Pavilion Park Homeowners: Beware of Tom Gonzales (Landscaper)

gasman

New member
Hi y'all, I'm writing to all the Pavilion Park homeowners on this board, to warn you of a potential hazard.  There's a guy named Tom Gonzales, who I had the unfortunate luck of doing business with about 5 years ago.  He offers landscape construction services, and has screwed at least 6 homes in the Columbus Square neighborhood (that I know of), including mine.  I just got a call from a Whistler homeowner this evening, and he was approached by Tom Gonzales to bid on his yard project.  This has opened up a lot of old wounds (financial and emotional), and I feel compelled to notify those who might come into contact with him.

Tom Gonzales abandoned our project after I called him out on cutting corners on our construction.  Some of these shortcuts included:

- mixing a significant amount of existing ground dirt with cement mix (it's cheaper than excavating and disposing...)
- no rebar in concrete
- concrete footings for walls were only 2" deep in some places
- no water barriers on planters
- extending off existing electrical circuits to power all outside electrical (not even close to sufficient)
- insufficient gas pressure to power appliances (city inspector said it fell short by 40%)
- improper grading
- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WAS DONE TO CODE! (I have suspicions on how he was able to get signatures from city inspectors, but I have no proof...)

There were tons of other issues, but I'll spare you the details.  Other homes in our neighborhood have had similar issues, and as I pass by some of those homes, I see:

- cracking tiles due to poorly poured concrete foundations
- flagstone cracking and/or separating due to poor masonry
- stone veneers falling off walls
- patio structures leaning

Tom Gonzales talks a big game, but fails to deliver on all points.  Some other pieces of information I was able to dig up from public records:

- Tom had a landscaping license in Chula Vista, but it was revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom used his daughter Vanessa to obtain a license in Orange County under the name "New Season Landscape Construction", but it was also revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom's bond had no fewer than 6 claims against it prior to his last license being revoked
- Tom's current license is listed under "Coastal License & Maintenance", Lic #606446.  This license was originally issued in 1990, and was REVOKED due to complaints & lawsuits.  He got it re-issued somehow on April 2014.

What Tom Gonzales does is a CRIME!!!!  We had to resort to lawsuits to recover some of our funds, but we still lost a ton of money.  Others in our neighborhood fared a lot worse.

I will be writing to the Pavilion Park HOA to warn them of his history.  Tom Gonzales has absolutely no business being in your neighborhood, and I ask that everyone do their due diligence when selecting a landscaper (or any contractor for that matter).  There are a lot of trustworthy, hard-working professionals out there, and guys like Tom Gonzales do so much damage to the reputation of other professionals, and homeowners alike.

I don't make it a habit to do stuff like this, but nobody, NOBODY, should go through what we went through with Tom Gonzales.  Please, PLEASE, be careful and don't fall victim to his criminal activities.

Sorry for the rant, and I apologize for imposing this on everyone on this board, but this was the only way I knew of reaching out to PP homeowners.  I appreciate your time.
 
Thanks for the heads up... I know a couple PP homeowners who moved in this week and I'll pass this along.

At the last HOA meeting people were complaining about landscapers taking thousands of dollars and bailing out on them - felt terrible for them and there's not much they can do it seems.
 
New developments are prime targets for these scam artists.  HOA has always taken a hands off approach to resolving these issues.  They will always respond with "you should do your due diligence with the CSLB", etc.  Unfortunately, the CSLB data is completely bare of anything meaningful, and doesn't give you any actionable information until it's too late.

Thanks for spreading the word.
 

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qwerty said:
What is the HOA supposed to do?

They can stop approving plans from contractors who are known problems based on complaints.  At the very least, they can notify homeowners that there have been complaints on the contractor they are planning to hire, and give the homeowners a fighting chance to make a more informed decision.  Columbus Square HOA approved a ton of plans from Tom even after multiple homeowners reported issues with him.

