HomeGuard Inc

HomeGuard failed to inform us of serious and obvious (to a professional inspector) health hazards present in a home that we subsequently purchased.  HomeGuard's inspection revealed a number of minor repair items, but absolutely nothing that would indicate clear and present health hazards.  A subsequent inspection by a different firm (I will refer to as Inspector Two) immediately discovered and reported that our home, which we purchased based on HomeGuard's inspection, is, in fact, riddled with asbestos.  The configuration of the heating system is such that running the heater vents airborne asbestos directly into the living spaces.  HomeGuard inspected the entire heating system and provided specific recommendations about this system, but entirely failed to mention that the system is completely contaminated with asbestos.  Follow up with HomeGuard to ask why this was not included in their report only received a disclaimer that HomeGuard is not qualified to evaluate asbestos.  However, this was not a case of asbestos hidden in the glue under tiles, or stuffed inside of walls, or some other difficult to reach or evaluate scenario.  This contamination was so obvious that Inspector Two merely put his head into the crawlspace and immediately saw the situation.  In fact, a plumber who was called in a few days later also immediately informed us of asbestos components in the house.  There are two possibilities as to why HomeGuard failed to inform us of this serious health hazard.  Either they truly have no idea what asbestos looks like, because they were right up in all the areas and components where it sits, or they deliberately ignored it and then carefully inserted cover-your-a** disclaimers into the final inspection report.  In either case, beware of having HomeGuard inspect any home built before 1986 (asbestos production was banned in 1978, but existing stock was legally used to build until 1986).  On another note - significant, although far less alarming than their absolute fail with the asbestos - the repair work that they performed subsequent to their inspection was slipshod at best.  I would never, ever have gone back to them based on the quality of their repairs alone.  Beware.

The inspectors showed up right on time, were very professional and did not waste our time: they went and did their inspections while we were free to take measurements in the house. Then they toured the house to show us everything they noticed, and took the time to answer all of our questions. They spent over an hour going over everything with us. Their explanations were very good, and the written report we got was much clearer and easy to read than anything else I've seen. Andrew Clarke was our termite inspector, and Russ Hume was our Home inspector. Try to get those guys if they are available!

Please note that I used the San Jose office, not their Livermore office.

I didn't like them. We have lived in the house for about a year now. We bought the one year insurance after moving in. There was a huge leak in a kitchen window during a rainstorm last winter. They didn't pick up on it that there was a leak. The person they sent out to check it out said it must have been there for a long time because there was so much damage in the wall. They didn't pick up on it and refused to admit that the damage must have been there when they inspected it the house. We had to take out the whole wall in the kitchen and repair it. They did the repair, but we had to pay for it. They refused to admit that it was a pre-existing condition when they inspected the house. There was plenty of evidence, but we were at the inspector's mercy and he just refused it. It was just terrible. I was really upset with them. The blinds were peeling on that wall from the moment we moved in. That was evidence that there was something going on. All the other blinds were perfect. There was a lot of puffiness in the wood. It must have been there before. There were termites in there because it was wet. It turned out it was the window and it was totally sealed. It was wet all the way down to the bottom. I saw the guy when he inspected the house. He shook my hands and told me not to worry and told me that they would do a good job for us. They also have a warranty service where they supposedly come in if you have a warranty for one year that you buy for $300.00 included in the price of the house. But nothing I ever called them on was ever covered by that insurance. I don't remember how much we spent for the service. It was part of the purchase of the house. They did give a feeling of confidence when they were out here inspecting, but I felt cheated. Their professionalism was okay. They didn't shout at me. They were always too calm actually. I would not recommend them at all. They showed up when they said they would. I would not use them again in the future.

Had HomeGuard come out and do a Roof Inspection on a new home. I also had a home inspection going on by a different company and I had some good conversations with regards to the roof before HomeGuard came out... HomeGuard I thought did a thorough job, but just didn't give me the same level of detail that the home inspector did.

GOOD. ON TIME. 8 ON SCALE FROM 1 - 10. REMOVED THE OLD ONE THEN INSTALLED NEW ONE. INSTALLED DEAD BOLT LOCK AND THE KEY WAS WORKING GOOD. THE DOOR SWINGS INWARD.