INSPECTION PLUS

It went very well! The inspector, Chris Rose, squeezed us in on short notice during the holidays and did an excellent job! He explained many things to us during the inspection and the report was emailed to us within hours of the inspection. My husband and I feel very confident in our offer to buy the home based on this inspection report. Chris is very knowledgeable and shows great care in providing a thorough inspection for the customer. Would recommend this company to others.

Although the "termite inspector" reported that he had found termites and powder post beetles, Chris downloaded the report, carefully re-inspected all suspect areas, and told us that he did not find any evidence of these infestations! In so doing, he kept us from getting ripped off, big time, especially since we live over 5 hours away and couldn't be there to check it out ourselves. Chris also recommended a couple of local contractors we could call to correct some minor issues he discovered during the inspection(s).

Very thorough! Went under, over, on top and looked at all
Systems. He did a great job and made great repair suggestions
As well. I am so glad I chose Chris Rose.

After 18 months in the home we have had MANY surprises that should have popped up on the home inspection.
First was the upstairs AC condenser line leaking into a wall. When we pulled the carpet out we discovered this problem. Mold and rotted wall studs. It was repairable, but should have been caught with Chris's high-speed infrared camera.
Second, the pool and cool deck showed signs of settling. While not major it would have been nice to have had it in the report. Basically this is a 20+ foot long crack from one end of the cool deck, through the pool (patched), and across the other cool deck. Also we found out the first summer that the pool had been painted, not surfaced to make it look nice. Now the paint is coming off and we have a multi-color pool. While I don't think any of these were show stoppers, if they had been in the report it could have been used to help with price negotiations.
Third, Chris doesn't go in attics or crawl spaces. The places that your air handlers are located in as well as a lot of plumbing. Out of the two air handlers, both have rusted out evaporator pans. Neither was noted on the report (since he doesn't go into those places). The cost to repair those is, well replace the units at $5K a piece. He did look at the outdoor units which were in good shape. Good thing I'm McGyver and figured out how to replace the supposedly one piece drip pan.
Three and one third, again an attic problem. This time the roof. I went up to move an overhead light fixture. I discovered a 2 foot by 1 foot hole where the roof sheathing had rotted through. The previous owner had used roofing tin to patch the hole and recovered it with shingles. It actually held water for 18 months. I also found one other seepage leak, and a truss that had been cracked by someone walking on the roof that allowed the roof to flex and leak. I was able to fix that by sistering another 2x4 to the truss putting the roof back straight.
Three and two thirds. Something that I’ve learned, if you see a house and they used gloss paint on the ceiling, they are hiding
something. I didn’t know this going in, but I thought the Home Inspector would raise warnings that were needed. Apparently, the prev-owners had painted the ceiling with thick, high-gloss paint to seal and cover the water leaks from their roof work. When the big hole finally failed and we had a couple of gallons of water leak into the attic, you wouldn’t know it from below. The paint was like a waterproof membrane – until the water weight and wet sheet rock gave out. So lesson learned. I don’t think Chris knows this lesson either.
Fourth, I don’t think he really went on the roof. I wasn’t in the State when he did the inspection, so I am guessing. But the
amount of “this doesn’t look right” that I found there was troubling. Previous owners re-did the bathrooms and vent stacks as part of it. The new vents didn’t have any sealant and water would drip down the pipes to the first floor where they would drip onto the ceiling of one of the bedrooms. Not hard to fix, but again it would have been nice to know before buying the house.
Fifth, mold mold moldy mold. When I pulled the kitchen, we discovered that carefully hidden was lots and lots of mold where the original sink was. The only clue was (ta-da) from the crawl space where you could see the water damage on the floor sheeting. Again I can fix that and did, but it probably should have shown up in the inspection report.
Altogether, I feel rather angry. I paid for a home inspection since I’m in the military and couldn’t take the time to really look over the house myself. I guess he figured that odds are that the house would be okay, and it wasn’t. Knowing the problems of the house now, I would have probably walked away from this one or offered way less.
We’ve been here almost two years now and have found most of these problems camouflaged by paint. I would have expected a professional home inspector to have found at least a couple of them. Chris found none of them. I have bought many homes, and have always sworn by Home Inspections and Home Warranties and up to now I was never disappointed - up to now.

If you are buying a home, get someone else. If you are selling and paying for the inspection, your home could be burnt down and Chris would likely produce a report saying that it is a steal at twice the price for the prospective buyers. If you are looking for an accurate home inspection - look elsewhere.

unknown

Very thorough, very professional job that took about 2 and half hours. Inspection was done with buyer and the owner present. Chris answered all the buyer's and owner's questions without hesitation. He used a FLIR which was fascinating tool to watch in action for the uninitiated. He instructed us on the proper use of the thermostat and took the time to explain how other items in the house worked and what to look for on a regular basis. In the end we learned a tremendous amount about the home and now have a more discerning eye for home construction and maintenance. Report was delivered the following morning with pictures and recommendations.

Great job Chris, thank you!

Very pleased, would refer him to everyone.