Baseline Homes, Inc.

First off, I must admit that this review is LONG overdue. We have known how truly awesome Jin and his team are for years now. We met Jin through the purchase of our previous home in Berkeley in 2008 (which is partially pictured, above). It was a beautiful canyon home that Jin completely reimagined and remodeled, highlighting the best original features, while updating and modernizing the flow and finishes. Over the three years that we lived there, whenever we had questions concerning the house, Jin answered them promptly. We were particularly impressed that he personally addressed every issue, no matter how small. For example, when one of the downspouts became loose, he immediately sent Raul over to fix it and refused any sort of payment. Same deal with a finicky intercom (although we insisted that he take payment for the replacement!). It became clear that he stands behind his work.
So when we outgrew our previous home and bought our current home — which needed significant updating and improvements of all sorts — we knew whom to call. We did our due diligence and went through the motions of interviewing other contractors, but there was never any real question that we would ultimately entrust Jin and his crew to do the work.
Everyone says living through a renovation (particularly living in the house while it’s being renovated) is a nightmare that can’t end soon enough, but I can honestly say that, after working with Jin and his crew for two years, we miss them! Why? Because, honestly, they don’t come any better. I’m not sure whether I can adequately describe how thoughtful, careful, considerate, capable, brilliant and just generally kind and wonderful Jin and his crew are. They worked tirelessly to make certain that we (especially I) would be happy with the end result, and not just for now, but for years to come. They helped me through the surprisingly difficult decisions of choosing a countertop, whether to paint a feature wall in the bathroom and how to maximize an awkward corner in our kitchen (which has now become one of the most used spaces) — the list goes on and on – and all with the patience of saints and always with good humor. Jin is so communicative and responsive that I would would worry that something had happened to him if I didn’t hear back from him within minutes of contacting him (I got really spoiled!). Even when presented with the kookiest ideas, he was extremely respectful in bringing us back down to earth. The result? We have our dream house, every inch of which has been made better by Jin’s magic touch. And as a bonus, I had the pleasure of working with a true professional — something quite rare in this business — and a real gentleman. I recommend Jin Park and Baseline Homes wholeheartedly, without reservation.

I thought I’d take a moment to remind people what a good contractor is. A good contractor is 49% quality work, and 51% trust. Wouldn’t you agree?
A couple of years ago, I had a big whole house remodel (flip), and I hired Jin — Baseline Homes. Jin was able to quickly understand my needs, my wants, and also my pet peeves. After a quick walk through the property, through the silence of a brain surgeon, a long list of do’s and don’ts summarized very well thought out advice considering my preferences, and the history/​style of the house. Impressive. What’s refreshing with Jin is that, you get the benefits of his experience and specialization, without all the jaded and cocky money eyed talk that you get from your «stereotypical» general contractor. Jin has a passion for what he does, and if anything, enjoys a chat about the challenges you present to him.
As for the quality of work, the project we did specified for there not to be one blemish, or woodwork gap in any area of the house. We were creating a masterpiece in San Francisco. Knowing he’s capable of this work is important, but its just as important to know that he’s offered to adjust the level of refinement according to the budget at hand. He’s super flexible. On our project, we did huge concrete foundation pours, a 4 story moment frame, all the way down to installing these little tiny LED lights I bought discounted online.
One last thing — Jin is really big on jobsite safety. Even during demolition, somehow there are always unobstructed walkways, and extra hard hats hanging at the entrance for visitors. These are things you take for granted, but he’s got it all covered.