We currently rent the upstairs apartment from my in-laws while we save for our own house. My FIL insists on only going with the cheapest estimate he can get for repair work, so here's where the apartment currently stands.
1. Electrical work started 2004 - contractor upgraded outlets to 3-prong grounded ones. Also ran a new 220 line for the stove. Result: 3 outlets still don't work, I had to repair the 2x2 hole they smashed in the kitchen wall to run a 1" wire, and we still have no outlets in the kitchen - everything is run on extension cords from the hallway and living room. Quote from August 2004: "We'll be back next week to finish the job". FIL won't call them back because he's not sure how much they billed him for the job and doesn't think he should have to spend any more money on it.
2. Fence installed around side yard to contain kids -we live on a busy street, and people take the corner like they're in the last freaking lap of the Indy 500. MIL didn't shut the gate and the wind blew it open and back shut, breaking the latch off and shattering a good portion of the gate. Contractor called 2 months later - showed up 3 weeks later, said "I'll be back next week - I have to order the parts" This was September of 2007....
3. Original windows were replaced 10 years ago. The seals for the double panes all failed within a year, making the windows impossible to see through. FIL called them back and they were replaced. Happened again within a year - never called them back. Stairway window and big picture window are still original and so rotten I could push them out of the house without an effort. Got a call at work yesterday that a contractor was coming to replace them that day, and that I needed to move everything away from the windows. contractor never showed. Any bets on when they will be replaced? My guess is June of 2010. Doesn't really matter though - house is on one thermostat downstairs - set it at 60 there, we have to keep 2 windows open all winter or it hits 80. Probably better off with the rotten windows.
The moral of the story is.....You get what you pay for!