Ilvento Builders

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• By Pete L.

  June 29, 2018

  My family and I have had the pleasure of living in an Ilvento home for the past year and have been very happy with this overall experience. Though initially we favored an older home with lots of charm, attention to detail, and high-quality materials, it is difficult to accept so many of the compromises in these homes. Plus Chris's home also share that same attention to detail and warmth which are lacking in many homes from the 50's, like the classic ranch we left behind, to many of the dramatic but fairly cold and sterile new homes we toured prior to choosing an Ilvento home. He uses a tried and true home plan, which is amazingly efficient in maximizing space and including too many features to count. His designers are world class (at least in our humble opinion), though we did enjoy the opportunity to select our own lighting fixtures, stone counter tops, vanities, etc. Our friends who see the home from the outside are amazed to find 5 bedrooms and a bonus room, in addition to a full usable third floor (which fully compensates for the lack of a basement in this low-lying part of the county). And from a structural perspective, this place is built like a brick outhouse (you get the point). Not that I'm expecting too many Sandys in my lifetime, but if there is one we won't have any concerns. There was no skimping from a construction perspective that I or my more knowledgeable family and friends could identify. The trimwork and flooring are all topnotch and add so much architectural value to the home, which we appreciate every single day we've lived here. Coming from a 1933 Tudor and an 1860's colonial, we really value that aspect of a home. The place is quite efficient with low heating and reasonable AC costs, though the breeze off the river helps out quite a bit. And the most incredible part? There is no "incredible disappearing act." You know, when the check clears and the contractor no longer seems to have your phone number? Chris (or his project manager) is always available, actually takes your calls, and seems to care whether we're happy even when we're no longer writing any checks. (We'll have to see what happens when he sees this review has finally been posted.) I understand that most of us like to finish a deal, a book, a movie, whatever the case may be, and just move on to new ventures. But Chris is always on the case. Plus we know where he lives.
  He has a great eye for locations - in this case maximizing the site's potential for placing a small balcony overlooking the river off the master, and then adding an expansive terrace on the third floor, which is probably our favorite place in the world to watch the sunset (though Key West is a close second). We feel as if we're on vacation in South Beach every time we walk out there, whenever the weather cooperates (and even sometimes even when it doesn't).
  So any negatives? I guess homes are pretty complicated, and we are talking Jersey, so unfortunately financial issues come into play. No fault of Chris's, of course - blame the politicians. But property taxes are tough with a new home, which we didn't know prior to the sale, due to our lack of due diligence. Since you generally pay more for a new home, and tax is based on purchase price, we've been getting hammered by the state, county and borough. Then the next issue is that we did not specifically hire Chris to build our dream house, meaning that he had only a deposit until the closing. Therefore we had less control than a buyer who purchases a lot and is basically paying him as they go. For example, we had wanted to review a number of different siding colors, but ultimately went with Chris's favorite color, which we also would have probably selected, but who knows? Also he has apparently has struck a deal with a local appliance supplier, which has led to his selection of a somewhat flimsy dishwasher and attractive but flaky Italian range. Had we done more research, we would have definitely selected a different brand of range and a higher quality dishwasher. The ginormous fridge/freezer combo (actually two separate appliances) is very cool, but we would have chosen more fridge and less freezer, which would be more practical. We're not sure why there is a phone jack in our bedroom which is connected to nothing. We had some insulation issues stemming from the fact that our bathroom is located right under the third floor terrace, leading to some icy cold air entry issues over the winter. We are now hoping this was indeed resolved several weeks ago. The place did not come with a deck or patio, which was a costly addition. We had to pay extra for a number of upgrades, which of course is standard fare. Who knew you needed to pay extra to soundproof your bathrooms? (Good investment, I'd say.) Instead of choosing topsoil, we paid extra for sod, which made it difficult to install garden beds and left us with some pretty rough filler soil around the home.

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