C&O Services Inc.

We used C&O for a 203k renovation project in 2022. I’m writing this now because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just acting on anger. Working with C&O was frankly, Awful. Our HUD consultant was ALSO bad and made the entire experience significantly worse, but in the end doesn’t change C&O's performance. These are some examples I can fit in the review limit.

By contract the project was supposed to be move-in ready in 3 months and complete at 6 months. It took them 6 months to get it “move in ready” (which it wasn’t) and nearly 9 months to complete overall. This cost us thousands of dollars out of pocket in rent because we couldn’t move in. What’s frustrating; there were periods of time in the project where 3-4 weeks would go by with NO work done. Tools and materials were just sitting there for weeks unmoved. I visited weekly and have pictures to prove this.

Their work sequencing and subcontractor scheduling was bad. They often had to do the same work 2-3 times because they would, say, finish drywall patching before completing a required plumbing repair, then re-cut the drywall they just fixed to do more plumbing work.

They did work that was not in compliance with the bid forms from the HUD consultant. Example: They installed swinging closet doors when the bid clearly called for sliding doors. We elected to leave them for not wanting further delays. They literally grouted over the trim of existing plumbing fixtures after doing a tile repair when the bid form clearly stated to extend them to the tile face, so I literally cannot change the fixtures without demoing tile.

Now that we’ve lived here a few months, I’m finding things that were done in ways I would NOT expect of a professional contractor. For instance, they installed a new water pressure regulator and main water valve for the house. Come to find the access panel they installed to cover the valve and regulator was installed about 1” too high so that we can’t operate the main water valve without cutting drywall 1" below the access panel. So yay I get to fix drywall and install a proper access panel.

Their painters cut paint around multiple electrical/light switch cover plates and A/C grills rather than taking them off, painting, then reinstalling.

The contract stated “All work must [...] adhere to proper industry standards as well as local and state building codes.” They however did not include code-required electrical work in their bid. As a result we had to pay thousands of dollars in a change order to install an electrical disconnect. Meanwhile they just pointed their finger at the HUD consultant’s bid documents for “missing scope.”

After the project was complete, we hired an electrician to come and cut in a new box for a light fixture. He found that when C&O installed recessed lighting, they tied all the romex cable together in an open, unsupported junction box in the ceiling (multiple code violations) and drywalled over it so it was never caught on inspection. So, I had to pay an electrician to rewire lighting that C&O had just installed.

We had some existing electrical outlets that were switched when we did not want to be. C&O said their electrician couldn’t fix this without significant re-wiring (not in the original scope). We declined a change order and decided to deal with it as-is. When the same electrician was installing the light fixture noted above, I mentioned the switch issue. He sent his apprentice up, who fixed the switch leg in about 5 minutes; no new wiring required.

So, I had to pay an outside electrician to fix their poor workmanship, and it turns out they tried charging me a multiple-hundred dollar change order for something that took an electrical apprentice only a few mins.

If there was one bright spot, it was Henry, our PM. He did what he could to make things right when he could. I can’t fault him for much of what went wrong. I believe the problems we faced were more having to do with the company as a whole, not his work as a PM.

I can’t recommend strongly enough that you take your money elsewhere.