Disclaimer before my review:
All security systems have been…read moreupgraded, monitored and recorded 24/7 as a result of my experience working with this team. If anything happens to me, a tenant, or any pets on the property, the police will be contacted again.
Hiring Girl Flip Construction with Erica Anenberg for my ADU project was the worst decisions I have ever made in my life!
What started as a project with a contract value of roughly $95k and a contingency allowance (Max 114k) eventually ballooned to nearly $150k. By the time taxes, penalties, corrective work, and related expenses were accounted for, the total financial impact was substantially higher.
When I attempted to rein her spending, I was repeatedly told the company was losing money on the project and was pressured to approve additional costs. I'm not a contractor but it seems to me... if you're always "in the red" then you either wrote up a bad estimate because you're incompetent or you lied about the estimate from the beginning... or both.
At one point I was even encouraged to take out a credit card to cover more than $20k! I ultimately had to liquidate my retirement funds and incurred significant penalties and tax consequences.
Throughout the project, her mistakes routinely became additional costs for ME instead of being acknowledged and corrected.
Examples included:
* Not building to the plans! Everything is off SIGNIFICANTLY
* A closet rebuilt too shallow to accommodate standard clothing hangers!
* Exterior lighting fixtures not wired into ANYTHING until I repeatedly pushed back.
* A major electrical line serving my main house being canceled, leaving portions of my living room without working lights and outlets for 4 months!
* BRAND NEW HVAC that ultimately required complete correction after 23 days use by third-party professionals (almost $5k to repair).
* Multiple construction and planning mistakes
As problems accumulated, communication became VERY difficult. There were repeated disputes over payments, billing, lack of responsibility, and major guilt trips.
Eventually I formally prohibited Erica from the property after multiple aggressive incidents, including entering portions of my residence that were not under construction and without permission. Less than two weeks later, she returned anyway, refusing to leave and told me:
"Just let me be here for 30 minutes or else I'll put a lien on your house."
That statement is documented. She only left once I called the police.
Near the end of the project, she sent a release containing a non-disparagement clause and broad waivers of future claims despite unresolved issues with the work to sign. I declined.
Why in the world would I agree to waive my right to discuss my experience or release future claims related to defective work?
Because of the severity of the issues, I filed a complaint with CSLB. Their investigation found reason to send us to arbitration. The arbitration itself was surreal. I've never seen a party so unprepared for a case involving this much documentation and evidence.
At the hearing, they claimed I somehow owed THEM $1,400 because I hired an HVAC company to repair the AC I had already paid them $6k to install and destroyed. When asked to explain the number, they could not.
The day before arbitration, they also demanded $3,500 in "expert consultant fees" despite arbitration documents stating EVERYWHERE those costs were not recoverable. Their expert had no involvement with the project at all yet attempted to testify (under oath btw) about conversations he claimed occurred. The arbitrator quickly shut that down.
The arbitration hearing was brutal yet satisfying.
Their main defense was that I am a horrible person.
The arbitrator found substandard workmanship and improperly charged change orders and ordered them to pay me back nearly $13,000. Amazingly, Erica tried to get me to fill out a W-9 before sending me my money back!! Um... WHAT?!
I confirmed with both the CSLB and arbitration company that it was unheard of. This was not a payment for services, Erica -- it was a refund for bad work and improper charges. I did not fill out anything.
I was also uncomfortable seeing time and energy devoted to social media content during a project that was already experiencing significant delays, cost overruns, workmanship disputes, and unresolved issues. As a customer dealing with those problems in real time, it was frustrating to watch.
If you are considering hiring this company:
* DON'T!! Hire literally anyone else
* Save every text and email.
* Review every invoice carefully.
* Document EVERYTHING.
* Be extremely cautious about change orders.
* Install surveillance cameras.
She'll claim all of this was all personal - dealing with her personality was truly awful but, the CSLB and Arbitration company found my complaints to be credible.
Several times she has tried to get my reviews taken down - nope!
Still credible. I have receipts for all of this.
How is she licensed?!