‘Isn’t normal’: Contractor charged after delayed, botched home renovations

RANLO, N.C. — One Ranlo woman says she’s experienced a roller coaster of emotions since hiring a contractor to help complete her home renovations.

Kaitlyn McAndrew hired Chad Brezeale to add an extra bedroom and a bathroom to her home. She says it’s to make room for a growing family, but when her contractor began delaying work due to a slew of apparent excuses, she grew frustrated.

“He had a hole in his ear, needed to go to dinner with his girlfriend, his family was in town for his birthday, locked his keys in his car, spider bite,” McAndrew said.

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He would go weeks without doing anything, and when he finally did, she said the work was so bad she was able to move bricks by hand that were meant to be mortared and had a hole in the floor for weeks.

“That’s when we began to worry because we’re like, ‘this isn’t normal, like you would at least be in contact or let us know when you’re coming,’” McAndrew said.

She says she called police and complained multiple times. Brezeale was arrested and charged with obtaining property by false pretense. McAndrews says the situation cost her $19,000.

According to court records, this is not the only time Brezeale has faced charges. Another set of charges claims he took $5,000 from a man after promising to fix his roof.

McAndrew says she now has a new contractor to do the job right, and she’s hoping to get her money back in court, especially since she says she now has to pay a new contractor not only to do the work but also to fix the mess left behind by Brezeale.

Regardless, she says she isn’t leaving her home.

“We were on the fence of moving or adding on, but we were like, ‘no, this is our home. We got married here, we had our first child here, we’re not leaving.’”

Channel 9 reached out Ranlo Police about the situation. They said they won’t comment while the investigation is ongoing.

No matter what contractor you’re thinking of hiring, Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke says try not to pay more than a third up front and research the owner’s name, not just the business name.

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