"My wife and I purchased a home from Larry/TJ in April 2013, and have been
very happy with our home and their work.
We initially met Larry in January 2013, and put a down payment on a new
home that was in the very early stages of construction.
I enjoyed my experience working with Larry, and would definitely recommend
working with them. When we first saw the property, it was basically a
shell. Larry shared with us his vision and plans for the home. We liked the
plans, we liked that the home was a new construction, we liked the price,
we liked the neighborhood, and we felt comfortable working with Larry.
We had an opportunity to customize various things in the home, some of
which we took advantage of (we added an island counter-top to the kitchen;
we ordered custom shelving for our walk-in closets). We were probably in
contact with Larry about every 2 weeks, either to select various finishes
(among the things we selected: counter tops, carpet color for the bedrooms,
carpet for the basement, tiles, light fixtures, etc.) or for a periodic
update on the progress of the home.
I believe closing was about 7 days delayed due to PGW delays, which held up
construction. After that, I ran into some trouble with my schedule (I'm a
lawyer and I was on trial), which pushed closing back another 10 days or so.
The budget was as expected. I believe we owed a small amount of extra money
at closing due to the addition of the island counter-top, in the kitchen.
We haven't had any problems with the house since we moved in. Larry has
been accessible by e-mail and phone if I've needed him. I've also bumped
into him around the neighborhood.
There was a warranty with the home. We're coming up on our 1-year
anniversary and have a small punch-list of items for Larry to touch up
(e.g. paint over some cracks in the wall from the house settling; plaster
over some spots the shower -- all very minor items). The house was clean
when we moved in. We also gave the windows, floors and counters a really
good cleaning.
Overall, we're very happy with the home. Larry was recommended to me by a
friend who purchased one of his homes on Norris St. We have since
recommended Larry to other friends, who also purchased their home from him.
The quality of the work is very good. He'll work with you to customize the
home as you'd like (for instance, my friends added a second oven in the
kitchen, a big jacuzzi in the master bedroom, downgraded the guest
bathrooms to save money, and added a gas line on the roof deck for a
grill). In retrospect, I wish I took more advantage of the ability to
customize the construction.
Nonetheless, I am very happy with the quality of our home, and the way in
which Larry goes about conducting business." - Will Weiss
Nonetheless, I am very happy with the quality of our home, and the way in
which Larry goes about conducting business.
"We have been driving by your house on Cumberland Street and enjoying its progress. Several times we have talked about how grateful we feel that you are working in the neighborhood. You clearly took a significant risk by renovating and building higher quality homes than the standard Fishtown rehab, and we’re delighted to see that your houses are selling. We feel you have raised the bar on what’s considered a feasible housing project in the neighborhood."
____________
"We would like to offer the strongest possible endorsement of BMK Homes, based on our experience working with them on the acquisition and complete rehabilitation of a 2000 square foot home in Philadelphia.
We discovered BMK properties while looking at houses for sale in the Fishtown area for our daughter’s use. We have experience developing real estate, having rehabbed nine buildings prior to this one. While looking at many properties over several months, we discovered two newly rehabbed homes which clearly were superior to anything else we saw on the market in terms of design, use of space, and quality of workmanship. Both properties had been developed by BMK Homes, and we were able to locate Larry McKnight and TJ Bonewicz through their website. After a preliminary meeting, Larry and TJ agreed to help us find a shell that offered the location and size of the home we wanted.
As it turned out, the most difficult part of the process was finding and acquiring a building that we considered suitable for our purposes. Larry and TJ of BMK used their knowledge of and contacts in the area and persisted with us until we found a property that we were happy with, at a price we could afford. They acquired the property and were able to pass it on to us in a way which saved us several thousands of dollars before work even started. We had several meetings to discuss layout options, and then BMK developed a budget for the renovation and committed to finishing the house for an agreed price and time schedule.
Once work began, it proceeded rapidly and smoothly. We were able to select the room design, the cabinets, the hardwood floors and tile, and the result is a house that is exactly what we wanted. We were consulted at every significant decision point and were able to have a final say on essentially every choice that was made. At a few points we chose to upgrade materials or details that went beyond the scope of the original agreement, and these were included on a cost-only basis, with the cost detailed in advance. Naturally, we had the chance to observe the materials and workmanship throughout the construction project, and we were impressed repeatedly with the care and attention to detail that we observed. At a few points the builders discovered unforeseen problems and went about addressing them at some additional expense to themselves when they could have chosen to cover up the problems without our awareness. Additionally, the attention to detail was such that at several points BMK chose to do elements of the job with greater detail than we would have undertaken had we been doing the work ourselves. It clearly was important to Larry and TJ that we are happy with the finished house, and they went out of their way many times to ensure we were satisfied.
Finally, the house was completed and delivered on time and within budget. We are thrilled with our finished Thompson Street home, and it is hard to imagine that we could have been more satisfied with the integrity of the process. We feel like BMK Properties delivered a custom home at a very reasonable price, and we recommend their services to anyone interested in building or renovating a home.
We would be happy to speak with anyone who wanted more information about our experience working with BMK Homes." - Marilyn and Norm Pitt
very happy with our home and their work.
