Bear Restoration

Bear was hired to rebuild my home and also to clean my personal contents. I specifically asked them to not throw anything out, so I could make a list of damaged items for insurance reimbursement. They threw out a ton of stuff. Also, their staff stole some items, but it was impossible to prove this. There were constant disputes about doing work with good quality. For example, I had to ask them to fire the electricians who they had subcontracted because they refused to install lighting and wall outlets where I wanted them. They refused to comply with my request and I was stuck with their shoddy workmanship. The people they had install my air conditioning did a horrible job. I repeatedly asked them to install it properly, but they refused to do so. It was either sue them or accept their horrible work. My library had two A/C outlets, but they only installed one and were adamant that was "correct." Today my living room is at 75 degrees while the library is a scorching 85 degrees with the A/C on. This is due to their incompetence in installing the A/C. For years, I repeatedly asked them to make the repair and correct the problem. They refused! There was a leak in the roof that took 5 years to fix. Every spring the roof leaked buckets (literally) in my living room. They stuccoed over an outside faucet. The job took 11 months to complete. At the same time, complete homes were being built nearby in 2 months. These are just a few of the many problems dealing with this company.

They had to replace the dry wall and rebuild the frame. They had to re caulk, and repaint the entire room so it would match. They also replaced the carpet in our room due to finger print dust being everywhere. I would give them a A+ if I could. They were understanding, professional and very responsive to our needs. They did what they said they were and did it very well. They would make any marketing manager proud. They even called in a heat expert for a line that was set to low and they stayed until almost midnight to put our house back together when that work was done.

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This is the second time we have used Bear for water damage. They arrived right on time and completed the job just as promised. Everything looks like new. Also coordinated with our insurance company.

Always there for us, Good Crew that works for him. Ao far, just stage one clean out of the burned area. .... We hope he can finish the job and not do an over estimate according to insurance over billing When they hear it is insuance as the claim, they tend to streeeeeetchhhh the quotes. Dealing with the owner, Jeff hayes- you could not find a nicer person to deal with. If you ever have an emegency like we did, He is your Bayer Asprin...!

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They were prompt and professional. They re-did the ceiling plastering three times because they were not satisfied with their first two results. After the work was done they cleaned the carpets very well in the two rooms affected by the leak.

Over the last four years, they were very punctual. They detected water between the walls. They were very responsive as well. They were very courteous and polite. Kim's knowledge about collaborating with mortgage aspects is top-notch.

When I had a significant house fire I had asked one of my coworkers what company he had used when his house was damaged by water. He suggested Bear Restoration and knowing that I work with a group of difficult and hard to please engineers, his recommendation spoke volumes about the company. I contacted Bear and ultimately used them for the restoration of my house. From the moment that I began to work with Bear; I knew that I had made the right choice. During what was one of the most difficult challenges I had ever faced, the staff at Bear walked me through all the steps with the insurance company and also provided help with myriad of issues that are all part of dealing with a fire. To say that I received an exceptional level of attention and compassion is an understatement. In contrast, I had used a different company for the board up and I felt as if that all they were trying to do was get more money out of me and the insurance company. They had the compassion of an amoeba. Anyone who has faced a devastating fire can attest to the overwhelming sense of loss and the necessity to take action quickly. That isn’t a good place to be in when you need to make decisions that will ultimately have such an impact. I am fortunate that I made the right decision. Restoring my house was a huge project both in terms of the cost and the amount of work that needed to be done. The work by Bear was exceptional. They were responsive to my never ending questions and provided me with daily updates. The lead carpenter assigned to my project went above and beyond the call of duty constantly and provided me with his cell so that I could always get in touch with him.. The subcontractors that Bear used were all outstanding. The work and the customer service that I received from my experience with Bear was first rate. After being out of my house for a year, I can honestly say that I moved back into a better house. This is one company that I wouldn't hesitate recommending to my family and friends. .

They were professional and compassionate. They secured the property (with boards) until the restoration work could begin. Their board-up survived the Spring Winds (gusts of 50 mph.) Kim - the VP and the phone contact there was great and very patient. Their work was clean and as attractive as boards can be on the front of a house. I don't know what I would have done without them that day. Thumbs up. (I just hope I never have to use them again.)

