Benchmark Home Services

Mark did an amazingly thorough inspection on a property we were planning to purchase. He found several significant issues and explained and documented the risks for each one which helped us decide it wasn’t the right home for us. Once we found a new potential property we hired Mark again. He let us tag along during the inspection and answered all our questions. His inspection reports are extremely detailed and include pictures for references. If you want peace of mind or to know what issues may lurk in a new home he is the guy to call!!

Mark was outstanding, I would recommend him to everyone that is looking to buy a house to a portfolio, he will put your mind at ease!! Thank you Mark for being so detailed!!

Working with Mark on our buyer’s home inspection was a dream. He communicated with us clearly from the time we initially contacted him for a service quote all the way through completion of negotiations with the sellers regarding needed remediations identified through the home inspection. The written report from the inspection was clear, concise and easily digestible. Mark included photographs in the report, too, which really helped us understand the exact issues that were identified. We felt like his thorough inspection and write up gave us a great idea of what we were walking into with the purchase of our house and put us in a great position for negotiations with the sellers. We will be reaching out to Mark to complete a seller’s home inspection prior to listing our own house so we don’t run into any surprises during inspections initiated by potential buyers.

This is the third time over about a 10-year period we have hired Benchmark as our home inspector and every time he has provided accurate and valuable information on the condition of the home. He focuses on the issues of highest priority but is also thorough and notes seemingly small things that could develop into larger issues if not attended to. His reports are clear, well-laid out, easy to reference and were sent to us in a short time. My wife and I highly recommend Benchmark Home Services.

I would definitely recommend Mark to anyone I knew that was in need. Mark did an excellent job of inspecting our house in Bloomington Indiana!! Mark is one of the most professional inspectors I have met in Bloomington Indiana. I am very impressed with everything Mark did. He worked in an organized and skillful manner. Mark is a great listener, and he gave us the right answer with details to all of our questions about the house, the inspecting, the damage, fixing and every question and concern we had. He is genuinely concerned about his customers (home buyers) and wants to help them by giving them proper advice and suggestions. He was very thorough with his inspection. I would highly recommend Mark to any friend who needs their house to be inspected!! Thanks for your agency "Benchmark Home Services, Inc" and for the best inspector you have provided us!! Also thank you for everything you did for us while inspecting our house and for every advice and answer you have provided us!!

Mark is very professional and extremely thorough. One can rest assured that the inspection is done with an eye to every detail.

Mark did a very thorough job of inspecting the home I was looking at buying. He let me go along with him on the 4.5 hour inspection and he was very friendly and knowledgeable, being more than happy to explain to me the construction of the home and the various problems/potential problems associated with the house, in order that I could have a full understanding of the risk associated with the home. As I'm a novice, as it relates to home construction, it was nice to have someone who was more than happy to explain things to me. Additionally, even after I received the inspection report he was more than happy to talk with me about the home; I even had a 1/2 phone call with him a week after I received the inspection report at no charge. I truly felt like Mark was partner with me in this home buying process and I greatly appreciated the service he provided.

You truly do get what you pay for—Benchmark Home Services is worth every penny. I, like many, have heard horror stories about home inspectors doing poor jobs. Indeed, when you ask people for recommendations, more often than not you get a list of who not to use, and a blank stare/ sad shrug about who can be trusted. Needless to say, I was petrified when it came to this portion of the home buying process. Thank goodness we came across Benchmark Hone Services. Mark Bishton is a godsend when it comes to home inspections. He is amazingly thorough in his investigation, takes his time to do a complete job and communicative throughout the entire process. We not only received an inspection which saved me tens of thousands of dollars in future repairs to the foundation, masonry, chimney caps, etc—we also received an education in what to look for when initially viewing a home. After reviewing each section/ space, Mark would pause to share his findings with me, narrating as he flipped through the newly procured pictures. At times, he would ask us what we saw and if we noticed anything amiss, helping us develop our own skills in detection. Indeed, I not only know what to look for in terms of landscape grading, but also repairs/ damage to exterior masonry and interior walls, and how to read the serial code on an AC and water heater to determine its production year and remaining lifespan. He would explain the different types of wiring we could see, noting what year a cloth-wrapped wire would have been used and what its presence says about the building. And he took his time, even though the inspection ran longer than expected. He wants to make sure his clients receive the best service and, more importantly, are fully aware of what they may be walking into. And then there’s his inspection report! It was soooo thorough, including pictures of all discussed sections (good and bad) and explaining in detail the issues, the severity of the problems, and making recommendations on how to address them. He even color-codes the report. In other words, he does everything in his power to make his report thorough and legible to the average person. My report, was roughly 37pgs long (with pictures) and I managed to read through it all without any problem. Mark clearly loves his job—which is hard to say of many service providers. He mourns the crappy service home inspectors are notorious for providing, and even took the time to explain the process of becoming a home inspector (which makes me even more leery of using other providers). Perhaps more importantly, Mark was a contractor in his former life, and built many houses in his day. So he knows firsthand how things should be done, what the shortcuts are, and what the life expectancy of these shortcuts will be. I don’t write reviews generally (unless the provider has thoroughly enraged me). But Benchmark Home Inspection Services is worth so much more than the bit of time it took to write this one. I cannot recommend him highly enough and will certainly use him again in the future.