I'm not saying it's the HOA's responsibility to hold every homeowner's hands, but there should be some level of social responsibility to share information if it's credible, and if it can be potentially harmful.  In our case, it was financially and emotionally harmful, and it was our mistake.  I don't blame the HOA for our mistake.  I do, however, feel that the HOA could have prevented the same harm to other homeowners who got targeted after us.
 
gasman said:
Hi y'all, I'm writing to all the Pavilion Park homeowners on this board, to warn you of a potential hazard.  There's a guy named Tom Gonzales, who I had the unfortunate luck of doing business with about 5 years ago.  He offers landscape construction services, and has screwed at least 6 homes in the Columbus Square neighborhood (that I know of), including mine.  I just got a call from a Whistler homeowner this evening, and he was approached by Tom Gonzales to bid on his yard project.  This has opened up a lot of old wounds (financial and emotional), and I feel compelled to notify those who might come into contact with him.

Tom Gonzales abandoned our project after I called him out on cutting corners on our construction.  Some of these shortcuts included:

- mixing a significant amount of existing ground dirt with cement mix (it's cheaper than excavating and disposing...)
- no rebar in concrete
- concrete footings for walls were only 2" deep in some places
- no water barriers on planters
- extending off existing electrical circuits to power all outside electrical (not even close to sufficient)
- insufficient gas pressure to power appliances (city inspector said it fell short by 40%)
- improper grading
- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WAS DONE TO CODE! (I have suspicions on how he was able to get signatures from city inspectors, but I have no proof...)

There were tons of other issues, but I'll spare you the details.  Other homes in our neighborhood have had similar issues, and as I pass by some of those homes, I see:

- cracking tiles due to poorly poured concrete foundations
- flagstone cracking and/or separating due to poor masonry
- stone veneers falling off walls
- patio structures leaning

Tom Gonzales talks a big game, but fails to deliver on all points.  Some other pieces of information I was able to dig up from public records:

- Tom had a landscaping license in Chula Vista, but it was revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom used his daughter Vanessa to obtain a license in Orange County under the name "New Season Landscape Construction", but it was also revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom's bond had no fewer than 6 claims against it prior to his last license being revoked
- Tom's current license is listed under "Coastal License & Maintenance", Lic #606446.  This license was originally issued in 1990, and was REVOKED due to complaints & lawsuits.  He got it re-issued somehow on April 2014.

What Tom Gonzales does is a CRIME!!!!  We had to resort to lawsuits to recover some of our funds, but we still lost a ton of money.  Others in our neighborhood fared a lot worse.

I will be writing to the Pavilion Park HOA to warn them of his history.  Tom Gonzales has absolutely no business being in your neighborhood, and I ask that everyone do their due diligence when selecting a landscaper (or any contractor for that matter).  There are a lot of trustworthy, hard-working professionals out there, and guys like Tom Gonzales do so much damage to the reputation of other professionals, and homeowners alike.

I don't make it a habit to do stuff like this, but nobody, NOBODY, should go through what we went through with Tom Gonzales.  Please, PLEASE, be careful and don't fall victim to his criminal activities.

Sorry for the rant, and I apologize for imposing this on everyone on this board, but this was the only way I knew of reaching out to PP homeowners.  I appreciate your time.

Did you ever file a report with the BBB or state contractor's board?
 
Thanks Gasman. I think you are doing a great deed to the new home owners over all. There are too much scam artists that are out there to make a quick steal. I've personally have the same lost  situation 14 years ago when we first purchase our new home.

The biggest RED FLAG is when you compare several quotes for the jobs and when the one that is way lower, keep a tight tab on it and dig for dings and fraud like sites for those guys. Chances are they will be on it.

Buying a new home is exciting and guys like TOM just kill it for homeowner and honest hard working contractor out there. So do your search and never give them a dime in cash.
 
Ready2Downsize said:
Did you ever file a report with the BBB or state contractor's board?

Absolutely.  I filed a BBB report, a CSLB report, a bond claim (which does nothing), a police report, a complaint to the city of Tustin Community Development Dept, an HOA grievance, a lawsuit, and several bank claims.

It was absolutely dreadful.

And this guy is still in business...
 
gasman said:
qwerty said:
What is the HOA supposed to do?

They can stop approving plans from contractors who are known problems based on complaints.  At the very least, they can notify homeowners that there have been complaints on the contractor they are planning to hire, and give the homeowners a fighting chance to make a more informed decision.  Columbus Square HOA approved a ton of plans from Tom even after multiple homeowners reported issues with him.