We initially met Larry in January 2013, and put a down payment on a new
home that was in the very early stages of construction.
I enjoyed my experience working with Larry, and would definitely recommend
working with them. When we first saw the property, it was basically a
shell. Larry shared with us his vision and plans for the home. We liked the
plans, we liked that the home was a new construction, we liked the price,
we liked the neighborhood, and we felt comfortable working with Larry.
We had an opportunity to customize various things in the home, some of
which we took advantage of (we added an island counter-top to the kitchen;
we ordered custom shelving for our walk-in closets). We were probably in
contact with Larry about every 2 weeks, either to select various finishes
(among the things we selected: counter tops, carpet color for the bedrooms,
carpet for the basement, tiles, light fixtures, etc.) or for a periodic
update on the progress of the home.
I believe closing was about 7 days delayed due to PGW delays, which held up
construction. After that, I ran into some trouble with my schedule (I'm a
lawyer and I was on trial), which pushed closing back another 10 days or so.
The budget was as expected. I believe we owed a small amount of extra money
at closing due to the addition of the island counter-top, in the kitchen.
We haven't had any problems with the house since we moved in. Larry has
been accessible by e-mail and phone if I've needed him. I've also bumped
into him around the neighborhood.
There was a warranty with the home. We're coming up on our 1-year
anniversary and have a small punch-list of items for Larry to touch up
(e.g. paint over some cracks in the wall from the house settling; plaster
over some spots the shower -- all very minor items). The house was clean
when we moved in. We also gave the windows, floors and counters a really
good cleaning.
Overall, we're very happy with the home. Larry was recommended to me by a
friend who purchased one of his homes on Norris St. We have since
recommended Larry to other friends, who also purchased their home from him.
The quality of the work is very good. He'll work with you to customize the
home as you'd like (for instance, my friends added a second oven in the
kitchen, a big jacuzzi in the master bedroom, downgraded the guest
bathrooms to save money, and added a gas line on the roof deck for a
grill). In retrospect, I wish I took more advantage of the ability to
customize the construction.
Nonetheless, I am very happy with the quality of our home, and the way in
which Larry goes about conducting business." - Will Weiss
Nonetheless, I am very happy with the quality of our home, and the way in
which Larry goes about conducting business.
"We have been driving by your house on Cumberland Street and enjoying its progress. Several times we have talked about how grateful we feel that you are working in the neighborhood. You clearly took a significant risk by renovating and building higher quality homes than the standard Fishtown rehab, and we’re delighted to see that your houses are selling. We feel you have raised the bar on what’s considered a feasible housing project in the neighborhood."
____________
"We would like to offer the strongest possible endorsement of BMK Homes, based on our experience working with them on the acquisition and complete rehabilitation of a 2000 square foot home in Philadelphia.
We discovered BMK properties while looking at houses for sale in the Fishtown area for our daughter’s use. We have experience developing real estate, having rehabbed nine buildings prior to this one. While looking at many properties over several months, we discovered two newly rehabbed homes which clearly were superior to anything else we saw on the market in terms of design, use of space, and quality of workmanship. Both properties had been developed by BMK Homes, and we were able to locate Larry McKnight and TJ Bonewicz through their website. After a preliminary meeting, Larry and TJ agreed to help us find a shell that offered the location and size of the home we wanted.
As it turned out, the most difficult part of the process was finding and acquiring a building that we considered suitable for our purposes. Larry and TJ of BMK used their knowledge of and contacts in the area and persisted with us until we found a property that we were happy with, at a price we could afford. They acquired the property and were able to pass it on to us in a way which saved us several thousands of dollars before work even started. We had several meetings to discuss layout options, and then BMK developed a budget for the renovation and committed to finishing the house for an agreed price and time schedule.
Once work began, it proceeded rapidly and smoothly. We were able to select the room design, the cabinets, the hardwood floors and tile, and the result is a house that is exactly what we wanted. We were consulted at every significant decision point and were able to have a final say on essentially every choice that was made. At a few points we chose to upgrade materials or details that went beyond the scope of the original agreement, and these were included on a cost-only basis, with the cost detailed in advance. Naturally, we had the chance to observe the materials and workmanship throughout the construction project, and we were impressed repeatedly with the care and attention to detail that we observed. At a few points the builders discovered unforeseen problems and went about addressing them at some additional expense to themselves when they could have chosen to cover up the problems without our awareness. Additionally, the attention to detail was such that at several points BMK chose to do elements of the job with greater detail than we would have undertaken had we been doing the work ourselves. It clearly was important to Larry and TJ that we are happy with the finished house, and they went out of their way many times to ensure we were satisfied.
Finally, the house was completed and delivered on time and within budget. We are thrilled with our finished Thompson Street home, and it is hard to imagine that we could have been more satisfied with the integrity of the process. We feel like BMK Properties delivered a custom home at a very reasonable price, and we recommend their services to anyone interested in building or renovating a home.
We would be happy to speak with anyone who wanted more information about our experience working with BMK Homes." - Marilyn and Norm Pitt