DNS Home Inspection and Consulting LLC

I purchased a trailer in a park in Florida to have a getaway from the cold winters. The trailer is old, but has always been well maintained. It has only had 2 prior owners. FL is a state that is tricky to obtain insurance in. Most insurance company's do not do business in FL. The insurance coverage I have had for decades in the Northern states does not insure in Florida. I was able to find a good insurance underwriter in FL through references. To get insured, however, I had to have a home inspection. We bought the property a couple of days before Christmas. The inspector the insurance company normally used was on vacation. We ended up with DNS Home Inspection and Consulting. One of my banking contacts had their card, but they had not worked with them previously. I called DNS and was able to get an inspector out on 12/23/2021. The turnaround time for DNS was excellent. We had someone on site in a few days and I was eager to review their report. We, in fact, paid them for both a 4-point/tie-down inspection ($200) plus a more in-depth report covering everything else ($200). In total we spent $400 with them. I wanted to make sure they were able to take the time they needed to generate an accurate report that I would be using as a checklist to remediate any issues they unearthed. The issues with DNS started after I received their report. They called out a number of items such as the HVAC system not working and the main electrical panel feeding the property as unsafe. Every time they called out an issue they would say something like, "Recommend further evaluation by a qualified HVAC contractor; recommend further evaluation by a qualified electrician; recommend repair by a qualified contractor," etc. There were a lot of issues reported as inoperative or unsafe that were concerning to say the least. I started going down their list and bringing in licensed contractors. First one was an HVAC company. They found the system to be working perfectly. I then called an electrician. Turns out the panel DNS called out as unsafe was not actually the panel feeding our property! Our address is clearly marked on the panel that is. The DNS inspector didn't verify that he was looking at the correct box! There were a LOT of other items called out incorrect in their report as well, but the ones that matter was the inspection report I needed to submit to the Insurance company. They refused to sign-off the tie-downs because the trailer is older than 1974. They estimated the roof being 62 years old when it is about 20 years old! etc. They outright failed several key items required by insurance. What prompted me to write this post is not that they made a mistake. They sent an inspector out to our property that has only been licensed for about 5 months. Inexperienced inspectors can make mistakes. That isn't a problem for me. However, the issue I have is that they have outright refused to update the report to even reflect issues they found that were remediated. And it is not for a lack of trying form my end. I have reached out to the original inspector Ben Stebbins (HI14108) numerous times, spoken to the office manager, had several conversations via phone and email with the owner Sean and even posted on their Facebook page. It has been 25 days since the original report was created and they have not scheduled an update visit or done anything whatsoever to get the report corrected. Fortunately after about a week of runaround from DNS, I called another inspector that has completed over 11 thousand inspections. Night and day difference in the quality of the new report compared to what DNS created. The experienced inspector knew what he was looking at. He certified the tie-downs, estimated the roof to have 10 years remaining life, and documented the correct electrical panel. With zero hassle form my end, the new inspector gave the trailer a clean bill of health. All key areas the insurance company is looking for passed. DNS may be fine for normal sticks and bricks homes, but it has been my experience that they do not have the expertise needed to audit something out of the ordinary like a trailer in a park. However, I would not recommend using them for anything. The way they have treated me with a condescending unwillingness to update their inaccurate report attitude makes me think that is how they treat everyone. I paid top dollar with them. Our property is as easy as it gets. Correcting the errors in their report and marking items that I have remediated as complete would take them minutes. Sadly, it was faster for me to hire a completely different company and get another report compiled than to get DNS to update and correct their report. Check references before hiring someone that could make a mistake that could cost you tens-of-thousands of dollars. If I were using their report as a pre-purchase inspection, I would not have purchased the property.

Knowing Sean and Debb for nearly 10 years and having been in the home inspection business, these guys would be great at this adventure. Both have amazing work ethic and they both are very reliable, honest people. They are the kind to go over and above any expectations you may have, truly caring about what they find and relaying the information to the home buyer. They are the kind of business owners everyone needs to have the pleasure of knowing and if you are lucky enough will become their friends.

Debb and Sean are very polite, responsible, trustworthy and diligent. I trust them in my home and with my business.

Wonderful support and advise. Customer service is outstanding!

Debb and Sean are the sweetest and easiest people to deal with. I loved dealing and networking with them on various occasions. I have also consulted and still consult with Debb. I will always recommend their services. Y'all should be doing business with Sean, Debb, and the DNS team. Y'all should golf with Sean and Debb too. great golfers!

Very timely and extremely professional! Highly recommend!