25A-143 CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with the last sentence of M.G.L. Ch. 142A, Section 16, 1 understand that I was not
obligated to pay Mr. Helems in full, until and unless 1 was completely satisfied with his workmanship. As is
clear from the extensive list I have included here, I have never been satisfied with Mr. Helems workmanship in
this project.
I also understand that Section 2 of the law in question forbids Mr. Helems from abandoning this project.
His continued inaccessibility and lack of responsiveness is abandonment and forced me to hire others to
complete the work.
In accordance with Section 2 of that law, I also understand that Mr. Helems was not allowed to deviate
from the contractually agreed-upon scope of work without my consent.
From my first introduction to Mr. Helems in 2006, he has continually identified himself as Creative
Construction. As 1 now understand it, he has never registered this name with the town of Southampton or any
other governmental agency. The only official name he has registered is Creative Constructing and Remodeling,
LLC, which he registered in February of 2008. His license states the name incorrectly, as Creative Construction
and Remodeling, LLC, in violation of Section 12 of the statute.
Mr. Helems has never provided an accurate accounting of the project with all credits due to me, for
payments made and for credits given my Mr. Helems for his and his staff's oversights.
Without ever making an attempt to finish the job after May 2007, Mr. Helems has improperly demanded
a final payment from me. In the second paragraph of the demand letter he sent to me in February of 2008, he
actually states the reverse of the way he should have handled this situation: demanding payment prior to setting
a schedule to complete the project.
To date, 1 have incurred additional labor expenses in excess of$15,000.00 in attempting to complete the
work included within the contract I engaged in with Mr. Helems. In addition,there were materials removed
from my home (arts and crafts baseboards and trim, plywood, etc.)that were never returned and materials that I
paid for completely outside of the contract with Mr. Helems (dishwasher, new doors, etc.) most of which was
never installed and in fact that disappeared from my home. I estimate that approximately $10,000.00 in new and
existing materials were removed from my home and never returned. I also anticipate an additional $15,000.00-
$20,000.00 to correct and complete the work that Mr. Helems included in his contract, but never completed. For
this reason, I am seeking return of the full $41,663.78 that I have paid Mr. Helems.
Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, this 30th day of September, 2008
Marta P. Martinez Tom
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Hampshire, ss September 30, 2008
On this 30th day of September, 2008, before me, the undersigned notary public, personally appeared
Marta P. Martinez Tom, proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which was personal
knowledge,to be the person whose name is signed on the preceding or attached document, and acknowledged
to me that he/she signed it voluntarily for its stated purpose.
`,�1111ffff,
pS1N.STF�;�•,
CO NOTAq PUBLIC: St A. Stewart
='k My commission expires 03/08/13
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'l'rARY PvO.
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15. Window Seat Construction. Mr. Helems included the construction of a window seat in the living room
area. The seat was framed in and never finished. To date, this remains incomplete.
16. Bookcase in Living Room. We re-used an existing bookcase that was to be installed in the living room.
Mr. Helems was to have trimmed this piece, which he never did. To date, this remains incomplete.
17. Plywood pieces missing from purchased materials. On more than one occasion, plywood pieces that
were slated to be installed inside a closet in the kitchen and the upstairs hallway were removed from the
home and never returned. I was forced to re-purchase these materials and to hire another individual to
install them into the two closets.
18. Kitchen Backsplash Tile. I purchased glass tile to be installed behind the kitchen counters which
installation Mr. Helems bid and included in his proposal. This the was never installed by Mr. Helems. I
was required to hire another individual to install this tile.
19. Bathroom Tile. Mr. Helems never sealed the grout between the tiles in the bathrooms. The grout and is
now stained and will need to be treated and sealed. To date, this work remains incomplete.
20. Upstairs Linen Closet. This closet was gutted by Mr. Helems and all trim around it was removed. The
trim was never returned. 1 was required to hire another individual to build the inside of the closet. To
date,the trim has not been replaced and this remains incomplete.
