Richart Design

Melissa,
We are sorry that sending you another past due statement triggered such an inaccurate review of our company, but I must address the inconsistencies of your review:


1-When you hired us, you had a design concept in place and had already met with a General Contractor with a preliminary estimated budget based off your concept. Yes, you told Jason exactly what you wanted from your concept plans, however, we currently have 8 “Client Revisions” on record, requested by you. Between the amount of changes and rounds through city plan check, you can certainly expect this would extend the length of the initial design process and change estimated building costs.

2-Jason did in fact visit your residence, which is a rental and he met with the tenant, with whom you had asked him not to reveal the true nature of his visit. He spent the appropriate amount of time to review what was needed for him to start the project. You were not present at the walk-through. We provided you with the same as-built review/research as we do for all our clients.

3-A 1,500 SF home going through a 100% complete renovation, removing all interior walls and replacing the roof for under $300,000 is an unrealistic budget, especially in Southern California. A project of this size is considered a brand-new home.

4-Our fees were well within justification and we did not charge you for the multiple revisions beyond revising the original scope of work.

In response to the roof lines. You requested your 1960's home to look completely different and brought up to date. We discussed removing the low sloped roof lines and I suggested using pre-manufactured roof trusses, which is considered a cost-effective solution. You agreed to this.

5-The plans have been approved by the city, are complete construction documents and can be used by any General Contractor to build from.

We are not a Design/Build firm and only provide Construction Documents. We can only provide educated estimates of the building costs based on the industry standards and past jobs of similar scope. We do this for two reasons: It helps the client determine if all of their build requirements can be done at one time or if they have to do it in phases, as their budget permits.

We understand that Melissa may be disappointed with her experience. We strive to make every client relationship a happy one and for our clients to love their renovations or custom homes, but occasionally, we are not able to make that happen, despite our best efforts. A clear majority our clients love the homes we have designed for them and are often repeat clients or refer us to friends and family, which is an honor. A glance at our reviews on our website and Houzz, our awards on Houzz and hundreds of satisfied clients in our span of 25 years of design, is proof that we are not only a talented design firm, but believe that our relationship with our clients is a vital part of the project.

Richart Design