BRIGHTON, Colo. — Denver7 viewers are stepping up to help our community once again. This time, making a point to give to a daycare operator out of Brighton which was taken advantage of by an unscrupulous contractor.
“Things are looking up,” said Isabella Maria Caro-Preiss, owner of Isabella Maria Cares Daycare. “As you see, they have finally installed the floating walls.”
When we first introduced you to Caro-Preiss back in September, she was dealing with a nightmare. The contractor she hired to finish her basement as part of an expansion to her in-home daycare was never licensed, never pulled permits and cut all kinds of corners.
“It’s very heartbreaking,” Caro-Preiss said. “There were times I cried every day.”
A letter from the City of Brighton codes enforcement department confirmed much of the work was not up to code and had to be torn out and redone.
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Despite that - the bad contractor soaked Caro-Preiss and a state grants program for more than $50,000 combined.
“They’ll take your money and run,” said Chris Perez, owner of Infinite Electric.
Now, Caro-Preiss has a new contractor and new sub-contractors like Perez. He’s rewiring the basement the right way.
“My advice would be – make sure the contractor you hire has the proper licenses. Have the proper reputation,” Perez said.
The costs of Caro-Preiss’ remodel continue to add up for demo and reconstruction.
“I would say approximately $55,000, maybe a little bit more,” she said.
That’s in addition to the money she paid out the first time around.
“I had to take out a loan, a personal loan,” Caro-Preiss said of the second round of construction to fix the first round.
Denver7 reached out to the shoddy contractor but never heard back. Denver7 viewers saw the need and wanted to help in a small way. Our generous viewers donated approximately $1,500.
“Thank you,” Caro-Preiss said. “I’m so grateful. I’m so very grateful.”
Our community stepped up at a time when others could certainly use a little boost.
“I just started to lose faith in humanity,” Caro-Preiss said. “But I couldn’t allow that. There’s a lot of good people out there.”
Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.
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