21. Front Yard. During the course of construction, Mr. Helems and his staff parked their trucks on my front
lawn. Doing substantial damage, Mr. Helems assured me that he would completely re-seed the lawn.
This was never done. To date, this remains incomplete.
22. Upstairs bathroom. Crown molding was never re-installed in this room. To date, this remains
incomplete. The bathroom wall and ceiling color were interchanged, so the room was painted
incorrectly. I was required to hire another individual to repaint the bathroom.
23. Window Installation. The exteriors of the windows replaced were never painted, caulked or sealed. I was
required to hire another individual to caulk and seal them and to date, the painting remains incomplete.
24. Dishwasher. I purchased a new dishwasher on December 27, 2006. Mr. Helems staff incorrectly
instructed the appliance delivery company to remove the dishwasher rather than the refrigerator that I
was replacing. 1 was required to purchase a second dishwasher to replace this brand new appliance that
was to be installed. I was never reimbursed by Mr. Helems for his staffs substantial error.
INAPPROPRIATE DEMAND FOR PAYMENT
Without ever making any attempt to complete the project or to correct the unsatisfactory work done, Mr.
Helems sent a demand letter for payment in full, made phone calls demanding payment in full, hired an
attorney,attempted to make a claim of larceny against me with the Northampton Police Department, and then
filed.a small claims action related to this project. In this September 19, 2008 small claims action he claimed he
is owed$950 for twelve (12) windows. This claim has no relationship to any of the invoices I have. I have
included a copy of all documents related to this matter, including Mr. Helems' own invoice showing 1 paid for
the windows in question. (Exhibit 7-Small Claims Documents)
UNSATISFACTORY WORKMANSHIP
The following is a list of the specific items that were incomplete or not done to my satisfaction.
1. Hole in outside structure: There was a hole left in the wall of my home in the area under the kitchen sink
out to the outside of my home that remained open to the elements and rodents. 1 was required to hire
additional personnel to close the same and replace the insulation.
2. Lally Columns under the bearing wall in the kitchen/living room. These were ordered and paid for, but
Mr. Helems never installed them, resulting in cracks in the living room wall and ceiling and a crack in
the second floor wall over the same area. 1 was forced to pay a premium to another contractor to get
these installed to prevent further structural damage.
3. Hardwood Floor never finished to the walls. Throughout the first floor of my home,the hardwood floors
do not meet the walls, leaving a gap. To date, this remains incomplete.
4. Trim wood installed without having been sanded or stained. Throughout the first floor, Mr. Helems and
his staff installed trim pieces that were not sanded or stained prior to installation. Some of these trim
pieces were stained on some sides and not on others. To date, this remains incomplete.
5. Stairs to second floor. Mr. Helems advised that the water-soaked stairs did not need replacement, but
would dry and be acceptable. Mr. Helems staff damaged the stairs in the course of their use of them.
They then attempted a refinish of the stairs that was unsatisfactory. To date, this remains incomplete.
6. Stairway Walls. In his last appearance at my home, during the weekend of July 8, 2007, Mr. Helems'
contractors left gaping holes in the walls of the second-floor stairway from improper installation and
removal of painting scaffolding. l was required to hire another individual to repair the walls.
7. Stairway Walls and Ceiling Painting. The walls were not primed nor painted correctly. The paint colors
did not match each other. I hired another individual to repaint the walls.
8. Crown Molding over Window Trim. In the process of installing new windows, Mr. Helems removed the
inside trim pieces, including the crown molding from around the windows throughout the home. The
period arts and crafts woodwork was removed from my home and never returned. Mr. Helems replaced
it with pine and never re-installed the crown molding. To date, this remains incomplete.
9. Baseboards throughout the home. These were removed and taken to Mr. Helems' mother's to be
refinished and re-installed. Mr. Helems reported the wood was destroyed in a flood at Helems' mother's
home, forcing me to purchase replacement wood that was never completely installed. To date,this
remains incomplete.
