I am a resident in the same building as the reviewer that posted the one-star/negative review of…read moreGenuine Home Builders (GHB).
As a result of Hurricane Ian, our address which consists of five small three story buildings, was impacted as follows: flooding occurred in the ground floor where they are eight apartments and common areas. At its peak, the water and associated muck reached a height of between 13-24 inches inside the units, depending on the location.
Following the flood, all of us on the ground floor were motivated to clean up, remediate, demo, and begin the process of finding a contractor to restore and refurbish our units.
GHB had recently completed the refurbishment of another owner in our complex located on the third floor. That owner was satisfied with the work performed. So seven of us decided to use GHB.
As indicated by his review, this owner disagreed with GHB early on. He convinced another unit owner to drop them as well and both used another contractor. It should noted that these two owners did not do as extensive remediation and renovation others and also did much of the work themselves.
GHB came to each of the remaining five unit owners asking us if we wanted to continue with them. Some of us were aware of his negative review. The five of us chose to ignore him and agreed to continue with GHB.
GHB then met again with each of us individually to go through a budget by category. A list of sub-contractors was also provided although we were instructed we could choose our own vendors if we found something we liked more. We purchased directly appliances, vanities and tiles for small spaces.
All five of us have finished our refurbishments several months ago and are back in our units.
It is my understanding that all five are satisfied with the work performed.
As for my unit, the work was completed in the time frame we desired. It was also completed slightly under-budget. It is quality work. Those are the three most important criteria.
As with any contractor, the key is constant and clear communication. My wife and I were somewhat inexperienced due to the scale of the restoration and renovation work, having only done smaller projects. There were mistakes we made in terms of communication and timing of decisions, while GHB could have communicated a few items more clearly. But much of this would not have occurred if we had more recent experience.
We were familiar with how to price most of items required for the renovation which is why we were comfortable with the initial budget. Although we would have liked more detail behind some items in the budget, the initial budget was not a surprise in terms of the size, nor when broken down by category. The initial budget they provided was in line with the costs we got from multiple sources, including friends who had recently completed work. Finally, when we did inquire about the cost of making changes in our selections, we did receive prompt feedback as to the impact on the budget.
While there is an accounting fee charged every time an invoice is sent, I preferred this "monthly" cadence of invoices as well as the supporting detail behind them. This allowed me to ensure we were on budget as well as confirming my understanding of the charges. Paying the accounting fee for each grouping of invoices was a worthwhile investment for the way I wanted to understand the cost of the overall project. Each "monthly" invoice contained specific labor charges as well as specific charges for materials for demo, drywall, electrical, plumbing, painting, trim, doors, cabinetry, etc., depending on the timing of the work. I could check and validate any charge on these invoices. Any question I had as to a specific expense was promptly answered. On my end, I kept a detailed listing by category of these expenses which I then compared to the original budget from GHB.
We had some issues that came up during the refurbishment. This happens in every refurbishment with any contractor. GHB addressed and solved each one. Throughout our project, Lee who was the Supervisor, was very responsive and available to discuss the schedule, work performed by each vendor, and resolution of issues. Whenever we needed to reach Kim, the owner, we were able to get an answer via email or schedule a face-to-face meeting.
Looking back, as customers we made two mistakes. The first was in terms of the location of one overhead light which was a pre-existing item we failed to notice that we might have moved 4". Second, the dimensions of a wall/cabinetry in our kitchen was not recalled correctly by us. A remedy was discussed with Genuine Home Builders but we decided not to pursue it. Both of these items are minor.
I am glad we stayed with GHB and am pleased with the result, both financially and aesthetically.
While I think the rating should be 4.5 stars as nothing is ever really perfect, 4 would be too low,
