It doesn't rain much in SoCal but when it does, it's a really "fun" (not fun) way to find out about…read moreall the ways water can get into your house. That's just the position I'm in and Jason at The Build Firm came highly recommended as someone who could help me identify the issues and suggest solutions. And he delivered on all counts. Jason was very responsive and came out within a day of contacting him - which in todays world is pretty rare! He is very knowledgeable and I never got the sense he was pushing me one way or another just to get a piece of work. He gave me a thorough and honest assessment of the issues at my house and offered suggestions of next steps, some of which could give him business but several others that would have nothing to do with him. And I really appreciated it. Will definitely be using him in the future and will recommend to friends.

Jason @thebuildfirm did a two phase remodel for us on time and on budget all the while juggling a…read moremillion details while keeping us happy and comfortable through the whole process. I run a preschool out of my home so he had to schedule our work during my school breaks and worked on a tight timeline as well. Not only is the work outstanding in quality he is highly design oriented and made changes here and there to upgrade the esthetic. He always uses top notch craftsmen who were all excellent pleasant and trustworthy. In phase one we upgraded our electrical installed HVAC and put on a new roof Raingutters termite roof repair and installed a pull down ladder to access the attic. In phase 2 we made the kitchen bigger and took out two walls one of which was a supporting wall so redid our roof and installed a footing and new support beams. He hired a custom cabinet maker and we remodeled the kitchen to my specifications and working with a designer @lpinteriors and Jason and the cabinet maker Sergio at Ardmore wood works we nailed my dream kitchen. We upgraded plumbing and added a tankless water heater as well. We also upgraded the back den took out popcorn ceiling moved the door jam and demoed the old electrical box bump as well as painted and added new flooring to match the existing flooring in the house white oak. We ran the same flooring through the kitchen and back room. Really Jason continues to go the extra mile in getting that punch list finished. This is a picture of him in our rafters vacuuming after our garage got debris after the roofing was done.

This August we had the pleasure of working with Elite Home Builders, specifically with Gabriel. He…read morewas great to work with, he had great ideas and was always available to go over any questions I had. Initially we hired him to paint our home and to replace a number of rotting fascia boards. He also helped me select a beautiful front door to update the look of our home, as well as replace an exterior side door and repainted and changed the hardware of our kitchen/garage fire door. When we had issues with some of the work done, Gabriel was right on it to make sure it was taken care of immediately. This type of attention is not always given with other people we've dealt with before. Gabe takes pride in his company to do an excellent job for his clients. After a month and a half since the job was completed, Gabe came over to assess the job, after we had a week of steady rain, to make sure we didn't have any other questions for him. We would definitely recommend him and his company to do a great job!

We had our bathroom & kitchen & windows fully renovated by Elite Builders & Design. Gabriel walked…read moreus through the process, was attentive and quick to reply, and his years of experience was invaluable. Additionally, the foreman Santiago was a pleasure to work with. We're happy with how the work turned out. We asked for something nice and simple and modern, and that's exactly what we got. Recommended -- we'd work with Gabriel again.

Ari is very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Definitely would recommend him as an architect…read morefor your next build!

Ari was great, a rare breath of fresh air in construction. Good communication, reasonable prices,…read moreand great openness to changing things even when it wasn't in their advantage. would recommend!

Ben and his team have been amazing to work with thus far on our remodel. We appreciate the care and…read moreattention to detail as well as his experience and expertise.

I got about five bids for my whole-house remodel, and Creative Innovation Developers stood out for…read moretheir great communication and solid references. Their pricing was comparable to others, but the ability to visit their in-progress projects gave me confidence. I'm very very particular, and while no remodel is perfect, Creative worked to bring my vision to life. My advice: plan everything in detail beforehand--or hire a designer. To save costs, I handled all the design myself while working full-time, which was highly stressful. Having everything mapped out helps avoid delays, last-minute changes, or compromising on your vision. Golan and Jordan were fantastic--Golan handled planning and communication, and Jordan ensured everything stayed on track. They always responded to my texts in a reasonable amount of time. Their tile crew was exceptional (I often bumped into them because they worked long hours and weekends to complete my home and were really nice and respectful people), and they tiled nearly my entire house beautifully (we're talking 2000 sq ft of flooring, 3 bathrooms, and a fireplace). I appreciated that Creative didn't nickel and dime me for small changes, and when a gas leak was discovered (due to careless cabinetry work), they fixed it--and more (we found more leaks during the repairs)--without extra charges. Despite delays beyond their control, they completed the full renovation in about six months--from pulling permits to final inspection. Major work included a new kitchen, three bathrooms, tile flooring throughout, interior paint, a new electrical panel, and whole-house LED recessed lighting. Even after the job was done, they returned to fix small issues without hesitation. That kind of follow-up is rare in a world full of disappearing contractors. I would recommend Creative for any remodeling project, big or small.