Mark was punctual, professional and ready to work on a very thorough inspection for the home we purchased. To date, we still use his inspection report to tackle the longer term issues he identified some nine years ago. We used Mark for two more home buying inspections as a result of his thorough work, and results were just as excellent. I would highly recommend Mark Bishton for your move-in home inspection. Whether it is cause to not buy the home or to go ahead with the purchase, at least you will know just about everything bad (and good!) with the house. The type of advice and information Mark can give is so valuable as a homeowner.

It went great. Very professional, honest, and knowledgeable.

This was my first every home inspection, and I would use Mark again in a heartbeat! (In fact, the house I was purchasing fell through, so I will be using Mark again soon, I'd imagine!) Mark was the consummate professional and extremely thorough - I felt like I knew the house inside and out by the time he was done! In addition, as a first-time homebuyer, Mark gave me advice for home upkeep as the inspection progressed, was great at answering questions, and has been extremely helpful since the inspection, answering follow up questions and offering suggestions for various appraisals I needed post-inspection.

The inspection went very well. Mark reviewed the house and explained to me all the potential issues. He ranked issues from slight concern to more critical. He provided recommendations for problems. He also recommended other professionals (electricians, plumbers, contractors, etc.) to help remedy problem areas.

Very well. Mark is flawless. He is honest and exact in his work. I cannot recommend more highly.

Excellent. Mark is an expert. He is thorough, practical, honest, timely, and all around great at what he does. I highly recommend him.

He was very professional and thorough. I have had several home inspections for purchase over the years and this is the first time I believe I got what I paid for. Excellent service.

EXPERIENCED - Mark knows his stuff! Mark Bishton of Benchmark Home Inspections is an utmost professional. This is the man you MUST hire to save you from potentially making one of the most costly mistakes you can make in life - purchasing a home with major defects. Mark takes his work very seriously - he spent nearly 5 hours scrutinizing every detail of an approx. 900 sq. ft. condo. He explained everything as he went along and offered very practical advice. I noted that Mark was also very neat and clean while he worked, respecting the property and returning everything as he found it. Highly principled, Mark works to ensure you're purchasing your home sweet home - not a house of horrors. Thank you so much Mark!

Mark's visit saved us not only a lot of money by not having to replace the bathroom flooring, but his inspection also relieved our concerns.

Mark wrote a report about the issues we were having.  He included how to address the issues.  I forwarded his report to our roofers and we were able to get the leaks taken care.  By the way, these were not ordinary leaks due to faulty shingles.  Both leaks were complicated issues concerning flashing, one around a chimney and the other was in a poorly designed valley that ran along the second story of my house.

He knows his stuff. Explained all the issues. Report format excellent - divided into must do, should do, and nice to do. Was like taking a class in home inspection!

Mark Bishton was very professional and thorough and did an excellent job

I thought I was buying a fixer-upper, but Mark Bishton pointed out to me a long-term drainage problem that had rotted out the main support beam of the house and damaged the foundation as well. Mark and I started with the roof and finished with the crawlspace and his inspection was detailed and knowledgable. Clearly I benefitted from Marks years of experience, as the repairs on that house would have cost me much of my retirement funds.

Mark was fantastic to work with! Being a first time home-owner, I felt a little nervous and under-educated about a lot of areas regarding the inspection. His thorough and personable approach made me feel confident and informed.  Additionally, I had my report the very next day! Highly recommended. Thanks, Mark!

It was great. We were buying a home site unseen from across the country. It was important to us to have a thorough inspector so we would know what we were getting. Mark went above and beyond and met our every need.

Mark was on time and very informative!! Through his detailed inspection we were able to negotiate with the home sellers. He was very patient during the inspection, spending approximately 6 hours to perform the home inspection. He answered all of our questions and the home inspection report was full of pictures, backing his findings, that were used during negotiations. While his cost is higher than most in the area, I am a firm believer in "You get what you pay for" and Benchmark Home Inspections confirmed this once again. I hope to be in the current house for some time but if there is a need for another home inspection I will certainly be using Benchmark Home Inspections!!!!!!!! Highly recommend!!!!!!!!

We were having a problem regulating the heat/air-conditioning flow in our home, especially on humid days. Most recently, Mark visited us and provided information about what was worrisome and what was not, about where the problem was and what was causing it, and about possible solutions we could pursue. Our meeting was helpful, informative, and provided the guidance we were seeking. We would go with Benchmark (Mark Bishton) again.
But prior to this visit, Mark was the house inspector on our home when we moved to Bloomington, Indiana, last year. I spent the better part of a day, going through the house with him. First, Mark is a knowledgeable and professional inspector with  many years' experience. He thoroughly investigated everything. His findings report was extremely thorough--more so than any inspection we've encountered. Plus, he was pleasant throughout the day, answering all my questions and explaining whether something was a problem requiring remediation or not.
We would go with Benchmark and Mark Bishton again as an inspector, and indeed have recommended him, but also generally as someone who can answer a question about something going on in one's home. Better to hire Mark and then have more information about what corrective routes to pursue than assuming an answer.
Mark perhaps may cost slightly more than other house inspectors (don't really know about that for certain) but he is worth every penny. Great guy and a great value. We encourage anyone needing this kind of home service to consider going with Benchmark. We have been especially satisfied in all our dealings with Mark Bishton and Benchmark.