Company Mission

Providing high quality information on the condition of homes, so people can make informed decisions.

Inspection Philosophy

Focused inspectors, using a proven process, provide the highest quality information.

True Stories We’ve Heard From Realtors About Our Services

After I explained to a home buyer what to expect a Realtor once told me “I’m used to these only taking 45 minutes!” I responded saying, “If I were the home buyer, I would expect more.” Two hours later, we spent another 30 minutes going over our findings with the first time home buyer and even showed them how to operate their fireplace, windows, heat pump and other systems.

A while back, a Realtor told me, “As the listing agent I’m ok with some of them [other inspectors] not doing a thorough job. It’s less work for me and less expense for my seller. I suggested the Realtor consider the additional liability their attitude placed on them and their client (the seller). The Realtor continued that Just the other day there was this inspector who rushed through. Surprised, my seller looked through the report and asked, ‘Since all this stuff (we knew about) wasn’t in the report, does this mean I don’t have to fix it?’ I smiled and said, ‘They hired their inspector! If Susie and Bill would have been here you would be making repairs!’ ”

“This home had a previous inspection and two termite inspections. None of them found the damage [from termites] across the back wall that you found.”

A few minutes after a report was emailed, a Realtor called and said, “Look at all of this stuff! This could scare them off!” The report on an older home had a page of summarized defects and two pages of maintenance items. During the inspection, we discussed every detail with the buyers. I responded saying, “This is what we would want to know if we were buying the home.” The buyer did purchase the home, but with a true understanding of what they needed to repair and maintain.”

Today a Realtor called to get a quote for a “very badly damaged” foreclosed home. They explained the buyer was not going to even consider other inspectors because this really needed to be done right. In the same discussion they pointed out that they cringe a little when they are the listing agent and hear we are doing the inspection.

“All inspectors are definitely not equal. The difference between what’s available is unbelievable!”

My thoughts on this?

We inspect and then report on condition. If you are worried about problems close to closing you should get them out of the way ahead of time.

Is it really best for any of the parties involved  to have serious defects go undiscovered? “What they don’t know wont hurt them” certainly does not apply here!

If you are a Realtor or home seller not worried about your liability in today’s lawsuit world you should think again! I see very few repairs that could not be traced back to an approximate year of repair. If you’ve owned a home for years a buyer could likely prove you should have known about something if they really pushed it. Now lets see ….. you sold your home, they got a crummy inspection, you left smiling ……. they found a problem, their lawyer says you should have known (or likely did know), they come after you for not disclosing, you live across the country, etc. etc. Sound fun?

What does it say to a buyer when they think the homeowner is trying to hide something? “How much more might there be???” That is what scares people off! Do you really want to sell your home?

We are very proud to regularly work with some very ethical Realtors! Many have years of experience and know what it takes to get a lot of word of mouth referrals. These Realtors know from experience that being a part of their client finding a quality home inspector adds to their clients positive experience.

I’ve also heard many Realtors believe that most inspection comments from anyone are just a matter of opinion. That’s how things can be settled when a builder, roofer, etc says the inspectors are wrong. I have to say that I and many other experienced professionals across the country completely agree on the vast majority of recommended repairs. Locating the condition in question may be difficult but once it is discovered, getting professionals not involved with this home to agree on the fix is not usually difficult. Of course there are exceptions. I remember a couple of times when I was “proven” wrong. These usually concern a difference in interpretation from a state level to a local level on the “statewide” codes.