NEEDVILLE, Texas — Dream renovations turned into nightmares for some Fort Bend County families. They say that they hired a contractor but did not get what they paid for.
In Needville, Pedro and Angela Lara found their forever home. In 2021, the Laras said they hired Jose Ramirez and his company, Touch Up Solutions, for a major renovation.
“He said it would be six to eight months,” Angela Lara said.
“It was supposed to be gutted...strip everything. We were going to widen it and make it longer, a complete renovation pretty much,” Pedro Lara said.
The Lara's say at least $50,000 was paid to Ramirez. According to the Touch Up Solutions Facebook page, the roof was replaced. Next, the house was gutted, and the Laras said their home was left in that state unsecured.
“The current condition of it...it’s unlivable,” Pedro Lara said. “We’ve had our furniture stolen, appliances stolen, and the last we heard from our neighbor with a camera, there’s a squatter in our house,” Angela Lara said.
They said their attempts to get their money back have gone nowhere.
“There was always some excuse why there was nobody here working,” says Bennie Freeze who hired Ramirez in October 2023 to redo his primary bedroom, bath and closet.
“He said not a problem, he said we can do it in 14 days,” he said.
More than a year later, Freeze said the work that has been done is a mess.
“The vanity he kept saying was coming, is not here. Back in here where the shower is, they did all this, but there’s wood in the shower,” Freeze said.
He’s currently living elsewhere since the repairs aren’t complete. In the bathroom, live wires are exposed, texture is splattered on the walls, materials are left over and the work is incomplete.
Freeze paid $17,000 in cash for the job, and then months went by.
“I talked to Jose about it, told him what was going on. He said well I can refund you part of your money, but we’ve already done the work. And I was like, well, it’s not finished,” he said.
Freeze, who is a Fort Bend County law enforcement officer, is still waiting on a refund.
Ramirez claims he’s working on solutions, but it leaves these families still dealing with the aftermath.
“It was all false hope. He never delivered,” Angela Lara said. “We expect to hire and for them to do the job and it wasn’t done. We’ve been completely displaced since this whole situation and it’s made a huge impact on our lives."
KHOU 11 News contacted Ramirez, and after more than six weeks of trying to speak with Ramirez for this story, he’s yet to make himself available for an interview.
Freeze filed a small claims lawsuit which is still pending. Court records show Ramirez responded, writing "I also have many attempts where I reach out to him trying to [solve] this...so we could close this job."
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said it is also investigating a complaint filed against Ramirez tied to a similar situation.
At 5:18 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, his attorney sent KHOU 11 News a two-page long letter that reads in part:
"My client, Jose Ramirez is the owner and operator of a remodeling company named Touch Up Solutions with 8 employees. He has been in business for 4 years in the Fort Bend County area with over 200 happy customers over that timeframe. Like any business in the service industry, no company can satisfy every customer, especially those with unrealistic expectations, extremely picky or those who are not realistic about what specific services cost. These isolated 3 complainants are all in those categories...Mr. Ramirez has over 200 satisfied customers and stands by his work."
The Better Business Bureau of Houston has tips on what to do when hiring a contractor. The Harris County Attorney’s Office also has resources on the Do’s and Don’ts of hiring a contractor on its website if you've been the victim of a similar story.