I'm not saying it's the HOA's responsibility to hold every homeowner's hands, but there should be some level of social responsibility to share information if it's credible, and if it can be potentially harmful.  In our case, it was financially and emotionally harmful, and it was our mistake.  I don't blame the HOA for our mistake.  I do, however, feel that the HOA could have prevented the same harm to other homeowners who got targeted after us.

The HOA is not responsible for the contractors actions.
 
The problem with having the HOA involved is that they didn't experience the issues firsthand so it would fall into hearsay, even with evidence presented by a homeowner.

If they were to officially issue some type of warning or dissuasive notice, that would put them in a position of liability where a party can sue them for slander/libel.

In today's litigious environment, I don't blame an HOA for not wanting to get involved in this type of situation.
 
eyephone said:
gasman said:
qwerty said:
What is the HOA supposed to do?

They can stop approving plans from contractors who are known problems based on complaints.  At the very least, they can notify homeowners that there have been complaints on the contractor they are planning to hire, and give the homeowners a fighting chance to make a more informed decision.  Columbus Square HOA approved a ton of plans from Tom even after multiple homeowners reported issues with him.

I'm not saying it's the HOA's responsibility to hold every homeowner's hands, but there should be some level of social responsibility to share information if it's credible, and if it can be potentially harmful.  In our case, it was financially and emotionally harmful, and it was our mistake.  I don't blame the HOA for our mistake.  I do, however, feel that the HOA could have prevented the same harm to other homeowners who got targeted after us.

The HOA is not responsible for the contractors actions.

I'm sorry you feel that way.
 
gasman said:
eyephone said:
gasman said:
qwerty said:
What is the HOA supposed to do?

They can stop approving plans from contractors who are known problems based on complaints.  At the very least, they can notify homeowners that there have been complaints on the contractor they are planning to hire, and give the homeowners a fighting chance to make a more informed decision.  Columbus Square HOA approved a ton of plans from Tom even after multiple homeowners reported issues with him.

I'm not saying it's the HOA's responsibility to hold every homeowner's hands, but there should be some level of social responsibility to share information if it's credible, and if it can be potentially harmful.  In our case, it was financially and emotionally harmful, and it was our mistake.  I don't blame the HOA for our mistake.  I do, however, feel that the HOA could have prevented the same harm to other homeowners who got targeted after us.

The HOA is not responsible for the contractors actions.

I'm sorry you feel that way.

Please read IHO post above.
 
I agree that the HOA shouldn't get involved but it should offer an online forum or other form of communication to allow homeowners to warn fellow homeowners in the neighborhood. Some HOAs have that. Some do not.
 
Even more reason why forums like this are important.  I have a social responsibility to inform people about the potential hazards of working with this guy.  Consider this a public service announcement.  Screw the HOA.
 
gasman said:
Hi y'all, I'm writing to all the Pavilion Park homeowners on this board, to warn you of a potential hazard.  There's a guy named Tom Gonzales, who I had the unfortunate luck of doing business with about 5 years ago.  He offers landscape construction services, and has screwed at least 6 homes in the Columbus Square neighborhood (that I know of), including mine.  I just got a call from a Whistler homeowner this evening, and he was approached by Tom Gonzales to bid on his yard project.  This has opened up a lot of old wounds (financial and emotional), and I feel compelled to notify those who might come into contact with him.

Tom Gonzales abandoned our project after I called him out on cutting corners on our construction.  Some of these shortcuts included:

- mixing a significant amount of existing ground dirt with cement mix (it's cheaper than excavating and disposing...)
- no rebar in concrete
- concrete footings for walls were only 2" deep in some places
- no water barriers on planters
- extending off existing electrical circuits to power all outside electrical (not even close to sufficient)
- insufficient gas pressure to power appliances (city inspector said it fell short by 40%)
- improper grading
- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WAS DONE TO CODE! (I have suspicions on how he was able to get signatures from city inspectors, but I have no proof...)