10. Doors. 1 purchased five (5) new solid doors with frames for installation in the second floor hallway. This
included a special-order closet door. These were never installed by Mr. Helems and disappeared from
my home and were never returned. The original trim and molding in the hallway was removed to
accommodate these new doors and never replaced. To date, this remains incomplete and none of these
materials were returned.
11. Kitchen Cabinets and trim. The final trim work in the kitchen was never completed. Kickplates and trim
pieces were never installed. I was required to hire another individual to complete this work.
12. Microwave Cabinet. I purchased a $350 microwave cabinet. Mr. Helems incorrectly cut this cabinet,
making it unusable. I was forced to hire another individual to replace the cabinet.
13. Broken Basement windows. Mr. Helems never replaced these windows for which he bid and which
work he included in his contract price. To date, this remains incomplete.
14. Back Deck. The stairs up from the yard to the back deck were never finished. The risers were never
installed. I was required to hire another individual to complete this work.
EXHIBIT 1-Notarized Statement of Marta Martinez
1, Marta P. Martinez Tom hired James A. Helems, Jr. (HIC License# 159153)to perform repair work
on my home at 18 Bates Street,Northampton, subsequent to a flood caused by a burst plumbing pipe in my
upstairs bathroom on January 3, 2007. Mr. Helems always identified himself as the owner of"Creative
Construction."Mr. Helems prepared a proposal which we mutually delivered to my insurance company, Safety
Insurance. The proposal placed the total cost for completion of the repair work at $49,300.00 (Exhibit 2-
Proposal). An item of note: in Mr. Helems' cover letter with the proposal, he stated "We have not included any
costs for plumbing/heating or electrical as you have hired your own contractors for both areas."Please make
special note of the fact that 1 hired my own contractors for these areas because Mr. Helems expressly told me
that the only plumbers and electricians he knew were, in his words, "drunks who will never show up." As the
permitted contractor on the job, Mr. Helems, however, had full responsibility for the work done by these sub-
contractors.
On January 20, 2007, 1 was with my insurance representative Mr. Rick Zack of Safety Insurance. At that
time, Mr. Zack telephoned Mr. Helems and negotiated the price of the full contract with Mr. Helems down to
$44,938.08. Mr. Helems never delivered an updated proposal reflecting this new price.
During the entire course of the project, I was never given any written change order to approve, outlining
any deviation from the original price of$44,938.08. The project was never completed and I have never been
satisfied with the majority of the work done by Mr. Helems and his staff and subcontractors.
TIMELINE
The work began in January 2007 and proceeded on a semi-regular basis until May of 2007, at which
time 1 obtained my occupancy permit. After that point, Mr. Helems and his staff and subcontractors stopped
showing up to my home and Mr. Helems became unreachable and would not return telephone or e-mail requests
to complete the project(Exhibit 3-Telephone Log, E-Mail Example, Construction Calendar.)
Mr. Helems' only return to my home occurred during the weekend of July 8, 2007. At that time, his staff
returned to refinish the hardwood floors on the upstairs hallway and stairs and to paint the upstairs hallway
walls during the weekend of July 8, 2007. The floor refinishing was unsatisfactory and gaping holes were made
in the hallway walls from the painting scaffolding. Neither of these matters was ever repaired or redone by Mr.
Helems and I had to have the work done by someone else. This was the last time Mr. Helems or any of his staff
or sub-contractors stepped into my home. Again Mr. Helems became unreachable. In late July of 2007, Mr.
Helems and his partner Chet Gnatek began work on a house next door to me (#20 Bates Street). During that
project, Mr. Helems made no attempt to contact me to arrange for completion of the project at 18 Bates Street or
to arrange for repair of the recently damaged hallway walls, nor was he returning any of my telephone calls or
e-mails. Mr. Helems' unreasonable lack of responsiveness forced me to enlist other contractors to complete the
project. On February 12, 2008, Mr. Helems sent a registered letter to me demanding payment in full without any
attempt to complete the project to my satisfaction.
