San Diego’s homeowners, drawn by the promise of affordable housing solutions and the potential income of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), now face a nightmare of unfulfilled expectations and mounting debts. Reports reveal that many homeowners entered contracts with an ADU developer who failed to deliver completed units, leaving behind incomplete projects and significant financial burdens. What began as a hopeful journey to address housing shortages has turned into a cautionary tale of trust misplaced and accountability absent.
Nearly a hundred San Diego County homeowners say a local ADU contractor took out enormous construction loans under each of their names for work that, in most cases, never even started. The contractor, Multitaskr, was based in Chula Vista and licensed to work in California.
The company’s website is no longer active.
Some of the lenders are working with homeowners to cancel outstanding debts. In the meantime, dozens of Multitaskr clients are making thousands of dollars worth of loan payments each month for work they never got.
“It’s expensive already to live here in San Diego,” said Sinthia Garcia. “Let alone being able to have to pay monthly for a house I don’t have.”
The ADU boom in San Diego was seen as a critical step in combating the region’s housing crisis. State and local governments promoted streamlined permitting processes and incentivized ADU development as a way to ease housing pressures. However, the surge in demand attracted some developers who lacked the expertise or financial stability to fulfill their promises. Homeowners, often unaware of the risks, found themselves stuck with incomplete construction sites and liens, while developers vanished or declared bankruptcy, leaving legal and financial chaos in their wake.
Gary Fleisher, The Modcoach, writes about the modular and offsite construction industry at Modular Home Source.
.
CLICK HERE to read the latest edition
Contact Gary Fleisher
