CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the construction services of Harbor View and project manager Jim Russell. The unique contemporary custom house Benny, Jim and his team agreed to build on family land on the South Shore of Walloon Lake was as complex as its gets.
It was designed by a respected Detroit architect (and family member) in multiple pods with aluminum standing seam sloping shed roofs, black masonry walls and accents, and large gray panel Hardie Board—unlike any design features on the Lake or in Northern Michigan. The project was difficult to price and even more difficult to build. The lot included protected wetlands and conservation easements making the foundation, septic system, and licensing approvals particularly tricky. Jim and his team bid the job confidently, came in at a very reasonable price given all the custom features, and delivered on every promise made with monthly line-item accounting, and a minimum of change orders and delays (even given an extended COVID building moratorium).
Harbor View has become part of our family delivering personalized responsiveness and professionalism. The final product is a masterpiece. It is filled with light, comfort, intimacy and imagination. Kudos to Jim and his team for their knowledge, experience, teamwork and creativity. There was no problem that they could not solve, usually doing so within budget and promised delivery dates. Cathy and I recommend Harbor View enthusiastically and unconditionally as the best in the business whether you plan to build a conventional lake cottage or the Taj Mahal. Theirs is a complete full service operation.
Thank you again for your friendship, attention to detail and calm results-oriented demeanor. We now have the family vacation home of our dreams.”
“Our family loves the new cottage. That obvious goal was not easy: we wanted to save everything about the old cottage that had been in the family for 100+ years. They listened to what we loved about the old cottage and helped translate that into an updated one without losing the spirit of the old one. Harbor View is a team of many skills. The work was very professional. Our outstanding project manager Connie K cheerfully and expertly managed schedules and multiple providers through all challenges, including a pandemic. She knowledgeably navigated local requirements and kept us in the loop throughout. Her weekly reporting’s that included pictures were great since the three of us are located in California, Georgia as well as Michigan. We are ready to build our next cottage in 100 years with Harbor View and her!”
“A functioning, well built home with a back up team always available to fix the unexpected, make improvements as time passes, and look after the owner’s needs if they are out of town is the magic formula for carefree living. We have built several homes, remodeled numerous others and occasionally need emergency help during peak periods. Harbor View Custom Builders have been of service to us for the last three years at our Bay Harbor home which we built over 20 years ago. We couldn’t be happier with their service, workmanship, attitude, attention to detail, and availability. The remodel project was excellent. Harbor View Custom Builders has given us the carefree experience we were looking for.”
“We had been renting vacation homes for our families to enjoy in the area for several years and after looking at many possible homes to purchase and not finding any that worked for us, we decided to buy land and build our own vacation home. We chose Harbor View Custom Builders after interviewing three builders. It was our first time at building a home and we can sincerely say that it was a fantastic experience!
Ben assured us that our project manager would walk us through the steps along the way to help keep the process manageable and fun. It was important for us to hire a builder that was going to have our back and be meticulously passionate about quality and be understanding of our goals.
Harbor View Custom Builders kept every promise to work with us and to help us stay on budget and to complete the build as close to the targeted timeframe as possible. They also work closely with some of the most talented local teams in town to help ensure that every part of our build would be of the same caliber. The following teams that work with Harbor View like the architect team, the electrician, the kitchen and bath designer, the tile team, the painters, and the interior design team all worked together to help us to hit the home run that we were all aiming toward.
We are impressed that it has been over two years since the home was competed and Ben still reaches out to us periodically to just make sure we are still enjoying the home and if we have any questions. The service that you get with HVCB is second to none.
We have enjoyed two summers with our family at the lake house so far and we are so incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish by choosing Harbor View Custom Builders to partner with us on the build.
We have and will always recommend HVCB to everyone who is looking to work with a builder with the highest standards and the utmost passion for finest craftsmanship and detail.”
“Prior to moving to Petoskey my family and I purchased a house requiring extensive renovation and an addition. This was right before the pandemic; from the start Harbor View was open and honest about our expectations vs reality and helped guide us through the planning process. Our plan was to complete the construction and then move up to Petoskey. Ben took the time to help us develop the most cost-effective way to execute the architect’s plans and Connie K was assigned our project manager. Shortly after that the pandemic hit and the world went crazy. We moved up to Northern Michigan immediately so now Harbor View was forced to work around my family living in the house. While it’s never fun living in a construction zone, all of Harbor View contractors and subcontractors became an extension of our family. Their flexibility around our schedule and kids and their ability to work around the COVID impacts was inspiring. The Harbor View team also anticipated much of the supply chain issues and preordered as much of the required material as possible so there would be minimal impact on the construction. Any issue that popped up or any anything that we had questions on, Connie would get us the answer immediately. Additionally, any time an issue popped up (like the shingle factory burning down in October just before winter) Connie was able to break the news to us and have multiple courses of action available to remedy the issue. The final product, especially the new addition, was amazing. If you are looking for a builder who has the integrity, team of skilled craftsmen, work ethic and quality final product, Harbor View should be the first builder you call. “