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Unfinished homes leave homeowners at odds with contractor

The Collins and Klingenbjergs both hired Schwalb Builders to work on their homes. Now, they're both out the money they paid with nothing to show for it.

DENVER — Handing over large amounts of money for goods and services takes trust. 

Trust, that you will get something in return. 

“We are out $260,000, plus our current expenses,” said Denver homeowner Noelle Collins. 

“I think there was no intention, from ‘Day One,’ to do our house,” Her husband Kevin added. 

The Collinses hired a contractor to get and remodel their Denver home built in 1951. 

“We thought, well, why don't we just remodel the inside, make it really nice and modern. Get the nice things that we like,” Kevin Collins said. 

Before it was their home, it was Kevin’s mom’s. 

“I would leave it the way it was. Old. Small bathroom and small closets. Yeah, I'd give anything to have that back,” Collins said. 

The inside is now unfinished. 

There is a new bathroom built on the main level, and another bathroom somewhat remodeled on the bottom floor. That bottom floor has a couple of doors that were cut at the bottom to fit the door frame. They look like funhouse doors. 

“Things were done incorrectly. Electricity looks bad. The sheet rock doesn't look to be the right size. Incorrect installation,” Kevin Collins said. 

“We wish we weren't out the $14,500. but we've started to make peace with that. And the further we've come in this process, we're understanding that we probably got off lucky,” Jefferson County homeowner Patty Klingenbjerg said. 

At her Jefferson County home, Klingenbjerg wanted to expand a portion of her basement out into her backyard to be a complete rectangle on the inside. 

“Down where that wall is up, to the corner of this wall was supposed to be pushed out to match the rest of the basement and create more room for our child's play place,” Klingenbjerg said. 

After putting down a deposit, they discovered problems. 

“We recognized pretty quickly after we got the first set of plans that it didn't actually match what we wanted from the project, that the measurements just didn't line up,” Klingenbjerg said. “We walked it with a measuring tape, my husband and I, and the walls just didn't match. And that raised some concerns for us. And we asked him to revise the plans. He did. They still didn't match up.” 

What Klingenbjerg and the Collinses have in common is their contractor. 

"Schwalb Builders,” said Klingenbjerg. 

"Schwalb Builders,” said Kevin Collins. 

Schwalb Builders is run by Sean Schwalb, who answered a cell phone twice on Thursday, but hung up when reached by 9NEWS. 

“In spite of us asking weekly, ‘Where do we stand with the project? Where do we stand with the project?’ Suddenly, it was radio silence,” Klingenbjerg said. 

Klingenbjerg, in Jefferson County, and the Collinses, in Denver, are not alone. 

A court case in Arapahoe County from Oct. 2023 showed that a Centennial homeowner paid a $48,760 deposit with Schwalb Builders and did not have work completed. The homeowner sued and a judge awarded the homeowner $146,280, three times the deposit plus attorney fees. 

“Once we moved in nonetheless, a day later, I just realized they're not coming back. They're not coming back,” Kevin Collins said. 

Yeah, the Collinses moved back into their home in October, when their apartment lease expired. They moved back with exposed wires, an unfinished home and no heat. 

“We are at 32 degrees,” Noelle Collins said while looking at the thermostat. 

They expected work to be finished around them but were told to move out when the home was deemed too dangerous. 

“This house has been deemed inhabitable and unsafe to live in, due to the electrical work that was done. And the structural work that was done,” Kevin Collins said. 

“That should have been done,” Noelle Collins said. 

“If I was watching this story on the news, and this is why it's hard for me to do this, I'm the kind of person that would be like, ‘Wow, that sucks for those individuals.’ And then the next thought would be, ‘Who would be so stupid to be taken advantage of in this way?’ And that's why that bothers me,” Kevin Collins said. 

The families who spoke with 9NEWS said there were no red flags ahead of hiring the company, and that they considered several contractors. 

“We felt like Schwalb was most responsive based on every time we would have a question, it would get answered right away than some of the other companies,” Kevin Collins said. “They weren't the cheapest, but they were right in the middle. And he seemed very enthusiastic about taking on the project.” 

“We had multiple bids, and so it wasn't too far off-base with what other bids we had received,” Klingenbjerg said. 

Unlike the Collinses, the Klingenbjergs did not have any work done. They are out an expanded child’s play place and $14,500. 

“Other people are out far more money than we are. And thankfully, our house is still structurally intact,” Klingenbjerg said. “We would love to have a portion of our money back, whatever is fairly owed to us. We're not trying to get everything back. But to this point, we haven't been shown any accounting of where our money has gone, or what it's being used for.” 

When does a contract dispute become something more? 

“It turns out that the contract was actually quite vague and didn't have any timelines on it. So, while we feel it was a breach of contract that they took so long to even submit our plans, there was nothing strictly outlined within the contract that is able to protect us,” Klingenbjerg said. “The contract outlined very specifically what the company would do for us but had no clauses whatsoever if they didn't meet expectations.” 

Colorado has a state law known as the Construction Trust Fund. 

Any money paid to a contractor is restricted for work related to that project. If it is used for something else, it can be considered a crime. 

Have a tip for Marshall Zelinger? Email him at marshall@9news.com 

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