This property was involved in the Great Southwest Freeze of 2011 - Albuquerque New Mexico,. A water pipe froze and burst on February 2, 2011, which flooded the entire townhouse of approximately 1060 sq ft. Water mitigation was completed (by Steamatic Albuquerque New Mexico) - water cleaned up, laminate flooring removed - see my review for them on their page. Bear Restoration subcontracted another company (Ray's Flooring Albuquerque New Mexico) for the floor tile work, and I give a review for them on their page. My cumulative grades given are a combination of the following grades for several different people at Bear Restoration. Veronica (in the office) is TERRIFIC. Every time I called, she sounded concerned, friendly and caring. She takes her job seriously and has great follow-up. Veronica gets an "A." WADE at Bear Restoration came out to survey and plan the work in the beginning of February. He said, "we can't get you on the work list until the end of February." Later in the conversation, he told us that his home also had water damage, and "I can guarantee that my floor will be done this weekend."The fact that his house will take priority is NOT what a customer wants to hear! Unprofessional. However, I was willing to understand that there are perks associated with folks who do this type of work - one being that their homes get done first. However, the work start date was delayed and delayed. Finally, we were given a work start date of April 5 - a full 2 months after the disaster occurred. SO, we waited and had SEVERAL SEVERAL SEVERAL telephone, in-person, and email conversations with Wade during this waiting time because we were doing some upgrades (different colored paint, tile rather than laminate flooring, different baseboards etc.) With Wade, we walked through the home and even put paint swatches on the different walls, gave him a SAMPLE of the baseboard, SAMPLES of the paint colors (color mixture information, names of the paint colors, name of the paint manufacturer, the name of the home improvement store where we got the paint and baseboard samples) explained in DETAIL what we wanted done. We did our side of the work - supplying information SEVERAL times via telephone conversations, email and in-person conversations (ad nauseum) to make sure WADE (since he was the point-of-contact-person) had the information he needed. Why did we have so many conversations? Because from the get-go, his attitude did not give me any confidence at all. Did I perceive him to be a passive aggressive smart aleck? YES. We didn't change our minds once during the process. Short of writing the contract ourselves, passing the information along to the work crew ourselves, and basically, doing Wade's work for him, we gave him clear, concise, detailed information. When the April 5 work date came, the workers showed up exactly on time, but called me to say that they did not have the specific work order, and did not know what colors to use, which color went in which room, they didn't know there was a change in the baseboards etc. They had no idea that there was supposed to be upgrades and came with the wrong paint and other materials to do the work. I had to call WADE and ask him to come over with the work order. I had to leave work and go to the property. When he showed up, he said, "I didn't realize your job was coming up so fast." From February 2 to April 5 - with several push back dates, is NOT fast! Who is he trying to fool? Pitiful, poor professionalism and communication. He couldn't care less about his customers. Wade gets a triple "F." However, ONCE THEY HAD THE CORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORK, the painters and other workers (new insulation, drywall, wall texturing, and painting ) were very friendly and worked quickly and efficiently. Mike (the supervisor) asked questions, and all workers gave me the impression that they really cared. Mike and the other workers get an "A" for professionalism, caring, quality work and friendliness. They didn't remove any of the nails in the walls (from pictures and artwork)- just painted right over them. That's the only issue I had with them. To be fair, I didn't notice them and I am sure that if I had asked, Mike would have removed them, patched the holes and painted. But the question is: Should I have had to ask? Overall, drywall and texturing looks very good, paint is good. Mike was attentive to my "punch list" of little areas that needed to be redone. I have no issues with Mike or his crew. Now get this: On the work order, the expected completion date (written by WADE) says: February 27, 2011. On my insurance company website, the payment (from my insurance company) was made to them on 3/2! We also paid them for the upgrades early in March around the same time. O.K. to be fair, there was some confusion and delay in us endorsing the contract. -only because of unclear communication from Wade. Once we were notified by Wade, we were delayed in signing the contract only by a couple of days (we work and could not drop everything and run over there). However, because we did not respond at his whim of coming down immediately, he pushed back our start date to early April. ACTUAL work dates for this part of the work is 4/5 - 4/8. Will I use them again? Most likely, NO. If another representative other than Wade will be assigned to my contract, I might. Otherwise, I'll probably look on Angie's list for an "A" graded contractor. Bear Restoration is on my insurance company's "preferred provider" list. I've talked to my insurance company about what happened.

