When we met with Rick and Justin at Riverland, we knew we were not working with just “another” sales person. We could tell that they had a great deal of knowledge and passion for what they do. Rick and Justin are an incredible team to work with; they addressed any concern we had immediately, and kept us informed of the process. The job site was also kept very clean.
Our home was in nearly perfect condition for the first walk through. It’s a place we can be proud of and a home of high quality. We want to thank everyone at Riverland Builders who helped us walk through every step of this journey.
Again, it was a pleasure to work with Riverland, and we could not be more excited to live in our new, beautiful home on Lake James, Prudenville, Michigan.
Rick Tift was a godsend to us when we bought a cottage on Houghton Lake! The previous owners had done some very nice updating, but had a few key elements that got flagged as out of code by the local building inspector. We found this out at close, and scrambled to deal with this last minute problem.
After speaking with a few contractors, RIck Tift quickly rose to the top. He took a direct interest in not just the job, but aiding us in coordinating and being present for needed inspections (as this is a vacation cottage and we do not live nearby). Rick personally guided us, the inspector, subcontractors, etc... through the entire updating/remodel process. He did so with a great deal of integrity, care, and attention to detail.
We had a very specific vision for what we wanted done, and one big item on our wish list. Rick was able to achieve both at a very high level of quality, and within our budget and time frame. Rich Tift and Riverland Building Company really turned a last minute delimma at close into a long term update that will bring our family and friends years of enjoyment with our new lake house.
We cannot recommend Rick Tift and Riverland Building Company more highly!
In 2013 my wife and I decided that our cabin was in need of repairs to the extent that we might as well take it down and rebuild. We began soliciting builders in the Houghton Lake area for information. Being first time builders we had no idea what we were getting into.
We decided on Rick Tift of Riverland Builders and asked some locals their thoughts. All came back positive. We met with Rick initially to get the ball rolling and decided on building a chalet.
Our initial thoughts were that he was very personalable and easy to work with and lead us through the process start to finish. We negotiated from our initial plans to where we finally settled on our plans and committed to the build. Rick allowed us to tour a similar plan on Lake James and some of our ideas came from there.
In November of 2014 we began the demolition of the old and construction of the new. Rick took care of all permits, sub contractors, and set me up with the steps necessary to deal with utilitiy companies, local govt and the like. The process was not as bad as I expected.
I did have two things going, I am retired and have relatives in the area so the time to travel to the lake was not and issue and I had a place to stay. As the process unfolded we made adjustments to our plans took suggestions from Rick and his subs to get the end result. We moved in July of 2015 and could not be happier.
Any minor adjustments that were needed Rick took care of straight away. Rick has showcased our place to prospective customers that are thinking to build and they seem to be happy with our product and we hope it turns into business for Riverland. If someone was to ask for a recommendation on a builder in the H.L. area I would certainly recommend Rick Tift and Riverland builders.
We recently had Riverland complete some unfinished rooms in a home we were purchasing in Prudenville as a requirement of our lender. They were able to get the job done in just a couple weeks and got us to our closing quickly and on budget. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a professional builder.
We had a summer cottage constructed by Riverland last year. This is the second home we have had built for us the first one was by a large corporate building company.
Working with Richard was a pleasant experience as he was very responsive, flexible and easy to work with. The whole Riverland "family" makes the building process personal. I would highly recommend Richard and his associates to anybody thinking of having a home built.
After acquiring an incredibly undesirable yet perfectly located piece of property, we were excited to build our "retirement/beach house" in the spring of 2017. (we needed 31" of sand brought it, it was a low lot to say the least!) We met with Rick and Justin in March and they let us know they could start in May or in September, our choice. We chose May, and the whirlwind began! The biggest point I can stress is the communication you get with this company. We are from downstate, and were fortunate enough to come up often to see progress, but still, it's a scary endeavor to build a home and not be there for each step! We had made many (substantial) changes to the floor plan, and Justin was wonderful with working with me on placements/measurements/requirements, and if there were any additional fees (which there really wasn't for what we requested) If there were change orders for items we upgraded, they were GREAT about getting cost predictions to us early and awaiting our "ok" to proceed.
Once the construction began, I'd like to point out how well we felt his team worked, and how courteous they were to not only us, but any family that came up to see as well. You can feel the positive vibe in the crew and their work shows that they enjoy what they do and take pride in a good job.
As crazy as it now is, my husband received an offer to transfer to Cadillac for work, and the week before the big switch our new home was completed! So instead of it being our "beach house", for the time being (as we test out his potential employment change), it's our full time residence. There were a few hiccups after we received the keys (leaky pipe in bath, dryer vent issue) and everything has been taken care of in the most efficient, timely manner; very impressed!
We're very, VERY pleased with the entire experience; the end result as well as everyone with Riverland and their contractors/vendors. Rick has full permission to show off our home, or feel free to ask for our address and I'll happily give you a tour! Best of luck if you chose to build or remodel with them, I'm confident you'll be happy you did.
We hired Rick and his Riverland crew to build our sun room addition. They were competitively priced, hard working, honest, on time, and did exactly what needed to be done to make this project run like a well oiled machine. Simply put, Im happy and will call Riverland for any construction needs i have in the future. Thanks again Rick!
After interviewing several builders, we knew Rick Tift, owner of Riverland Building Co. was the best fit for our project. We were not disappointed. In 2015, Rick and his crew added on and remodeled our Houghton Lake cottage creating a 5 bedroom, 3 bath home for our family.
We have been very pleased with the quality work and service we received from Riverland Building Co. As with any project, there were a few hiccups along the way, but Rick was very quick to respond and problem solve during all segments of the project. He worked to stay within our budget and timeline to create a lovely home that fulfills all our family’s needs.
Working with a local builder was a smart choice, since Rick was there daily to check on the project. Rick Tift is a man of high integrity, trustworthy, respectful and a pleasure to work with on any project.
My wife and I purchased a home on Houghton Lake that need quit a bit of updating. At the time we lived 9 hours away in Wisconsin. We had a few bids and selected Riverland.
The work was completed on time and within the budgeted amount. During this time we only made one trip to see how the work was going and it was just as planned. (PS my wife is very picky.) We would highly recommend Riverland and Rick's crew!