A belated rave for the talented, sincere and personable people at Genuine, as they completed our master bath several months ago, and it is so beautiful, so luxurious that to say it is a WOW is not nearly enough. Kim listened to all my wishes and needs, and the result is truly spectacular. Entering that room is like walking into a serene spa or the bath of a five-star hotel. Every material used, every detail is special. The craftsman involved were hardworking and affable, open to questions and cleaned up at the end of each day. This is the third room that was renovated by these professionals, transforming a tired, seventies era home into a modern, welcoming domicile. Like the other two jobs, this one was completed on time and within or under budget. read more

I am a resident in the same building as the reviewer that posted the one-star/negative review of Genuine 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, read more

I can't speak more highly of Genuine Home Builders. We used them for a full home renovation and I was impressed not just with their workmanship but with their professionalism and dedication to the work. The workplace was kept clean, the crew was mindful of neighbors, and work was completed in a timely manner. Most important to me was the integrity of the owner and the project lead. We communicated well and their attention to doing a good job that I would be happy with was always front and center. I would 100% hire GHB again. read more

If you are thinking about hiring Genuine Home Builders as your contractor, DON'T. First, I want to give you my background, so you have an understanding from what I am basing this on. I am a commercial contractor from a northern state, and I have been in the construction trades for over 55 years. I worked my up as a union tradesman (laborer, laborer foreman, carpenter, carpenter foreman, superintendent to eventually becoming an owner. So I have extensive construction knowledge and experience. I was also a construction arbitrator for American Arbitration Association for over 20 years. We hired Genuine Home Builders to rebuild 7 of our 8 ground floor units and our common area damaged from hurricane Ian. On October 22, 2022, we signed contracts with Genuine Home Builders [GHB] with a promise, from Kim Todd, that their architect would work on the drawings over that weekend, and they would be applying for our permits the following Monday, October 24, 2022. GHB did not apply for permits until November 17th which were sent back for correction 3 times and there would have been a 4th if I had contacted the building department. I could go into more detail here, but I think you get the idea. With the project dragging on so long, we requested weekly progress meetings only to find out that we were being charged for Lee (their superintendent), Steve Todd and Kim Todd to attend. This wouldn't have been so bad, accept that this amounted to $285/hr plus 20% markup for a total of $342/hr to attend meetings created by their lack of progress. When we asked for what certain aspects costs were, either we never got them or, like the drywall, it took over a week almost two. When Kim finally gave me their price for replacing the drywall it was $6.90/s.f. plus their 20% markup making it $8.28/s.f. I checked local pricing to find out what the going rates were, and it was from $4.50 to $5.35 (including prime paint)/s.f. Also, you need to watch out as they charge $200.00 for each invoice they write (it's in the contract). To show how little GHB really knows about construction, their lack of common sense and the inability to properly oversee their projects. I questioned Lee, Steve and Kim as to why the electrician, in a couple of our units, were running MC (metal clad cable) in lieu of reusing the existing conduit. Lee said because it was faster. When questioning this, Lee said well that is what their electrician told him and who was he to question them. I explained, if you just thought about it, you would understand this simply isn't true. You can pull new wires in the existing conduit as you pull the old ones out, whereas MC you have to cut access holes in the walls and ceilings and snake it through. This shows Genuine Home Builders' lack of knowledge, let alone common sense. I ended out terminating my contract with Genuine Home Bidders for breach of contract and cause. When billing against my deposit the electrician and Genuine Home Builders charged me $2,200.00 sighting "Replaced Range wire to panel replaced Range outlet $1,250.00" (this amounted to 3 wires less than 15' and they didn't supply any outlet I did), "Troubleshoot all electrical in unit $475.00 (this wasn't required nor requested as my electrical was never underwater)" and "Wire new hot water heater" (this never happened and as of my writing this I still don't have a new hotwater heater so how did they wire it?). This is something Genuine Home Builders should have caught if they were managing the job properly. In turn, I had to point it out and when I did, they dropped the $2,200.00 plus GHB's $440.00 markup. Kim Todd convinced me as I fell for what I thought to be honesty, sincerity and integrity, but I have no one to blame but myself. Kim Todd is very smooth talking and convincing. As one of our unfortunate members said, "Kim is nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing." A final note. I hired another contractor, and they got permits in 17 days vs over 3 months. read more

I've owned multiple homes over the past 40 years and done many home renovations. Genuine Home Builders is simply the finest contractor I have ever used. All of the consulting, design and construction steps of the process were flawless. Genuine Home Builders delivered our project on time and on budget and we are absolutely thrilled with the final product. I would use them again in a heartbeat and recommend them without hesitation. Kim is an total pleasure to work with. Peter read more