River Stone Custom Homes, LLC

Sep 28th, 2021

I dont normally write very many business reviews, but I felt compelled to write this one. We were interested in building a custom home with Darwin Goodsell of River Stone Custom Homes. I have heard horror stories from some of my friends, family, and patients who dealt with homebuilders who didnt adhere to the building timeline, werent responsive to customer questions, lacked integrity, used inferior supplies, or ran over budget on the cost of the build. I have to say, none of these apply to Darwin. Darwin did everything possible to adhere to our building timeline. He didnt sugar coat the projected finish date just to get our business and put us at ease since we were new at this process. Of course, there are things that happen outside of his control, like the weather. He was very realistic about those events and didnt just tell us things that we wanted to hear. He was very well versed in the steps to gain a building permit, surveying, testing and preparing the land for excavation. Darwin stayed right on schedule. The quality of his product is top notch. He recommended fixtures, flooring, lighting cabinetry and countertops, but let us select the final product. He gave us very reasonable allowances to buy these various things. We could find fixtures, flooring, etc. that we liked and were still within our allotted budget. We discovered that some builders add 15% to the cost of these products to line their pockets and give the impression that cost over runs were due to the items we selected. Darwin doesnt add any additional fees to his products and said if we can find what we want at other stores, to buy the item and hell install it. He did caution us about his subcontractors warranties and, in some instances, it made sense to move forward with some of his recommended products. We didnt run across any financial surprises, and if something didnt cost as much as anticipated, the surplus was deducted from the cost of the house. He did his best to stay in budget in the midst of rising lumber costs. Anytime we had a question about anything, Darwin replied in a well thought out, honest, thorough, and timely manner. At no time did we feel he was avoiding us or making us feel we were lower on his priority list than another project. He was very approachable and he stayed on track during our meetings with him. His homes are air tight and exceed national homebuilding standards and are well ventilated. We did our research before hiring Darwin and found that people who used him to build their homes were extremely satisfied with the final result. Darwins business ethics are above reproach. He also genuinely wants to build individual homes that his buyers will love. My wife and I completely trust him, and if we ever decide to build a home, we would only build with River Stone Custom Homes.
Nov 5th, 2017