Home Inspectors

[Junior 14]

Question for the masses. 

 

Are all home inspectors equally as good? Im not using a real estate agent to buy my first home and my attorney doesn't have one he recommends. I was planning on doing a simple google search and picking the cheapest. 

 

 

[PK90 3,570]

Paying Cash?

 

Of not, doesn't the lending bank pick the inspector?

 

Sent from an undisclosed location.

 

[rightisright 3]

That's like asking if all doctors or auto mechanics or home builders are equally good.  Why would you want to pick the cheapest person to inspect and evaluate a HUGE purchase? 

 

I wish I could recommend the guy I used to recommend to everyone, but he moved to FL.  Ask around for references.  As with guns, cars and hookers, you get what you pay for.

[jrfly3006 42]

Pete Aiello of BPG..just used him on a purchase..thorough, knowledgeable, takes the time to explain everything to you..not the cheapest but not the most expensive either

[Nac 3]

Where you buying I can maybe recommend someone

[liquidskin 3]

David Zappulla was very thorough when I used him for my purchase last year

[Junior 14]

From what I've been seeing price range is between $450 and $800. Been around construction most of my adult life so I understand what I'm getting into. Don't really need the peace of mind that the inspection brings, just looking for a decent report to have on hand for the bank and the seller.

 

Buying in Wayne. Not paying cash but I'm responsible for my own inspection. bank is also asking for a separate Termite inspection.

 

But thanks for the recommendations. Keep em coming if you know anyone else. Looks like I have to wait until Monday anyway to schedule it.

[djg0770 481]

Get someone certified by ASHI.

 

The report should typically pay for itself by allowing you to negotiate the purchase price lower in most cases.

[louu 399]

Home inspectors are the biggest crooks ever! If you have been around construction like you said just find the cheapest one. When his dumb ass gets there just hold his hand and make him write what you want. 

 

If I see my home inspector again I'm going to do to him what I told him I would do to him next time I see him.

[Newtonian 453]

Whatever you do don't take someone recommended by ANYBODY involved in the sale, which is what this naive idiot did in 1990 when we bought this house.

 

Our inspector missed serious chimney deficiencies and ignored cracks in multiple locations on our asbestos-tile roof. But even worse, he said our house was termite-free. The following spring guess what swarmed in our kitchen, dining room, and living room? 

 

Luckily he was honest enough to pay for two years of exterminator service. I won't name the inspector but the extermination company was called Zimmerman and they were super. The owner's first name is Neil. Neil's father was astounded that the inspector missed various indications of infestation. Luckily we haven't had a problem since.

[Nac 3]

From what I've been seeing price range is between $450 and $800. Been around construction most of my adult life so I understand what I'm getting into. Don't really need the peace of mind that the inspection brings, just looking for a decent report to have on hand for the bank and the seller. Buying in Wayne. Not paying cash but I'm responsible for my own inspection. bank is also asking for a separate Termite inspection. But thanks for the recommendations. Keep em coming if you know anyone else. Looks like I have to wait until Monday anyway to schedule it.

S&G Home Inspections

973-694-7050

88 Newark Pompton Tpke

Pequannock NJ

I believe he charges $435 if you say you where referred. I used him to buy one of my house's and my brother just use him a few weeks ago. His reports are very good and I saved about 20,000 on my last purchase because of a structural issue he pointed out.

 

[oneshot 45]

Mandatory home inspections are bullshit. The fact is that if you have one and the home inspector didn't see a potetial problem or something seriously wrong they are not liable for anything.

[Junior 14]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the responses. Read up on ASHI and found a guy off that website who can do home, termite and radon all in the same inspection.

[Alex V 99]

I should start doing home inspections, sounds like easy money.  Seriously, all I need to do is fill out an application and pay the fee.  Could be good side money for guns and ammo! lol

 

A friend of mine was buying a home a little over a year ago.  He asked to attend the home inspection in order to make sure the inspector was not a total doof.  I agreed, that's what friends are for, right?

 

The inspector was very hit or miss.  He DID see that the electrical panel was of a type not used in 30 years and recommended it would be replaced, but had no idea how much insulation should be in an attic space. [R30 until the 2012 code is adopted then R38] and even argued with me about how thick a batt has to be to be R30.  He also missed obvious signs on the foundation where it had been drilled for poison to be injected into the concrete block to kill termites.  

 

He seemed to check the silly things like if the range was affixed to the wall to prevent it toppling over but didn't notice/look to see if there was a secondary pan under the air handler in the attic (there wasn't, and I had to tell him).  He did't notice that the attic was not properly vented either.  My friend asked me to stop pointing out his oversights because he was getting agitated and my friend HATES confrontation.  I just kept a list and told him everything after the guy left. 

 

Point of the story, I doubt many home inspectors will catch EVERYTHING!  They are there for an hour or two and the average size home will require way more time to investigate fully. 

[mipafox 438]

They are not all the same. And the fact that you have a lot of construction business makes them even more valuable to you. Don't dismiss the value of a good inspector and assume you would figure everything out by yourself simply due to your nature as a construction professional. A good one will probably check things you won't and give you some valuable advice.

 

I know one that was an "Engineer" (worked for years for one of my companies) and he is a shithead.

 

I had one check out two houses in the Lehigh Valley. If you are buying there I will send you his name. As for them being "crooks," this guy said the second house I decided to buy was good to go. He showed me several things I should fix or straighten up to prevent future problems. He really hated water (kinda like Hippies). He stirred the shit in my septic tank (as well as testing flow) and delineated my leachfield with a shale bar. The dude left no stone unturned.

[AlDente67 563]

Mine was pretty good last time I needed it.  But one thing bothered me...he said he doesn't get up on a ladder to check the roof closely.

 

Our first real house purchase, caught up in the general mix of things...I didn't push the issue.  Fast forward, I wish I had, since the roof leaked really nicely in some spots.  I fixed the damage myself, but it would have been a much easier project at the start, had I known.

[ChrisJM981 924]

I used Accurate Inspections.

http://accurateinspections.com/

 

He was thorough. He also takes you around and shows you what he's writing up so you can k ow what he's talking about in his report. He also takes a lot of pictures, and has a binder that he gives you with a lot of home troubleshooting tips. He is ASHI and radon certified. He has the pest (wood destroying insects and vermin) inspector there the same day he is. If it has a septic system he coordinates having them there to inspect the same day. He saved me from buying a shiny turd.

[mipafox 438]

Mine was pretty good last time I needed it.  But one thing bothered me...he said he doesn't get up on a ladder to check the roof closely.

What kind of roof and how old was the house? If it was a normal shingle roof then he didn't do a good job. On the other end of the spectrum, most of them will use binocs to examine a very high slate roof from the outside and then, of course, check it from the inside. There are probably cases between those two extremes.

[Newtonian 453]

Mandatory home inspections are bullshit. The fact is that if you have one and the home inspector didn't see a potetial problem or something seriously wrong they are not liable for anything.

You're a little too cynical here. I can barely drive a thumbtack through cardboard. Whatever my inspector missed 25 years ago, I would have missed much more. If the guy is honest (see my previous post) he'll stand behind his inspection. Mine was.