ACCOUNTING
In reviewing the project accounting information that Mr. Helems delivered to me, I have determined that
Mr. Helems never credited me for one of the payments I delivered to him ($500.00) nor did he credit me for the
value of the brand new dishwasher($300.00) that his staff incorrectly disposed of nor did he credit me for"lost
materials" ($1,500.00). The Statement that he provided does not reflect the payments in the amounts I delivered
to him, so I had to put the information into a spreadsheet to determine the actual totals. (Exhibit 4—Helems
Totals.) I have also included copies of the cancelled checks for the payments I delivered to Mr. Helems in the
course of the project, totaling$41,663.78. (Exhibit 5--Payments to Helems.) Mr. Helems continues to publish
information to others, including the Northampton Police Department in an attempted filing of a Larceny claim,
that I have paid him only $22,000.00. (Exhibit 6—Northampton Police Report)
4. FOR COMPLAINTS INVOLVING HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTORS:
Please circle the number of any of the following acts(in accordance with G.L.c.142A)which you allege took place in your dealings
with the HIC registrant:
1.Operating without a certificate of registration issued by the Department;
2. bandoning or failing to perform,without justification,any contractor project engaged in or undertaken by a registered contractor
subcontractor,or deviating from or disregarding plans or specifications in any material respect without the consent of the owner;
] ailing to credit to the owner any payment they have made to the contractor or his salesperson in connection with a residential
tracting transaction;
4.Making any material misrepresentation in the procurement of a contract or making any false promise of a character likely to
influence,persuade or induce the procurement of a contract;
5.Knowingly contracting beyond the scope of the registration as a contractor or subcontractor;
6.Acting directly,regardless of the receipt or the expectation of receipt of compensation or gain from the mortgage lender,in
connection with a residential contracting transaction by preparing,offering or negotiating;or attempting to or agreeing to prepare,
arrange,offer or negotiate a mortgage loan on behalf of a mortgage lender;
7.Acting as a mortgage broker or agent for any mortgage lender;
8.Publishing,directly or indirectly,any advertisement relating to home construction or home improvements which does not contain
the contractor's or subcontractor's certificate of registration number or which does contain an assertion,representation or statement of
fact which is false,deceptive,or misleading;
9.Advertising in any manner that a registrant is registered under this chapter unless the advertisement includes an accurate reference
to the contractor's or subcontractor's certificate of registration;
10.Violation of the building laws of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof,
11.Misrepresenting a material fact by an applicant in obtaining a certificate of registration;
12 ailing to notify the Department of any change of trade name or address as required by section thirteen;
13 onducting a residential contracting business in any name other than the one in which the contractor or subcontractor is
iS,ere d;
14.Failing to pay for materials or services rendered in connection with his operating as a contractor or subcontractor where he has
received sufficient funds as payment for the particular construction work,project or operation for which the services or materials were
rendered or purchased;
15.Failing to comply with any order,demand or requirement lawfully made by the administrator or fund administrator under and
within the authority of this chapter;
16. emanding or receiving payment in violation of clause(6)of paragraph(a)of section(2)which states: "a time schedule of
ments to be made under said contract and the amount of each payment stated in dollars,including all finance charges.Any deposit
required under the contract to be paid in advance of the commencement of work under said contract shall not exceed the greater of
one-third of the total contract price or the actual cost of any materials or equipment of a special order or custom made nature,which
must be ordered in advance of the commencement of work,in order to assure that the project will proceed on schedule.No final
payment shall be demanded until the contract is completed to the satisfaction of the parties thereto;"
' any other provision of chapter 142A.
2
No:
OoGGG�IiGI���!�GPrOfj!/� Received Date:
/p�>?�Zi'2tZtiT�
O / '" xm/ For state use only
i
Home Improvement Contractor Registration/Cons t uction Supervisor Lic nse
Complaint Application Fo m
In order to file a comf Dntractor and/or a Constuction
Supervisor License he 2008-533 - 159153 to the Board of Building Regulations
and Standards("BBR: t in a hearing against the contractor.
Filing a complaint wit >complaint may result in disciplinary
action against the cons 2008-534- 93395 ng of any hearing scheduled relative to
the contractor named i Safety website(www.mass.gov/dps)
prior to filing a compla.... <„.,113u.-- wat uic i;,,'�uiIINWHccs 01 your case in witnm the prerequisites for filing a complaint.
