation.But five months later, that plan appears to also have gone up in smoke. Ananthagobal says a contractor abandoned the job with about $40,000 of paid work uncompleted — a cautionary tale as the busy summer reno season heats up. “I feel tricked, fooled. I’m embarrassed. It was just really frustrating and upsetting,” Ananthagobal, 22, said. After being contacted by the Star, contractor Jordan Brown, a roofing framer and owner of Toronto-based registered company Modern Square Carpitem, told Ananthagobal he still plans to finish the job.“All we want to do is finish the job that we are 7 days past completion date,” a representative said in an email to the Star, signed Modern Square Carpitem. “There is still a completion balance owed to receive upon completion. The customer is not allowing us to complete the job.” As the eldest of four sons to a single mother, who all lived together in the bungalow, Ananthagobal took it upon himself to find a contractor. His family temporarily relocated to a rental basement apartment and took out a second mortgage on their home for $110,000, under a private loan, to finance the renovation and repair work. Ananthagobal searched Kijiji for a contractor, and got three quotes before hiring Brown. Brown quoted him $86,000 to repair and renovate his home, for a total of $100,000 including tax.Brown had positive reviews on Google, Ananthagobal said. He also took the added measure of calling the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to confirm Brown was registered after hiring him. “He seemed so friendly, so passionate about it. He was even comforting us about our situation,” Ananthagobal said. The two agreed to a contract dated Feb. 20, ...
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