Jane and Dennis Thomas say contractor Michael Baker made a good impression on them when they first approached him to build a bedroom addition onto their rural home in Citrus County through his company Baker Construction & Management, LLC.
They just happened to see the sign on his truck during a visit to Ocala and gave him a call.
The Tomas’ say they did some cursory background checks and didn’t uncover any red flags, so they signed a deal October 10th for Baker to build a $65,920 master bedroom and bathroom addition.
But four months after they handed Baker a $19,776 personal check as a down payment, Baker has yet to pull a permit, pour a foundation, or hammer the first nail on the project.
“There was always one excuse after another,” Jane Thomas tells Eight on Your Side. “I feel as though we’ve been taken advantage of.”
Eight on Your Side discovered Baker has a long history of arrests in nearby Marion County, is not a licensed construction contractor, and used the state license number of family friend Robert Levandowski to persuade the Thomas’ that he is legally qualified to build their bedroom addition.
Levandowski told Eight On Your Side he did not given Baker permission to use his license to “qualify” for the Thomas project under state law, does not perform construction jobs in Citrus County and never heard of Dennis and Jane Thomas until we called with questions about his involvement.
“Needless to say, I’ll be calling him [Baker] on the phone just as soon as I get off the phone with you,” Levandowski said.
Levandowski insists his only working relationship with Baker involves hiring him as a tile setter from time to time for jobs in neighboring Marion County where his business is located.
“He’s a sub,” said Levandowski. “He’s a tile contractor.”
“That’s a shock to us,” said Jane Thomas.
Baker blames the Thomas’ for backing out of the contract they signed with him on October 10th last year. “I don’t know if they have buyer’s remorse or not,” Baker said.
Baker also insists he’s been working diligently to resolve a problem with the blueprints he commissioned for the project.
“I spent seven hours at the permit office just to get everything resolved,” Baker said. “When I went to pull the permits that county [Citrus] had excessive setbacks.”
The Citrus County Building Division tells Eight on Your Side it has no record of Baker visiting that office for any reason at any time.
Even if Baker had gone to the building division to purse the project staffers say he couldn’t legally pull a permit because Baker doesn’t possess a state construction license, or written permission to use someone else’s.
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Levandowski has a valid state license but isn’t registered to do business in Citrus County, which is a local requirement to pull permits there.
Baker now accuses Levandowski of throwing him under the bus by denying involvement in the Thomas’ room addition project.
“Mr. Levandowski was the person who was doing the work itself,” Baker Told Eight on Your Side.
“I’m an officer of that company where I can use that license in any way, shape or form that I like,” Baker said.
Levandowski insists that’s not true. There is no indication in state corporate filings that Baker is an officer of Levandowski’s company, Ridgewood Residential LLC. State records list Levandowski as the sole officer or manager.
Marion County court records do show that Baker has eleven arrests there between 2005 and 2012 for offenses ranging from drunk driving and contempt of court to bad checks, obtaining food with attempt to defraud and disorderly conduct.
Baker also had financial difficulties last year involving the foreclosure of a house in Ocala.
Records show that in July, three months before he signed the contract to build a room addition for the Thomas’, Federal National Mortgage Association bought Baker’s residential property in a foreclosure sale for $226,594.
The Thomas’ insist they never would have done business with Baker if they had known about his personal financial and legal troubles. “No way I would have been interested in him,” said Dennis Thomas.
The Thomas’ have been pestering Baker for a refund since January.
Under the contract terms signed by Baker, the job was supposed to commence on October 10, the same day the contract was signed, and be completed by December 20th.
In an email to the Thomas’ January 28th, Baker writes “Your lack of patience is not a valid reason for being released from a contract either.”
In that same email Baker offered to return $12,000 to the Thomas’ and keep the remaining $8000 they gave him for a down payment.
“That is my final offer to resolve this matter,” Baker wrote in his January 28th email.
The Thomas’ are holding fast to their demand for a complete refund, since they insist they have received nothing of value for their money. “Nothing. Not one thing. Not one iota,” said Dennis Thomas.
Levandowski says he is a longtime family friend of Baker but agrees he needs to pay back all of the Thomas’ down payment. “He needs to give them back their money,” Levandowski tells Eight on Your Side. “I’m a victim, just like the homeowners are.”
So far, Baker is refusing. “They don’t have a valid reason to back out of a contract,” Baker told Eight on Your Side.
The Thomas’ say if Baker doesn’t pay up in full they’ll file a complaint with the Florida Attorney General’s Seniors versus Crime Project or the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
“You get burned once and the next time you would do things differently,” said Jane Thomas. “It’s a growth process.”
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