Cottage Hill Inspections, Inc.
About us
Cottage Hill Inspections, Inc., located in Elmhurst, IL, provides full home and building inspection services in a professional, courteous and prompt manner. Individually owned and State of Illinois licensed since 2003, we service the entire Chicago metropolitan region.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Full home inspection services. Radon testing only with scheduled home inspection.
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 91% | ||
| 2% | ||
| 4% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 4% |
Larry was very nice from start I talked to him on phone. He took care of radon testing by himself by working directly with Seller side.
He inspected home very carefully and looks he was doing it from heart not just to make money. His report was very detailed and very easy to understandable. He is always eager to answer any questions we have. I will strongly recommend him.
Price: Not rock bottom pricing but competitive with others that I called.
Quality: The report was great. Lots of pictures. Thorough. He highlighted the items that needed to be addressed. He was knowlegeable and explained everything to us. Not just what was wrong, but the ins and outs of the house (things we never would have noticed on our own).
Responsiveness: Fantastic. Always answered my phone calls or called back in a timely manner. Our inspection was on Saturday and we were in a major rush to get the report completed and in our hands by Monday morning. We had only 7 days to complete the inspection and get the report to our lawyer. Larry got us the report first thing on Monday. We can't thank him enough for this.
Punctuality: We got there 15 minutes early and he was already there.
Professionalism: The only reason I gave a 'B', which was minor, was how he handled the radon test. The test was about $150 extra. Price was fair. But, he contacted the listing agent to have the test set up. I would have preferred he went through my agent.
When needing to have an Inspector to look at a Condo that I was considering to buy, I wanted to use someone different from the realtor's Inspector. So I turned to Angies List, and that is how I got connected to Lawrence Coha, Cottage Hill Inspections, Elmhurst, Il.
DO NOT USE LAWRENCE COHA, FROM COTTAGE HILL INSPECTIONS, ELMHURST, IL.
Hiring Lawrence Coha was a major mistake.
I specifically told Lawrence what I wanted him to zero into, as the condo was approx 40 years old, and the elderly person who was living there was there for about 15 years., and nothing recently had been done.
He asked for complete payment $325 when he was done inspecting that day, and I had not yet received his report.
I paid him in full. That was also a mistake.
I told him to make sure all appliances were working, and also the furnace and AC.
Additionally, I specifically told him that I was concerned about the ceiling in the Living Room area, as it looked like it had been repaired, as the "popcorn" finish was a little different than the rest.
After receiving his report, I noticed that he completely forgot to do this, and I had to call him to come back.
The morning that he was coming back to look and test the ceiling for any moisture, I called him on the phone and specifically told him that I wanted him to look up into the attic, and that the doorway was just outside the condo door on the 2nd level where we were. He said OK.
I mentioned this because it had been raining very hard the night before and even that morning, and I wanted to know if he saw any leaking from the room.
HOWEVER, when he got there he immediately checked the ceiling with his little meter and said it was OK. I then said, the attic door is right outside here for you to look up there, and HE REPLIED IN FRONT OF THE REALTOR,
" I DON'T NEED TO CHECK THAT. THERE IS NO NEED!" I almost fell over.
I PAID HIM.... HE WAS WORKING FOR ME.... HE ACTED LIKE HE WAS WORKING FOR THE SELLER, AND MORE SO...HE ACTED LIKE HE WANTED TO IMPRESS THE REALTOR SO SHE WOULD USE HIM AGAIN. Let me state emphatically...she said she would never use him. Compared to other Inspectors, he does not compare.
CHECKING THE AC UNIT.
The temperature has been below 65 degrees here for the past few months.
When he came out, it was too cold to run the AC to check it.
He said in his report to ask for a contingency so that when it is above 65, it can be checked.
I called him this week to come out on Friday when it is suppose to be 70 degrees, and he said: "I don't have to come out and check it. Just run it for 30 minutes and if it cools the place down, it is working!!! I replied, "I paid you to check it, and I want to you to come and listen to it, and really see if it is in good shape." He answered, " I cannot go back to everyone I inspected when it was cold, and check their AC now that it is warmer."
Then he added, "If you want me to come back, that will cost you extra!"
I told him I was completely dissatisfied with his performance, and would NOT RECOMMEND HIM on Angies List,
and ended the conversation.
I am going there tomorrow and will run it myself and hopefully the Condo will cool.
LAWRENCE COHA, COTTAGE HILL INSPECTIONS - I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND !!!!