1. Your information:�(Ple/a�se type or print neatly)
Name: Aar-4 ' ' Mar ne-z� IdnV
Address: It lJi r6 V J reg( /v o P_Vq 1 p71V NA 616 L 6
Address of property at issue:
Day Phone: Fax: (d/2 —00 N E-mail 4114kto , CO{n
2. License holder/Reeistered contractor:
Contractor name: n/(Q f /¢, lf� ,,. Jr. ��c�k/� �� � ,�s
Business name: CIN44 5 rli7I M�h Ui'f G�lV'w el 1 /� '9, YGd C ��I
h� y ,J. � ry �
Business address: S-9 6 h f) P0a i r Rd� )J/ �7�( Q �(j�7{� /f' 0/079
Phone: (�13)
Date contract signed: / / Amount of contract: $ 0 L y
3. Does the contractor who the contractor who agrieved you hold the followin2you hold the following: (please circle the number below)
1. Home Improvement Contractor registration---- (HIC) # �� 3
2. Contruction Supervisor License---------------- (CSL)#
3. Unregistered Contractor /
L-j-
Kevin Burke
�
Secretary
Thomas G. ne P.E.
�fJ
Commissioner
a,w aOf!/l�CL/vy !G2 �G7(/lZQ ��� Gary Moccia,P.E.
Duval L.Pariick
o Chainnan
Governor ��JF��f//
xml Stanley Shuman,P.E.
Timothy P.Murray
Vice Chainnan
Lieutenant Governor %9
Anthony Patillo
212 Main St. Rm 100 Wednesday,November 12,2008
Northampton MA 01060
Contractor's name: JAMES A HELEMS
HIC/CSL#: / 93395
Property Address: 18 Bates Street Northampton MA
Complainant: Marta Martinez
Complaint Number: 2008-534
Greetings:
Please be advised that the Board of Building Regulations and Standards has received a complaint against the
above-listed registrant. Your immediate attention to this matter is requested. In order to assist the Board in its
investigation of the complaint,kindly forward any documentation relative to the above-listed property that you
have in your possession to the Board. Please reference the complaint number and registrant in your reply.
Kindly refer to the Department of Public Saftety website(www.mass.gov/dps)for answers to any questions you
may have about this matter or the complaint procedure in general. You will be notified in writing should your
appearance at a hearing become necessary.
Thank you in advance for your invaluable assistance.
Very truly yours,
BOARD OF BUILDING REGULATIONS
AND STANDARDS
�— Kevin Burke
Secretary
Thomas G. ne P.E.
Commissioner
w cGa/J�ClL'G2��G�f/Ilf� �2�2 rL2�C1/l Gary Moccia,P.E.
Deval L.Patrick a Chairman
Governor
%SP r O'Jli L xw Stanley Shuman,P.E.
Timothy P.Murray Vice Chairman
Lieutenant Governor �� �
Anthony Patillo
212 Main St. Rm 100 Wednesday,November 12,2008
Northampton MA 01060
Contractor's name: JAMES HELEMS
HIC/CSL#: 159153 /
Property Address: 18 Bates Street Northampton MA
Complainant: Marta Martinez ani/ t 7
Complaint Number: 2008-533
Greetings:
Please be advised that the Board of Building Regulations and Standards has received a complaint against the
above-listed registrant. Your immediate attention to this matter is requested. In order to assist the Board in its
investigation of the complaint,kindly forward any documentation relative to the above-listed property that you
have in your possession to the Board. Please reference the complaint number and registrant in your reply.
Kindly refer to the Department of Public Saftety website(www.mass.gov/dps)for answers to any questions you
may have about this matter or the complaint procedure in general. You will be notified in writing should your
appearance at a hearing become necessary.
Thank you in advance for your invaluable assistance.
Very truly yours,
BOARD OF BUILDING REGULATIONS
AND STANDARDS