No Never

Oh, I would not recommend niche builders to anybody because they did not pay the sub contractor and they want to put a lien on my house so they will get paid by an each

Project kept getting delayed, cost doubled, and I've spent the past three months attempting to get Niche to correct shoddy installation of my new skylights that I didn't notice until shortly after the August 2022 installation.

The company was great to work with, but sometimes the subcontractors were unpredictable.

Yes! you won’t go wrong. I promise

I will.

The management wasn't very forthcoming with information.

Niche Builders Group is the Fyre festival of contractors. If you aren’t sure what that means, google it or watch the documentary on Netflix or Hulu. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. Reading most of the reviews on various websites will paint a picture that a lot of people are experiencing very similar problems. I unfortunately was fooled by their flashy presentations and decided to trust them with the $100K renovation of my home. I’ve experienced everything all of the other negative reviews have claimed and more throughout the last year and a half, and my project is still not finished. Did I mention the original timeframe for my project was 10 weeks?
Before I talk about some of the issues I’ve encountered with Niche, I’d like to give some advice for things I’ve learned through my research to look out for when hiring a contractor.
1. If a contractor gives you an estimate and tries to get you to sign a contract by saying the offer is only good for right then or for 24hrs. Maybe they are offering some “discounts” that will not be available after they leave… Kick them out of your house and tell them you will be going with someone else. Real contractors will understand your right to get multiple offers and that it takes time to do that. This is a shady sales tactic that sales people try to use.
2. California law states that a contractor can only ask for an upfront payment of NO MORE THAN 10% of the total contract price, up to $10K. Do not let any contractor trick you into paying more than that up front.
3. If a contractor hires a subcontractor and work gets done on your property, make sure to get a signed statement from the original contractor saying all work is done and all debts are paid. If the contractor does not pay the subcontractor, the subcontractor can put a mechanics lien on your property, which you will be responsible to pay.
4. Make sure your contract is specific. List materials to be used, timeframes for when portions of or the entire project will be complete, etc. Also list penalties for the contractor not meeting those items. For example, we did new vinyl floors throughout the entire house. Replacing the baseboards was not included and had to be added later once we found that fun fact out.
With all of that said, I will repeat DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH NICHE. If you talk to them about the negative reviews online, some of the things they will say or do:
1. They will blame the customer trying to make you think it was something the customer did that made to project go bad. Saying the customer was too picky and couldn’t be satisfied even though they tried to do everything they could to make them happy, or some other BS like that.
2. They will show you pictures of previous projects to show how “great” their work is. This is very misleading. First you don’t know if the pictures are real or if they got them online. Second, just because the kitchen or bathroom they’re showing you looks really nice, does not mean they really did anything to help it get to that point. For example, my master bathroom looks amazing, but Niche has absolutely nothing to do with it. I designed it, I picked out all of the materials, and the subcontractors did the work. What Niche did do, was mess up the subcontractor’s contract so the scope of work was incorrect and when the subcontractor requested additional money to complete the correct work, Niche did not pay them and instead just tried to ignore it. So now the subcontractor can put a mechanics lien on my property if they choose to.
3. They might call a “satisfied customer” and get them to talk to you to prove they do good work and that it’s safe to do business with them. When they try this, ask yourself, “did they really call a customer, or was it an employee that’s in on the scam?”
4. They will do their best to convince you that the work will be amazing and everyone will be happy and you’ll be begging them to do more projects for you.
I regret three things in my life. Marrying my first wife, buying a timeshare, and choosing to do business with Niche Builders group. Here’s what I experienced.
In January 2021 we had a few contractors come give us estimates for the large renovation of the house we had just purchased. We were planning on removing walls to make a large living room, moving/building a new kitchen, creating a master bathroom, creating a half bath, creating a laundry room, new floor throughout the house, and a few other things. Niche came across as the best candidate, but we later found out it was all smoke and mirrors.
1. Niche’s sales team shows you flashy presentations and promises you the world. They push a lot of fancy things such as 3D renderings of your project before they start the demolition phase. But, when the workers actually show up, they tell you the sales team was wrong and you were told things that can’t actually be done. You’ll go back and forth trying to get the 3D rendering to show what you are asking for, but they never get it right and it’s just a huge waste of time.