"This member’s comments are not accurate and her expectations are not consistent with a typical condominium inspection versus that of a single family home. All appliances were checked as promised, even though it is not required by law and even though many inspectors don’t bother checking kitchen appliances, including carbon monoxide testing. She NEVER mentioned the ceiling in the pre-inspection interview NOR did she remind me while at the Inspection. She called me later to come back as if I had missed it. As a courtesy, I made a return visit to the condo (at no charge), tested the ceiling for moisture and it was completely dry. There was no reason to suspect any issue and therefore no need to check in the attic. I focused on the issue as requested. A condominium inspection is intended to focus on the unit itself. As stated in the her Inspection Report: “The common areas and general building components of the apartment building have not been exhaustively inspected as part of this condominium inspection but superficial observations give no indication of failed systems or deferred maintenance. The building appears to be in good overall condition.” This comment appears to have been ignored by the member. I had no need to impress the realtor and it never crossed my mind because that is not how I operate. The reviews on this website, multiple Super Service Awards and the testimonials on my company website speak for themselves. This realtor was also representing this member so my comments should not have been an issue. I NEVER promised or even hinted that a return visit to check the AC unit was included in the Inspection. I diligently determined which AC unit belonged to the unit (since it was not labeled) and confirmed it was installed correctly. Therefore, I “inspected” the unit to the best of my ability at the time of the Inspection. As previously mentioned, it was too cold to “test” the unit without risk of damaging it. When she called to say the unit is ready to be “tested” (at no charge, of course) I almost fell over! After explaining that it is impossible for me to test over 100 AC units that I previously inspected this past winter, she explained, “I don’t care about all those people; I only care about mine!” I explained that all she had to do was turn it on and see if the condo cools down because that is exactly I would do myself. I don’t know of ANY inspector that goes back to test an AC unit, especially for no charge. In eleven years and 2000 inspections this has NEVER been an issue. Every inspector that I know (and there are many as I belong to the local chapter of a national association) collects their fee at the conclusion of the Inspection. This is standard practice in this industry and in this area. BOTTOM LINE: This member got an excellent inspection at a great price. Personal comments directed toward me are not necessary. The facts speak for themselves."
From my perspective, he did a very thorough job.
He that everything worked: appliances, fireplace, whirlpool tub, furnace. It was too cold to check the airconditioner, but we did get copies of the warranties for the two year old unit.
He checked the emissions from the fireplace and stove.
He checked hot water temperatures and polarity of all the electrical outlets.
He took time to explain what he saw, what he was doing, and why he was doing it.
Besides the inspection, I received an education about my new condo.
UPDATE: We've been in our new home for exactly two months now. About a week after moving in, we had some rain and noticed leaks in the ceiling and by the fireplace! In addition, one of the two furnaces broke down and the dishwasher stopped working. These are all things to which the inspector gave a clean bill of health. As I noted in the original review, I've used the same home inspector for years...and never had any issues. But because our regular guy was unavailable, we had to rely on Angie's List for a recommendation....I am now regretting my decision to hire Larry. The price was a lot higher than I've paid for inspections in the past...but it would have been worth it if we at least got a reliable inspection out of it....instead, we have expensive issues to fix. We're in the process of filing a complaint with IDFPR because the lack of diligence was downright negligent.
UPDATE II: Larry's response below is an outright lie. He *DID* walk the roof...there are pictures and commentary in our inspection report to prove it. But given our experience with the quality of the report, I am not surprised that he chose dishonesty rather than attempting to set things right. We would have felt much better about his ethics had he offered an apology and a refund of some sort....oh well, we'll let the state regulator sort this out.
"It is unfortunate that this member has had some issues after moving into their new house. However, the appliances mentioned did work as expected on the day of inspection without any problems. The furnaces are well within the range of their expected lifespan and operated as expected. Ages on kitchen appliances are not determined in a home inspection nor are they required to be tested. However, the dishwasher functioned properly the day we were there. The roof was inspected from the gutter because I considered it unsafe to walk on. This is up to each inspector as we are not required to walk on roofs, but I do if I feel safe enough. Again, there were no visible problems on the day of the inspection."
He sent us the report via email as promised the next day. The report not only listed the problem areas to be repaired, but it listed what we should expect for every system in the house. His report included pictures of what various systems should look like. It is easy to read the report and actually learn something! The report ended with a summary of the most important and pressing issues that needed to be repaired. Also, he said we could always call if we had any questions in the future. I did take him up on that an called him regarding a question I had; he remembered me and was very helpful!
Our real estate agent was also very impressed with him and took some of his business cards to give to her other clients.
"This member did NOT do her homework. I NEVER pretended to be a licensed asbestos inspector and she did not know what she was looking for even after thoroughly questioning her. After the inspection she then stopped payment on the check even after promising not to post a negative review on Angie's List. She STILL owes me the money."
In addition, he was very flexible in accommodating a request for inspection within 48 hours of request and was quick in his response time. I would definitely recommend him again in the future.
Licensing
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.