A few months back my wife and I embarked on renovating our newly purchased house. We were new homeowners, very much inexperienced, and eager to do something great with our new home that needed a lot of work.
In speaking with friends we quickly realized that a renovation of this magnitude would not only be expensive but risky. Many people told us horror stories about their experience with contractors. Inflating costs, unexpected charges and timelines way overdue.
As two professionals we set about doing our due diligence. We used homestars to try and find the "perfect contractor" before receiving a referral for Rafael at HomeBuild. In all we interviewed 14 different contractors.
The difference between the lowest and highest quotes we received was over $100,000. How is this possible? There was no transparency, vague explanations for costs and in the end we felt very uncertain about what to expect. Then we called Rafael.
From the start we were impressed with his frank nature, honesty and
warm character. In a time where we felt vulnerable he made us feel empowered and in control. We had confidence in the way he thoroughly explained things to us and helped us decided between "must do" items and "nice to do" items.
Before we moved ahead, he outlined the scope of work in a crystal clear fashion, week by week, with itemized elements broken down in an expected timeline. Payments were broken down according to work accomplished NOT some arbitrary percentage breakdown.
Not a single other contractor provided us a breakdown of this nature.
Rafael began work punctually and worked diligently. We met weekly at the end of every week to review the progress made. If the work that was outlined on the scope of work was delayed then no payment were required.
Rafael completed our renovation, including a multitude of unexpected add-ons to the project that we threw at him, ONE WEEK early.
His workmanship was exquisite and the finish was perfect. He oversaw all sub-contractors himself and was on site himself every single day.
We love our home and are thrilled with the changes we've made. We are grateful to have worked with Rafael not only for his expertise and craftsmanship, but because of how he made us feel about the project.
Renovations can change your life and we've heard horror stories about the unfortunate situation of many friends. This was not our experience and this was thanks to Rafael.