"A" Game Home Inspections LLC

Professional, Knowledgeable, Personable, Veteran owned company. I was very impressed with Rick Marlowe. When you call him, if he does not answer your call, he presents a message providing you with a text message allowing you to text him with your purpose for calling. Once your text is sent, he responds, quickly by phone, or with a text letting you know when he will be able to call you back. He arrived early focusing on the outside inspection. When we met, he briefed me on what he had already done, told me what he was going to do on the inside, allowed me to follow him around as he did a detailed inspection of my home. He answered my questions along the way, and summarized his efforts at the end of the inspection. I was very happy about what he did as he showed unexpected attention detail. His reports are clear and very easy to understand, and also lets you know of any issues whether they be immediate or something to monitor for needed future repairs. I'm glad I chose "A" Game Home Inspections to inspect my home.

It went great! Rick was very thorough and explained everything he wanted to check. He convinced us to check for Radon which turned out to be a good call because that happened to be high. He was prepared and was very responsive to any questions we had. This is the type of inspector we wanted to ensure our investment was a good one. He also gave us a priority list of what needed to be addressed to protect our home for the future.

Rick responded quickly to my call and handled the inspection professionally. He was pleasant and thorough, or so I thought. It turns out, however, that he missed two major items, including the fact that the dishwasher doesn't work and there is a major leak in the flat porch on the second floor, which leaks through to the master bedroom. If he had walked on the porch (which seems to me to be a reasonable thing to expect him to do), he would have felt the softness in the dec tec surface. I am very disappointed in his performance.

Rick was extremely professional and guided us through the inspection process. He did a great job with the inspections and made sure that we understood all of his findings and how our new house worked. I would use him again and will recommend him to anyone looking for a home inspector.

Rick is professional, friendly, and a true advocate for the buyer. State certified in multiple areas, to include home, termite, and septic inspections. One-stop shopping. Great at showing you on-site his findings and explaining things/answering questions. Professional reports delivered the next day. Well reports delivered as soon as lab sends him results. