Atlantic Building Inspections

This experience was frustrating from the very beginning! When I tried to make the reservation, it wouldn't accept my information. I called the following day and spent almost 30 minutes on the phone with Atlantic trying to resolve the issue. Their representative finally said, "Contact your bank or American Express... something is wrong with your card." She then paused and said, "Oh, we don't accept Amex." Totally aggravating and unnecessary when that should have been made very clear from the beginning, and certainly a known issue for an employee. The inspection itself went fine and I paid for an additional mold test on top of the $800 I already spent. After that, it became EXTREMELY difficult to have anyone answer my questions. I texted. I emailed. I left voicemails. It took me 3 days to get an inspector to finally call me back to discuss the results. I shared these results with an industrial hygienist who was very concerned about the method of sampling. No outdoor sample was made for a comparison, which he explained is like speeding but without having anything to compare it to the numbers are meaningless. No samples were taken in either bedroom, where one had visible issues with the ceiling. I ultimately paid for another company to come in and do a proper mold inspection. The second company found TOXIC MOLD in the bedroom that Atlantic did not detect! Both realtors involved in the transaction were a bit surprised how unprofessional Atlantic was and I certainly would not recommend them to anyone.

We bought a home recently and due to the review decided to go with this company. Shortly after moving in we realized that by having the main area lights on and plugging something into an outlet it would trip the breaker. We did not have to try hard to make this happen multiple times. We called an electrician and he was surprised to see multiple rooms all wired to the same circuit. Also a huge fire hazard by having a 20 amp running to a 15 amp. When we reached out to them they sent us pictures from our installation showing "lights on and the AC on" meaning that the breaker didn't trip so there was no problem. This was $1000 in electric work that they are claiming didn't exist. EVERYTHING they did is something I could have done myself. Our electrician was angry that they had not done their job and was saying that it was not up to code. We are also having some major sewer issues that would not have been hard to find but you will need to pay someone else as they do not look in anything. This makes the sewer warranty useless. I would plead you to use a different company.

Their report said, "The air conditioning system operated with normal control today and is functioning as intended." That's bogus. I don't think it was functioning properly. What stood out was that they failed to find a faulty air conditioning. As soon as we did the final walk-through on the home, we found out that it was faulty. So they should have found that, it wasn't just thermostat.

Everything went great.  Miguel called prior to the appointment to let us know he was on his way.  He showed up on time and went right to work.  He was very polite.  Out attic is very difficult to get into and he got right up there and did what he needed to do without any complaint.  Our mitigation survey was prepared the same day and sent to us within a few hours.  Very professional.  Will definitely use Atlantic Building Inspections again in the future.

They are just very well organized. Everything was on line as far as the setup was concerned.

Twice I used ABI and their Inspector Miguel Chirino. First time he spent 6 hours inspecting a house we wanted to buy and he did an outstanding job (more than 400 pictures were taken). Nothing at all went unnoticed and thanks to them we decided that property was not for us. The 2nd. time was another house (much newer) and Miguel was again he Inspector (we asked for him). He confirmed the level of professionalism he had before and his opinion made us buy this one.
I hope i won't need another Inspection in years but if I do i'd not hesitate for a minute nor shop around for another Inspection Company as ABI had it all

I was not present for the inspection due to work related complications; however, inspection was done as promised and report was very easy to read/understand.

The inspector was on time and professional. The report was provided via email in approximately 3 days from inspection as agreed. I have no complaints with this service.

This was my second experience using Carlos and his company for a home inspection. We walked away on the prior house due to the magnitude of problems discovered by Carlos and his team. After being impressed with Carlos's skills and professionalism, I wouldn't think of using anyone else (especially since he now had a reference point given what we saw in the previous house). 
Once again, scheduling was easy. The scheduler's were planning on sending out someone else from Carlos's team, but I was interested in having Carlos come out again, with him having been the primary inspector during our previous experience. I was able to contact Carlos to let him know I wanted him to come out and he accommodated. Smart and flexible!
Once again, everyone arrived on time. The inspection took 3 hours. Some issues again presented themselves, but this time we thought we'd be able to manage what was found. Some of the repairs that needed to be carried out were costly, but we were willing to negotiate with the seller about getting them done, which allowed us to bring the price of the property down by about $20,000 dollars. Without Carlos's thorough and professional inspection, we would not have even detected these issues. 
Once again, I was very glad to have made the decision to hire Carlos for an inspection. I should also note that the written report for the inspection came very promptly (about 24 hours) on both occasions. 
Carlos clearly cares about his company, takes pride in his work, is smart, competent, responsible, and a professional. He was also very easy to talk to and easy to understand. I will recommend him to anyone I know looking for a home inspector.

Boy, am I glad I found Carlos on Angie's List. In a city filled with charlatans and fly-by-night contractors, Carlos was a breath of fresh air from beginning to end. First, it was easy to schedule the appointment. His answering service was prompt, attentive, and scheduled the appointment with no problems. Second, follow-up was great. They make appropriate use of email, text messaging, and phone calls to confirm, schedule, and remind you of the appointment. Payment, disclosures, etc., were all handled electronically, which is my preference, but I'm sure they can accommodate old-school methods as well. 
Guess what! They actually arrived on time! What a treat. Carlos should up with another one of his inspectors and the guy from the termite inspection company they subcontract out to arrived shortly thereafter. All were very courteous, professional, and thorough. The inspection was very thorough. When buying our last home, the inspection took about 45 minutes. Carlos's inspection took about 3 hours. The house was inspected from top to bottom. I tried to stay out of his way and let him do his job. When a couple of major issues popped up, he would call me over to explain and after the whole inspection was over, we chatted for a good 20 minutes to debrief. He struck the perfect balance between letting us know the magnitude of the issues encountered. In other words, he didn't minimize the issues or make them seem worse than they were "just to cover his butt."
Briefly, this house looked beautiful and it was in a beautiful neighborhood. Guess what the inspection revealed ----- it was a painted pig (my words, not Carlos'). I can't even begin to tell you all of the major things that were wrong with it, several that were fundamental structural problems that we would not have discovered if a thorough inspection was not done. 
I won't lie, we were terribly disappointed with the outcome, we loved the house, but we were so glad to know exactly what we would have been walking into,  and we chose to walk away. It was also not pleasant to have spent $625 on these inspections (the house inspection only was $375 or so, but we also scheduled to do the other inspections) and not have a house or deal to show for it. However, god knows who much it would have cost us to deal with the issues the house had if we had moved forward. 
In sum, I could not be happier with Carlos and his company. I would use them again (and did -- see another review) and would highly recommend him.

MIGUEL SHOWED UP ON TIME, ANSWERED ALL MY QUSTIONS, SHOWED ME EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING AND WHY.{I FOLLOWED HIM AROUND WHILE HE WAS INSPECTING).

Inspected roof, windows, electric, plumbing ... Excellent job!

Our Realtor took care of hiring the inspector (Atlantic) due to a short inspection period.  Carlos came out quickly and arrived on time.  He took his time performing a thorough inspection of all areas of the house.  He was very responsive when we asked questions about certain areas of the house and approached us when he saw bigger issues that would need to be fix.  Once the inspection was complete, he went over the report that we would be receiving later on (same day), explaining what each section was and what everything meant.  Carlos also hired a pest inspector to come out the house at the same time as he was doing his inspection. We received the inspection reports later that same day. They are also very good with followups and send emails a week and a month after the inspection to make sure everything is going well. We had a great experience with Atlantic, in fact we have already used their services for reinspection and will do so again in the future!

home inspector was very nice and  professional.

I  was not able to be present for the inspection so I sent a friend who noted that the inspector, Carlos, was thorough and attentive.  I received a 13 page written building inspection report with photographs the same day. (The mold report came 3 days later as the lab tests for mold require a few days). Carlos also made an mp4 (video) going through each page of both reports (sent along with the reports)  which explained each section.  

In his report, Carlos described the tests and observations he had performed.  To the extent there was work that might need to be done, he provided general cost estimates.  He also suggested further testing on one or two items along with a likely maximum cost estimate if that further testing could not be performed (so I could be sure to have sufficient reserves)..   I had follow up questions which I asked by email and by phone  Carlos responded promptly and addressed my questions to my full satisfaction.  

Carlos understands the impact his work can have on making a decision to buy a home.  He treated me as a valued client and it was the first time I used him.  As importantly, he is knowledgeable and responsive.  I would certainly use Carlos again and will recommend him to my friends.

We hired Atlantic on the recommendation of our realtor.  They came out quickly and on time and took their time performing a thorough inspection of all areas of the house.  They were also seemingly very responsive in answering questions, although it sometimes took a whole day to be able to speak with the inspector.  Our issue was that the oral report that we received did not seem to match the written report.  While the oral report suggested that the property was old but solid and in need of some repairs, the written report painted a fairly dyre picture, identifying possible plumbing, electrical and roof issues.  For example, the report suggested that all of the plumbing in the crawl place should be replaced but that some updated piping existed.  We were very concerned when we read the written report, but the inspector said it was really not a big problem at all, which convinced us to move forward with an additional plumbing inspection and the appraisal. When a trusted plumber came out, he said that only one plumbing line really needed to be replaced.  The purchase came to a hault when we attempted to obtain insurance, and multiple insurers refused to insure the property, deeming it "uninsurable" because of the remarks regarding the plumbing, electrical and roof in the report.  It is possible that Atlantic saved us from a large headache, for which we are thankful, but we are upset that the inspector orally reassured us that the property was worth buying, encouraging us to move forward and incur additional costs trying to close on the property.

They are great. They are very technology savvy so they make it very easy to make payments; I can do everything online. They also usually send the report through e-mail the next day in a PDF form. They are really easy to deal with.

We were very pleased with them. Carlos was the Home Inspector; he really seemed to know everything really well. He really enjoyed what he was doing. He was really helpful. In fact, we will be using him again.

fine

After two aborted inspections by other companies, our realtor engaged Carlos at Atlantic Building Inspections to conduct the inspection on a property that we were in the process of purchasing.  Carlos arrived ahead of time and was very thorough in his explanation of what he would be inspecting and how he would conduct the inspection.  We found him to be very professional and competent in his inspection.  Upon completion, he expalined that a complete report would be forthcoming, but gave us a brief review of what he had found.  He highlighted some potential problem areas, but generally gave us a good report on the property with no alarming situations.  Upon recieving the online report on Friday, the day after the inspection, we found the written report to be very thorough, complete with pictures of areas inspected.  However, the report gave us pause for concern.  The potential problem areas that he had verbally mentioned on Thursday, the day of the inspection, seemed more problematic in the written report, with recommendations on two items that suggested some urgency, (such as, "Repairs or replacement is advisable now").  Because of our concerns about the recommendation, we called Carlos for further clarification.  He had urged us to call him if we had questions.  We did not get a call back from Carlos until the following Tuesday.  Granted, it was a holiday week end, but by the time he called back, our inspection period had expired and our options were severly limited.
We recognize the value of an inspection and that it is important to have an expert give his or her professional opinion on issues.  We also recognize that any older house will have issues.  We are confident that the potential problems that Carlos identified are real and we will be monitoring those issues when we take possession of the house.  Chosen verbiage is always an issue in reports, and some clarification would have been useful to us before we were required to make a decision about moving forward with the purchase.
We would certainly recommend Carlos to others, but caution anyone to make sure that they fully understand the meaning of terms used in the recommendations provided by the inspector, whoever he or she might be.

I was an out-of-state client. Atlantic Building Inspections was recommended by my realtor who assisted us with giving access to the inspectors. They facilitated an inspection within about three days -- on a Saturday, going out of their way to accommodate our needs. The inspection was thorough and so far all has been accurate. I recommend this company.

The appointment process was a breeze.  Polite and knowledgeable staff.  They told me exactly what would would be inspected and what would not.  I was able to add extras or decline them as I wished.  They were honest enough to tell me that I should wait and see what the inspection showed before ordering the Mold Inspection (which would have more than doubled the price).  Turns out I didn't need it.  The Inspector (Carlos) was extremely professional. He had an instrument or gauge for everything.  He was polite to the homeowner and as unobtrusive as possible.  He explained everything to me in detail without sounding unnecessary alarms.  I received the report in less than 24 hours.  It was extremely detailed, including photos.  It also contained tips and explanations that put everything into context. He sent follow up emails that let me know that he was available for any questions or even recommendations for any needed repairs.  Full service!PS They outsourced the termite inspection to 2nd Nature Pest Management, who did an equally thorough and professional job.

Very Good

Excellent!

Their service turned out great.  They have really good support.  I really liked it.