Home Makeovers Made Simple

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I am really surprised by the negative reviews on here! I've hired HMMS on a few different occasions and had pleasant experiences. My first experience: I first hired Erle to help me with my bathroom back in 2010. I bought my house and then found that the only bathroom had huge water damage behind the shower wall. We ended up having to remove everything (down to the studs) for about half of my bathroom. Since I had just bought my house, I didn't have very much money and asked how I could get everything fixed so that I didn't have to worry about it again, but pay as little as possible. We worked out how I could pay (time and materials), and what things I could do myself to save his time. We ended up running longer than expected, but most of that was due to my delays in not getting my things done so they could come in when we agreed. Erle was nice to work with and understood my situation so, with enough notice from me, he would reschedule his crew to come in after I was done. One of the great things they did was make sure that when they were done for they day they cleaned up and put the toilet back in so that I could still have a functioning toilet during the times they weren't there. They were very attentive to realizing this was the only bathroom in the house. In all, I didn't spend nearly as much for my bathroom as I had originally expected to, and while it did take longer, I don't blame them for it. They were great about working with me on my project! My second major experience: After the big wind storm a couple years ago one of my fences fell down. Both the neighbor and I have large dogs, so I needed to get the fence fixed immediately. I called Erle up and he sent a project lead over the very next work day at 9am. We talked about what I wanted (same as what was there), and how feasible it was to just fix instead of put in a whole new fence. In the end, we replaced the whole fence because it was more rotted out than I thought. I had a couple of contractors bid because it was going to be a big job, and the HMMS team's quote came out slightly higher than everyone else's, but not by much, so I went with them because I already knew of their work (and some other stuff they had done in between the bathroom and fence). The project again took slightly longer than expected, but that was partially due to trying to do work outdoors in late November/early December. The rain didn't help progress, but it got done. In the end, because I had again negotiated to do some work myself, I felt good about the final price. My third major experience: I got a job across the country and decided to rent out my house. I needed a team to come in after I had moved to do some of the honey-do list that I had never gotten around to. They did everything with me across the country - new kitchen countertop, backsplash, sink; paint fixes throughout the house; new carpet; etc. HMMS was the only contractor I asked for this because I needed someone I could trust to be in my house unattended for days at a time. Not being there, I expected the costs to skyrocket, as I wasn't sharing in the work, but the prices were very reasonable to me, and they provided me receipts when I asked for them. When my property management team took possession to begin renting out, they were very happy with the work they saw. I am convinced (though I can't prove it), that their work helped get a renter into my house more quickly than if they hadn't been there. Overall: I am happy with HMMS. Their prices are a bit high for me but fair for the market, and they have worked with me on that in the past and I think their work is excellent. In between the 1st and 2nd time I had them come by for quick fixes around the house which didn't take more than a couple of hours and wouldn't have hired them so many times for big or little things if they didn't do such a great job. I am a single woman and felt safe with having their crew in the house with me. I am appreciative of HMMS, and plan to use them again if the need presents itself.

