OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — An Oceanside family says they were trying to build a tiny home for their mother, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so she could live independently but safely in their backyard.
They say they signed an agreement with state-licensed contractor Multitaskr in November 2022, who then accepted their payment.
Now, in September 2024, his mother is living elsewhere with a roommate. The home hasn’t been built—or even started.
“We decided to move back here and bought this house with a big enough yard so we could build a unit to keep Mom on-site,” Garrett Lamb said, standing in the spot where he imagined his mother would be living.
His mother struggles with the steps in his house, so Lamb and his partner, Katheryne Phillips, hired Multitaskr to build a tiny home in their Oceanside backyard.
A signed agreement with the company, shared with ABC 10News, shows an estimated cost, including permits, of more than $193,000.
According to Multitaskr’s website, the company specializes in accessory dwelling units and helps secure low-interest third-party lenders for its projects. The business model reflects a one-stop shop with a streamlined process to speed up projects. Lamb says the company promised to build the tiny home faster than any other contractor he approached.
Lamb says the tiny home for his mother was supposed to be finished by October 2023. But some red spray-painted lines in the backyard and a porta-potty in front of the house are all they have to show for it.
“They dropped (the porta-potty) off, and I think that was their way of saying, ‘Hey, we’re starting your project,’” Lamb said.
Multiple court filings show Lamb and Phillips are not the only ones having issues with the company.
“(Multitaskr) talks in detail about how much money you can generate from ADUs, how it increases your property values, and you don’t have any upfront money. It’s all loans, zero interest loans, for a year,” said James Diefenbach, an attorney representing four other clients suing the company.
Many of the families are suing the company under similar circumstances and for six-figure amounts.
“Everyone, it appears, has been absolutely deceived and tricked and is now caught holding the bag for hundreds of thousands (of dollars) in construction loans for something that was never realized,” Diefenbach said.
ABC 10News reached out to Multitaskr, which, in a statement, said it’s undergoing a restructuring process and apologizes to its customers. The company says it has not filed for bankruptcy, and Lamb says he has been told his project is starting this month, but he believes the money is gone.
The company issued a statement to ABC 10News, which reads in part, “Our priority is to ensure that every client receives the services they are paying for or, in some cases, an appropriate resolution. We are actively working on a plan to address each individual case and will be reaching out to our clients directly with more detailed information.”
For now, Lamb and Phillips are proceeding under the assumption that their mother’s home will not be built.
“You think of the care that that money could have provided my mother-in-law,” Phillips said. “If we didn’t have to use it for her build, or if we weren’t going to have something already built at this point, then we would know we had that money to care for her.”
“We’ll make it happen somehow,” Lamb told his mother.
The family is seeking help funding a new project. They have set up a GoFundMe page for donations.
