ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Jervier Cater had big plans to renovate his West Atlanta home near historic Collier Heights, but for more than a month, he lived in a shed.
“Coming home, home for the night,” Cater said on a selfie video as he settled down one evening.
Cater wakes up every morning to a construction renovation nightmare. There is literally no roof over his head. The shingles, decking, and rafters are gone. In May, a construction crew demolished the roof but abandoned the job when they found out they weren’t getting paid.
Cater blames his contractor Clinton Garibaldi, the owner of Garibaldi Property Management and Construction. Garibaldi claimed he didn’t hire the demolition crew and instead was blaming his client.
Cater disputes the claim and says Garibaldi left a disaster. Almost daily rains after crews removed the roof ruined everything inside the house. The damage forced Cater to move into his backyard shed.
Cater thought he’d done his homework. He interviewed several contractors and checked their business licenses. He hired Garibaldi to build an addition for a larger kitchen, build a new roof, and demolish the existing kitchen. Garibaldi provided a contract along with designs. Cater paid $55,000 but said the work repeatedly failed inspections.
[1:33 PM] Bailey Williams
Garibaldi has a business license but not a residential contractor’s license, as required by Georgia law. Garibaldi said he used another licensed contractor, Armada Construction Group, to get permit approval from the city of Atlanta’s office of zoning and development.
Garibaldi said he would return $12,000 to Cater. But Cater has yet to receive that money, and Garibaldi has since disconnected his phone.
Cater has enough savings to move forward. He hired a licensed contractor to rebuild his home from the roof down. He has since moved back into the house from the shed but says he still has a long way to go.
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