I would strongly advise anyone considering to hire Home Makeovers Made Simple (HMMS) to look elsewhere. When Erle and Koreen came over originally they were so lovely, but the endless amount of difficulties we had thereafter turned my dream kitchen remodel into a complete nightmare! My mother is an AutoCAD designer and had drafted what we wanted to be done in the remodel which was very helpful, but she asked Erle for clarification pre remodel and he wrote this response, "While I appreciate your mother's knowledge, your mother is eating away at my time on things that have already been discussed with you, or dialing down into the specifics of how certain things need to be done. This is not my first project, and I am a licensed and bonded contractor. My time is valuable and I hope that you can see that. I just want to communicate this before it gets farther out of hand. If I am going to continue answering questions that are already discussed in our contract, or being told how to do things, then I need to be paid for my time." The ironic thing about this comment is that many mistakes were made to include, but not limited to, charging us the wrong sales tax rate. I actually have a document signed by HMMS informing the Washington State Department of Revenue that they would not reimburse me the $300 owed. The first mistake they made which cost me $500 was telling me that I needed engineering done for the demolition of a weight supporting wall for which he gave a referral. One of my friends, an engineer, suggested dropping into the permitting office as she was fairly sure we could get the permit without engineering. What do you know, she was right! However, the engineer had already begun work and in spite of me asking Erle to negotiate for us, we had to pay for work rendered. Thanks to my mom, I didn't have to pay the balance which would have been an additional $500. We all make mistakes and I am not above that, however, this was Erle's mistake and he took no ownership which is especially irritating since he lectured us about his system and level of expertise. Now that was had the permit in hand we were very anxious for work to begin as I was due to have a baby (home birth) within 10 weeks and really wanted a functioning kitchen by then. However, now that we had signed a contract, we were not the priority and work never began until a week later. Once it did begin, work was intermittent and communication difficult. We were handed off to a project lead, Rick, who although was very kind to us, was unable to answer simple questions such as, "when will you guys be returning?" When we asked Erle or Koreen they seemed annoyed and told us we should ask Rick. Needless to say, despite MANY promises of an on-time completion, the project ran late and I was now overdue and upset. When I checked in with Koreen (Erle was ill and could not be reached) her e-mail response was, "Yes, the tentative schedule we gave you said we hoped to be done by the 21st (2 weeks ahead of schedule). However, 1- we have done approximately 12 hours of work and bought some materials not in our contract that we should not have done (ie- cut in for down draft venting, install kitchen faucet, help move your refrigerator inside, etc.), understandably extending the time of completion. 2- we are still ahead of schedule of A- 20 working days (does not include when you are working or we are waiting on subs, ie- granite), and B- October 5th (the date you said we needed to be completed by)." The interesting thing about this is my due date was October 1, a fact every mother will tell you they would never forget, (fortunately the baby wasn't born until the 4th) but why I ask you would I ever have agreed to a date post delivery??? Every new mother would love a house full of contractor while she has a new baby, right?!? They were late and still unable to take ownership for their mistakes. In some strange way, the blame for their being behind schedule was for the additional work they did not in the contract. Now like most people, I was at work while the contractors were doing their job, not supervising their labor. As such, if they bought materials or did work not outlined in their contract, how can that possibly be blamed on us? Moreover, once the job was complete, they asked that we pay for that work out of good conscience although we had no obligation to do so. They even asked us to pay $120 for their labor in helping us bring in a refrigerator from the garage. Really?? The people who just paid you $30,000 cash, whose kitchen you didn't finish on time, who are about to have a baby, you want $120 for helping bring in a fridge? You can't make this stuff up! What's even more ironic is that their lead Rick (Again can't say enough great stuff about him) who pulled some very long hours, had to ask our nanny to hold cabinets to the wall while he drilled them in, this while she was supposed to be caring for our 20 month old! There was no offer by HMMS to pay her labor while she helped. In the original contract, HMMS asserted that their work was warranted for up to 1 year. Well on the night of the first walk through I brought to their attention draws that didn't close, shoddy workmanship which they actually owned up to, but today, nearly 16 months later, nothing has been done about it! Shelves are constantly falling down and the kitchen is a disappointment to say the least. I kept hoping they would do as they said, but they did not. If you would like to see photos of their workmanship or e-mail traffic or the Seller's Disclosure form they signed refusing to reimburse us, please let me know i would be more than happy to oblige! Best of luck in your project! Carly Michael 253-324-0562

What a nightmare! The owners were very professional and accommodating before the project started and once it did, we couldn't even get a phone call returned or an email responded to. They are unprofessional, unreliable, and very sneaky with pricing. The owner even cursed at my husband and I tonight on the phone. There were issues with every aspect of the job. They told us they hired a top notch painter to paint the cabinets and that they would be taken to a controlled environment to be sanded, prepped, and painted however that didn't happen. They were painted in our kitchen by some guy and they didn't bother to ask/run it by us. The paint job was horrible and we are still waiting for the cabinet doors to be fixed, as there were dust, particles, and fish eyes all over them. The project was scheduled for 3 weeks and we finishing the project ourselves so we can be done with them at 8 weeks. Consider this a strong warning - do not hire them! They will knock your socks off to get you hooked in, then have you sign the contracts - FIXED BID, which means even if they don't do something you still pay for it, start the work,and then forget about you which then turns into being ignored. This was the worst experience we have ever had. To top it off..... They never even owned up to all of their mistakes. Pathetic.

They did an excellent job. I would call them in the future.