Very badly. When I contacted them they referred to the work as a patch up job. And when I stated all the safety violations and discrepancies they did not want to talk about them and just wanted their money. Unfortunatly, my insurance company paid them. They did not come out and correct any of the work. I contracted someone else and the corrections were made. I appologise for grammer and spelling errors. Reynaldo Ortega 3827 cheraz rd. NE, ABQ, NM 87111

During the course of re-building the top of my home earlier this year, the top of the house was covered with a tarp or other materials during one of the worst storms of the Spring season, which led to water getting in the house. Now I have rust on the vent covers and other problems inside the house that I suspect are associated with the Project Manager's decision to remove the top of my house without having the roofer lined up in time to properly cover the roof prior to this storm. I do understand that the Spring season makes it difficult to plan, except I was put off several times while I was living in a hotel (almost three months in a hotel). In addition, some drains put on the new roof and connecting gutters are not working properly, so there was some flooding around my house during recent rainstorms, in one location where Bear Restoration did place drains and gutters, and another location where they should have and did not. Since this contractor works with my insurance company, and offers a warranty that states "the warranty is to inure to the benefit of the insurance company and the policyholder", it would seem that correcting one water damage related problem in a manner that leads to another water damage problem is not very responsible, and in my mind, absolutely unacceptable. I had contacted Anthony over a week ago, but was willing to wait until he returned from vacation, as he requested. When I talked to him yesterday, not only did he raise his voice and talk to me in an unacceptable manner, he told me he wouldn't be out here to even look at anything for four days (in other words, I'm not on the priority list), and told me that the inadequate drainage constructed by Bear is not his problem. It isn't just the drainage that IS a problem, I told Anthony there are several other issues. I have a window that has to be replaced because Bear setup a negative air pressure device at this location, broke the seal, and now there is condensation between the windows. The air pressure device came open on several occasions, leaving the house freezing cold while the heat was on. Since this was before I moved to a hotel, the cost of my gas and electric was ridiculous while this nonsense was going on. I have nails popping out of the wall around a closet that was supposed to be re-built as part of the project, and I have stained brick in the hallway because one of Bear's employees spilled paint and smeared it all over the place. I was told by Anthony that I would have to be out of the house for three days while it is cleaned with acid. As Project Manager, Anthony should have done that before I moved back in the house...not put me out twice because he hoped I wouldn't notice it. The paint smears are so obvious that everyone visiting my house asks what happened. One of the heating zones in my house was not working properly when I moved back into my house, but we agreed to wait until the weather was cooler to resolve that....I'm concerned I will be told it is "not their problem." Heaven only knows what happened during that weekend that even more water got inside my house while under the watch of Bear Restoration, and after my phone conversation yesterday, I don't trust Anthony Sanchez one bit. This company has a long way to go to make good on the giant amount of money they made off of my insurance company to "correct a water issue." I regret sending a good report to Angie's List without waiting to see if these problems would really be taken care of, instead giving Anthony much undeserved credit for taking pride in his work.

This was an amazing experience for me. I thought my house was a total loss, and that even if it could be fixed it was way to big an undertaking to be accomplished long distance from California, until this wonderful company stepped in to rescue me and my house. I can only imagine the huge amount of work it took to do what they did, but the results were absoluely stunning. It IS a new house, just like they promised, but it is also MY house - only better! And the estimate? Right on the money. I mean exactly - no suprises, no excuses. Every promise they made they delivered on. Then when it was all over, THEY thanked ME for trusting them with my house. Can you beat that? If you have an "A" list, please put Bear Restoration at the top of it.

HE DID A LOVELY JOB OF WATERPROOFING MY BASEMENT. HE WAS COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL. HE CALLED BEFORE COMING OUT AND WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. HE ALSO FINISHED IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.