There were tons of other issues, but I'll spare you the details.  Other homes in our neighborhood have had similar issues, and as I pass by some of those homes, I see:

- cracking tiles due to poorly poured concrete foundations
- flagstone cracking and/or separating due to poor masonry
- stone veneers falling off walls
- patio structures leaning

Tom Gonzales talks a big game, but fails to deliver on all points.  Some other pieces of information I was able to dig up from public records:

- Tom had a landscaping license in Chula Vista, but it was revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom used his daughter Vanessa to obtain a license in Orange County under the name "New Season Landscape Construction", but it was also revoked due to consumer complaints and lawsuits
- Tom's bond had no fewer than 6 claims against it prior to his last license being revoked
- Tom's current license is listed under "Coastal License & Maintenance", Lic #606446.  This license was originally issued in 1990, and was REVOKED due to complaints & lawsuits.  He got it re-issued somehow on April 2014.

What Tom Gonzales does is a CRIME!!!!  We had to resort to lawsuits to recover some of our funds, but we still lost a ton of money.  Others in our neighborhood fared a lot worse.

I will be writing to the Pavilion Park HOA to warn them of his history.  Tom Gonzales has absolutely no business being in your neighborhood, and I ask that everyone do their due diligence when selecting a landscaper (or any contractor for that matter).  There are a lot of trustworthy, hard-working professionals out there, and guys like Tom Gonzales do so much damage to the reputation of other professionals, and homeowners alike.

I don't make it a habit to do stuff like this, but nobody, NOBODY, should go through what we went through with Tom Gonzales.  Please, PLEASE, be careful and don't fall victim to his criminal activities.

Sorry for the rant, and I apologize for imposing this on everyone on this board, but this was the only way I knew of reaching out to PP homeowners.  I appreciate your time.

FYI - If your statements aren't true it's considered defamatory.
 
I filed a claim with the contractors board regarding our landscaper. Basically he started jobs (lots) and then went to other jobs and kept us hanging......... not finishing the job, just lots of promises. I finally told him I'd file a claim and he laughed at me. Gave him yet another chance and nothing.

The person who came out got him to finish the job all right. I made the comment that I'm surprised he's still in business and he said he was too! LOL!

Well............. a couple years later he went under and this was housing was selling well and there were plenty of jobs to be had.

Not sure what happened to the people who didn't file a claim. ALOT of other homeowners came by and asked how I got the job finished and I told them and they said.......... oh I don't want to get him in trouble! Well my job got done. Any trouble was his own doing.
 
Not to throw too much gasoline onto the fire, but the HOA.... is you. HOA board members are elected, so if you want to change things, run. The meetings held to go over these problems aren't well attended and often drift into obscurity after a few months. It's unfortunate that home owners don't get actively involved, given the $$$ they pay every month. As well some board members should be re-titled "bored" members since they aren't of an activist bent when they should be. There's no harm in creating a forum like TI for each HOA, with home owners posting their recommended vendors. Unfortunately most HOA's do not take that step. If they did, issues like bad contractors could be avoided.

Become a participating HOA attender or run for a seat to get things shaped up in the community. If not, expect your owners complaints to fall on deaf ears.
 
I just saw a show on this last night.. with Adam Corollo. To Capture a constractor or something.

Anyway.. I would go straight to this board and go with the recommedations. 
 
Some samples of Tom's work (aka Coastal Landscape), all in Columbus Square:

CRACKING TILE
tile1_1.JPG
tile2_1.JPG


VENEER FALLING OFF
veneer1_1.JPG
veneer3_1.JPG


And some examples of his work on my yard:

Retaining wall not level & cracking due to insufficient footings & no rebar support:
yard1_1.JPG


Planter wall with no water barrier & an inoperable sprinkler location:
yard3_1.JPG


Concrete slab for flagstone install, less than 2" deep in some areas, no rebar support, and lots of yard dirt thrown in with concrete mix:
yard2_1.JPG


Concrete slab after demo (with new landscaper, 4 years later):
yard4_1.JPG


This is by no means a comprehensive list of issues we had...it's only a VERY small sampling.  I have a 47 page document that was submitted to the CSLB, city of Tustin, & the Tustin PD, with a detailed breakdown of my complaints.  Like I mentioned before, NOTHING was done to code, including electrical, ABS (sewer), gas, plumbing, or hardscape.  Tom began to abandon our project about 25% in, where he would only show up once/week, and we fired him shortly after that, once we had our legal preparations made.

Again, I'm only sharing this to help prevent it from happening to another homeowner.  If this info doesn't apply to you, then you are obviously not my target audience.  Thanks to those of you who are spreading the word and helping to keep this guy out of PP.
 
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