Provider profile
Farez Finish Restoration
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Chicago homeowners on the north side who need water damage cleanup and mold removal handled by one crew through reconstruction, with 24/7 availability and direct owner involvement.
Best for
- Chicago north side homeowners dealing with basement flooding or water damage who want one company to handle everything from water extraction through drywall and paint
- Homeowners who need mold removal and reconstruction done by the same crew, avoiding the handoff between a remediation company and a separate contractor
- First-time insurance claimants who want help navigating the claims process — multiple reviewers credit Nixon with getting larger payouts than initially offered
- Property owners needing emergency response outside business hours, with reviewers confirming arrivals within 90 minutes of late-night calls
About this company
Farez Finish Restoration is a family-owned restoration company based on Irving Park Road in Chicago. Owner Nixon Farez runs the operation hands-on, showing up to estimates and job sites himself. The company handles water damage, mold removal, fire damage, storm cleanup, and full reconstruction — meaning they take a job from emergency response through finished walls and floors without handing off to subcontractors.
The standout here is the single-crew, start-to-finish model. Nixon and his team do the drying, the demolition, the mold work, and the rebuild. Several reviewers specifically chose them because other mold companies do not offer reconstruction. The website claims IICRC certification and mentions equipment like injectidry systems, industrial dehumidifiers, thermal imaging cameras, and moisture meters. They advertise 24/7 availability, and multiple reviews confirm late-night and weekend responses.
The company started as a drywall and paint outfit — older reviews from 2021-2023 are mostly for drywall repair, painting, and remodeling. The pivot to full restoration work appears to have happened gradually, with water damage and mold jobs becoming the primary focus by 2025. Nixon is the face of the business, named in the vast majority of reviews.
A 5.0-star rating across 52 Google reviews is unusual. Two recent 1-star reviews have not pulled the average below 5.0 yet, but both describe concerning sales behavior during estimates. The positive reviews are spread across multiple years with a mix of Local Guides and established reviewers, which suggests genuine satisfaction from the customers who hired them.
Services
Service area
Headquartered on Irving Park Road in Chicago, IL (60634). The company lists service coverage across the Chicago metro area including Barrington, Naperville, Northbrook, Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, Schaumburg, Lincoln Park, and Lakeview. That range spans roughly 40 miles. Reviews confirm work in the Dunning neighborhood and north side of Chicago, but the outer suburbs should confirm response times.
Review consensus
Nixon's personal involvement is the most consistent theme. Reviewers name him in nearly every positive review, describing him as responsive, present on job sites, and willing to walk homeowners through each step. Multiple reviewers highlight fast emergency response — Sander describes a 1:30 AM burst pipe with the crew arriving within 90 minutes, Nicholas found them at 10:30 PM when no other company answered. Jamie's family had a flooded family room and Farez arrived within an hour. Judith McNulty specifically chose them because they handle both mold removal and reconstruction. Fabian Aguilar credits Nixon with helping navigate an insurance claim that initially offered only $10,000 in backup coverage. Colin Campbell is a repeat customer who has used them for both flood restoration and a kitchen backsplash. Darwin and Juan are named as crew members by Megan O'Meara, who called them on time and polite.
2 found across 52 total reviews at 5★. Mike Seymour (June 2026) called Farez for a second opinion on possible remaining mold after another company did remediation. He describes Nixon as dismissive, talking over him, and using a pinless moisture meter that gave alarming readings on week-old joint compound. When Seymour questioned whether fresh mud or AC vents could affect the readings, Nixon was dismissive of the first and said he did not know about the second. His thermal imager battery died mid-visit. Once Seymour indicated he would go back to his original contractor rather than hire Farez, Nixon lost interest and left quickly. Seymour later confirmed the exterior water intrusion had been properly addressed. Sze Lin Pang (May 2026) describes Nixon pressuring insurance involvement and quoting an astronomical price, then immediately offering the same job for roughly half when insurance was declined. The owner response explains the property had sewage contamination with maggots and a difficult crawlspace, and that the price reduction was approximately 30% — not the near-50% Pang described. The owner also notes the insurance recommendation was to reduce out-of-pocket costs. The rapid price drop remains notable regardless of the exact percentage.
Both negative reviews describe the same dynamic: Nixon arrives for an estimate, identifies alarming conditions, and pushes for immediate commitment. When the homeowner resists, his behavior shifts — in one case losing interest and leaving, in the other offering a dramatic price reduction on the spot. This is a two-review pattern, not yet established, but the similarity is worth noting. The owner responded to one of the two negatives with a detailed, fact-specific rebuttal that addressed the scope of work and pricing logic. The other negative received no response.
Nixon Farez (owner — named in most positive reviews for responsiveness, hands-on presence, and clear communication; named in both 1-star reviews for dismissive behavior and high-pressure tactics). Niko (same person as Nixon — Iris Salas praised him for explaining mold prevention in detail). Nick (same person as Nixon — Nicole Barksdale, Kevin Olszewski, aleece Brown, and others praise his work). Darwin (crew member — Megan O'Meara praised him as on time and polite). Juan (crew member — Megan O'Meara praised him as on time and polite).
If you hire Farez Finish, you are hiring Nixon. He runs the estimates, shows up on job sites, and drives the timeline. The positive reviews are overwhelming and describe genuine emergency responsiveness. But the two recent negatives both describe estimate visits that felt more like sales pitches than assessments. Get your own independent mold test before the estimate, ask for a written scope of work with line items, and do not let urgency during the visit drive your decision.
Keep in mind
- Farez Finish does both mold testing and mold remediation. This is a conflict of interest — the company assessing whether you have a mold problem is the same company that profits from fixing it. Consider getting an independent mold inspection before committing to remediation work.
- Two recent 1-star reviews describe high-pressure estimate tactics. One reviewer said Nixon used a pinless moisture meter to produce alarming readings on freshly mudded drywall, then lost interest when the homeowner questioned the results. Another said Nixon gave an astronomical quote, pushed for insurance involvement, then dropped the price nearly 50% within the same conversation.
- The service area claims stretch from Barrington to Naperville to Skokie — that covers a wide swath of the Chicago metro. The office is on Irving Park Road in the 60634 zip code. If you are on the far edges of that claimed area, confirm realistic response times before booking.
- The company's website contains FAQ sections copied from a different restoration company in Grand Junction, Colorado (Rapid Response). Blog posts reference yet another company (Force 1 Restoration). This does not affect the quality of their actual work, but it signals the website content was templated rather than written from direct experience.