Mike helped me to buy my house, then helped me convert it into what I wanted. When I bought it, it…read morewas a 2-bedroom with popcorn ceilings (yes, asbestos) and stained carpets. We converted it to a 4-bedroom, added recessed lighting, got rid of the asbestos ceilings (with professional mitigation), added insulation, updated flooring and did a bunch of other stuff. His initial quote was for two months and despite me adding to his scope, he was totally done a few days ahead of schedule and I moved in on the 2-month mark. Levine homes was amazing to work with and did a terrific job. I'm so grateful!

Okay it's always so easy to write a review when the event was recent and you left feeling like the…read moreperson really did go the extra mile for you - especially when they did not have to. I'm in a very difficult situation right now at this point in my house construction and so I decided to reach out to builders in the area. Mike, the owner of Levine Homes, responded almost immediately and offered to talk to me and when we got on the phone (I had conf call my husband who was at work) , we found out that my house isn't far from where he was going to be. So Mike offered to drop by to take a look and give me some input. He spent an HOUR at the site with me , checking things out etc and offered me some very useful advice. And get this, when I went to City Hall later with a check list of what he told me I should get from the city, he came in for one of his projects and saw that I had forgotten what one of the forms was called - he then proceeded to help me ask for the right forms and documents and looked through the forms with me and explained what they were! He was SO HELPFUL! And he didn't even KNOW ME and he's going out his way to HELP ME! I could only imagine what he would do for someone who has hired him to work on their house. Such a stand up guy! I'm not even sure Mike needs Yelp , but if you find yourself checking out his Yelp page please know that he offered his assistance and his time when he had absolutely no reason or obligation to do so - other than the fact that he understood my situation and wanted to help me in any way he could. It's interesting, because I woke up that morning staring up at the ceiling and praying for just ONE person who knows what they're doing to give me some feedback - and the powers that be came through! Mike was one of them! Thank you! Cheers!

Nick Bar, solar tech extraordinaire, came to our place to assess a series of messages from Tesla…read more(itself unresponsive) saying we weren't connected. For at least two months, our kilowatts per day weren't feeding back into the system. Bummer, right? I shopped around, and when I found out about Nick, I knew I'd be in good hands. Nick came, talked to us, checked out the system and advised us that it looks like we are connected. It's the Tesla mobile app that likely needs updating and we're in the clear. He gave us a ton of information, didn't try to sell us anything, and did this all for free. I know whom I'm going to call next time I have a solar glitch, or want to upgrade my system. You can't buy generosity, or good heartful service. It has to be given. Nick Bar is my solar guy. He should be yours.

Jack and his crew have done work at both my parent's house and mine for years, and I am always…read moreimpressed with the level of quality of the jobs. They're not the cheapest, but so far, they are the best. From tubs to windows, drywall to brickwork, bathrooms and bedrooms and laundry rooms all have come out beautifully. They have rebuilt and customized several rooms and areas for me, and they are exactly what I wanted. Working with their architect, we have designed and implemented some wonderful remodels.

I had a great home buying experience working with Alyssa. From the first time I reached out to her,…read moreshe was consistently helpful and had great communication. My partner and I were first time homebuyers and didn't know anything about the process. I met with Alyssa and she walked me through the basics in a way that I could easily understand. She got us set up with the Compass app so we could search for homes through the app and let her know ones we were interested in. For every home, she followed up with the seller's realtor to get the status of the home. She went with us to open houses or set up private showings. It's such a big purchase, and having someone knowledgeable about what to look out for was super helpful. She let us know pros and cons for the homes we looked at and it really helped us make a decision. Once we found a house we loved, she put in the offer and took charge from there, which I appreciated. She explained the steps in escrow and kept us updated along the way. We had to counter offer and her advice on was probably what got our offer accepted! Alyssa helped set up the home inspections, plus contractor inspections to get quotes for repairs. I didn't have any experience with this, so being able to rely on her and her trusted contacts was invaluable. The closing process was very smooth and we ended up with a great house. The whole Ito Orio group were great throughout the entire journey - always sending updates, getting signatures, communicating with all the parties, everything was seamless. They all made the process super easy and I'm especially thankful to have had Alyssa's guidance during the process.

We had the pleasure to work with Scott Hamada as our real estate agent when looking to purchase a…read morehome in Torrance. My husband and I initially were looking on our own and were having such a difficult time due to the craziness of the housing market recently. Once we were connected with Scott, everything was less stressful and he was able to help us navigate the home-buying process from start to finish. My husband and I also are not originally from the South Bay area so having someone who grew up here and is familiar with the area was extremely helpful! Communication: Easy peasy! Scott was always easy to reach and promptly replied if any questions came up. Expertise: Scott was able to answer any questions that we came up with based on his knowledge and previous experience. He was able to clearly explain the process and paperwork to us non-real estate folk and provided us with insight throughout the entire process. Overall, we had a great experience working with Scott! He is so friendly, easy to work with, and gets the job done! We honestly do not know if we would be able to have purchased a home without his assistance. We highly recommend working with Scott!!! Thank you so much, Scott and the Ito Orio group!