I am writing this review of Lanway Homes and its president, Erik Schelbert, from two perspectives: First as a banker who completed an in-depth due diligence in the process of providing a low to moderate seven figure, custom construction loan for a client who had chosen Lanway Homes and secondly as a homeowner who chose Lanway Homes for a major remodel of our home.
The due diligence process included an in-depth investigation of the history and reputation of the company, its principal, credit history with all vendors and suppliers, lenders and governmental agencies, i.e., the Department of Labor and Industries, licensing, history with permitting authorities and reputation among peers. Lanway Homes excelled in every area of inquiry. Of particular note was the unanimous high marks that Lanway Home received from every client for whom they had built. In addition, the willingness of those clients to share their experience with anyone who was considering Lanway Homes for a new home or remodel was 100%. The clients= response spoke to the type of relationship these clients enjoyed with Erik and Lanway Homes.
Throughout this transition into high quality, high-end custom homes, the company enjoyed the envy of some of what were and would later become highly-regarded custom home builders in Pierce County. One builder in particular whom I spoke with indicated that he had admired Lanway Homes for years and his goal was to watch what Lanway did and try to achieve something close to the high quality product that Lanway Homes provided to its clients. His strongest comment was that he felt that Lanway was the AKing@ of custom homes.
After the due diligence process and inspecting four completed custom homes and talking to the owners that Lanway had built for, I proceeded to finance my client=s home to be built by Lanway Homes. During the construction process, while watching and inspecting the construction, I became even more impressed with the quality and workmanship that Lanway Homes delivered to their clients. Lanway Homes was very effective not only because of Erik=s creative eye, but he had assembled a crew who shared his laser focus on delivering the very best finished product possible from the foundation through to the amazing finish and trim work his team produced.
A few years later when my wife and I decided on a major first floor remodel, we decided that there was only one builder we wanted. We contacted Erik to consult with us on the design and to contribute ideas for the kitchen, great room, entry, and complete remodel.
We had just become fully retired in December 2014 and were planning on being out of our home for three and a half months, which would make the entire process easier for us and more efficient for Erik and his team. We hired movers to come in and remove everything from the first floor of our home, as the hardwood floors would be redone and all of the cabinets, kitchen island and pantry would be removed and replaced, as well as a new paint scheme for the entire first floor.
While we were away, we communicated with Erik when, as the process moved forward, he would recommend improvements that increased the quality of the finished product. During the process, Erik came up with a number of changes that added substantially to our enjoyment of the final product. Three things in particular that Erik recommended during the process became the things that were at the top of our list that we liked most. First, we had a formal two-story entry with a winding staircase and curved railing. Erik said it did not look right with the new hardwood floor, and he redid it. Second, the fireplace in the great room was very traditional with a mantel and vertical ornamentation. Erik suggested we redo the fireplace and add a brick face from the floor to the ceiling. The third item was a major change to the pantry. The remodel included the installation of a hood over the new island cook top that was scheduled to exhaust out one direction that Erik determined would be both more functional and esthetically pleasing exiting the opposite direction, which included changing the pantry entry area. Was he ever right on all three and more! These items were major areas of the remodel that we felt the most excited about.
When we were due to arrive home, Erik met us to watch the expressions on our faces when we walked into our now new home. We were ecstatic when we walked in and saw how the entry turned out and continued to be so as we went on into the kitchen and great room. It is everything we hoped for and more. My wife continues to say, AI would rather stay home and enjoy my new kitchen than go out.
Jim & Carol Bisceglia
Tacoma, Washington
