One long and costly year later, blindsided families around the Bay Area are still dealing with the fallout from a $100 million tiny home builder’s sudden collapse. But some are making progress.
“It feels amazing,” said San Leandro homeowner Katie Lucas, as she stood inside her glistening yet overdue accessory dwelling unit. “There’s been lots of tears, lots of frustration.”
A year ago, Lucas was the first homeowner NBC Bay Area featured in reporting on the collapse of Anchored Tiny Homes. Lucas said the company took more than $200,000 and left her with a shell of an ADU. “It should be a finished home,” she said at the time, sobbing, “with my mother-in-law and my grandma [living] here.”
Many other families shared similar stories. Often, Anchored Tiny Homes took big money up front but abandoned people’s projects. “Anchored took my money and ran,” Martinez homeowner Lara Zanzucchi said earlier this year.
In Rohnert Park, the Sonza family is celebrating an ADU that is finally taking shape in their once bare backyard. “It already looks amazing,” Traci Sonza said.
The mood is bittersweet among those consumers. On one hand, it’s exciting for families to step inside and see the future. Sonza beams as she tours the kitchen. “The pantry goes under the stairwell,” she explained with a smile.
On the other hand, the Sonzas are still dealing with the past year of turmoil because they were forced to basically pay double for their ADU. “It’s taken a toll on the whole family, not just the bank account. All the way around, we’ve all had to make adjustments and sacrifices,” Sonza said.
They got lucky when a second contractor agreed to step in.
“This one’s very special,” said Tim Schneemann of North Coast Custom Builders. Schneemann said he saw the Sonzas’ story and offered to build them an ADU at cost. “For us to come in and make their dreams come true is huge for us.”
Schneemann’s team is giving the Sonzas hope. “We’re grateful for that,” said Steve Sonza. But the couple is still trying to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars they say Anchored took. The Sonzas are battling the company’s co-founders in bankruptcy court.
“Countless hours, up until three in the morning,” Traci Sonza said. “Always working, always fighting.”
Like the Sonzas, many families tell NBC Bay Area they’ve had to hire a second contractor and dip into their savings or take out additional loans to finish their ADUs. “As far as getting our money back, we’re still working on that,” Lucas said.
Anchored customers are a constant presence in the co-founders’ bankruptcy cases. Outside one Sacramento hearing, customers wore matching shirts that read “Make Paulhus Pay” — a reference to Anchored CEO Colton Paulhus. He used to make bold statements about Anchored. In a now defunct and deleted podcast, for example, Paulhus said he was running “a $100 million business.”
But now, he and his co-founder brother, Austin Paulhus, are telling the bankruptcy court that their customers’ money is gone. The Paulhus family handed over their books, so the court can follow the money. Attorneys for the Paulhuses have not commented on the case. Previously, Colton told NBC Bay Area that “it was a failed business and I hate that it happened.”
Many Anchored customers say they feel the Paulhus family stole from them. “I just feel so cheated,” Cupertino homeowner Girija Subramanya said in the summer of 2024.
Some homeowners told NBC Bay Area that they’ve done interviews with state investigators, district attorneys, and even federal agents. The contractor board has revoked Anchored’s license, but no criminal charges have been filed.
“Maybe they are taking their time, and it will come out in the end,” Lucas said. “I am still hopeful they will have to pay for it.”
Families are also pressuring the state to be more transparent when consumers complain about a contractor, especially when droves of people are complaining about the same contractor taking big money up front.
A reminder about down payments: The maximum any contractor can take from you up front in California is $1,000 or 10% of the cost of a job, whichever is less. If a contractor takes more, they’re breaking the law. You can report them at cslb.ca.gov.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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