2. Our project originally cost $105K. Niche said their policy is to get 1/3 of the payment up front and then the rest in a final payment after all work is completed and the customer is completely satisfied. We ended up paying $37K up front, but then 4 months later when work was actually about to start (due to permits, discussed below), they asked for $5K per week to cover costs. I later found out this was to cover their subcontractor costs. I would hand Niche a cashier’s check for $5K and they would pay the sub. Then, all of a sudden, the workers cleared out their tools and stopped coming to work. After two days of no one showing up, I started asking Niche what was happening. Niche replied after a few days saying plumbing supplies were not available and they would figure it out. After a week of no work being done, I finally got a call from the subcontractor. He told me, as per his contract, Niche was to pay him $6,250 per week and that the checks he was getting from them were bouncing. So not only did Niche somehow bounce checks that they absolutely had money for, but they also lied to me to try to cover it up.
To fix the problem and keep the project moving, we agreed that I would pay the subcontractor $6,250 directly each week. The only reason I agreed to these payments is because it was being deducted off the overall total.
3. Niche representatives are notoriously difficult to get in contact with after you signed the contract and started your project. They take days and sometimes weeks to answer simple yes/no questions. I found the easiest way to actually get them to answer your call is to call from a phone they’ve never seen before. I have a few instances where I would call from my phone 2-3 times and not get anyone to answer, but the first time I call from my wife’s phone or my work phone, they answer the first time. I’ve been asking for a copy of my contract for a month and a half, because this project has gone on for over a year and I can’t find my original copy. They have told me they would get it to me within 24hrs twice, but have failed at this extremely easy task. At what point do you think they would just have a copy made and leave it at the front desk for me to swing by and pick up?
4. If you do not stay on top of your project, Niche will allow it to just sit and the delays will keep adding up. They have ZERO initiative. For example, the reason it took 5 months from the time we signed a contract to the time they actually started working was because they needed blueprints to submit for building permits. They didn’t understand who to request my property blueprints from the city. They had me calling around trying to see if the city had anything. After a couple months of getting nowhere, I had to tell them to just get the architect to draw new blueprints for my property. If I didn’t do the stuff or tell them to do the stuff, they just let my project sit. After the plans were submitted to the city, I had to call and email the city for updates. They told me I was the only person that ever called about my project, even though Niche told me they had called numerous times for updates.
5. Originally we were told the entire project would be done within 8-10 weeks (when the actual work started after we got permits). Around week 9 we started paying the subcontractor directly and were told it would be no more than 6-8 weeks more. At the 6 week mark I was told the 6-8 week estimate was just for the subcontractor portion to be done, and after that would be 4 more weeks of installing the kitchen. It took two months before they started installing the kitchen, and now all they have left is the counter tops, backsplash, and kitchen island, however they have been stalling again for an additional month for what I believe is they don’t have money to finish. So I’m hiring a different contractor to finish the job and will just take Niche to court for breach of contract.
One of the biggest hassles we had to overcome was when we were told they would be removing our toilets, showers, sinks, etc. They said they would do everything they could to minimize the impact and that we would be without those items for no more than 2-3 weeks. They removed that stuff August of 2021. We got a sink and toilet that was useable in January 2022. We didn’t have a port-o-potty, we didn’t have hot water. What we had was a garden hose in our backyard. We set up a camping shower tent and for FIVE MONTHS we showered with cold water from a hose. I won’t get into details about what we had to do for other bathroom related activities, but I will say a bucket and plastic bags were oftentimes involved. Niche did nothing to speed things up. In fact, they never came to the property to check on anything the entire time we were paying the subcontractor.
These are just some of the problems we had with Niche. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. They should lose their license.

They are honest and got the job done on a timely manner, I am very satisfied with the outcome

I would leave higher rating but I get no response to problem after work is done and it involves a lien on my property because of their failure to pay a supplier

Nice job done.

The salesmen were very personable and had nice personalities.

Niche Builders Group were a premium price builder. They were completely unorganized in the office. They do not hold appointments, or make timely contracts. Their office is horrible.

I was very happy with the way that they conducted the job. The people were very professional. I was completely satisfied with everything.

Overall, they are a good company. Better communication would have made the experience that much better.

I could not have asked for anything better!

The salesperson Subhi, was very professional and knowledgeable. I was especially impressed by the contractors that came out. The entire crew was polite, professional, fast, and efficient. They kept a clean work area. They were in and out. I am very pleased.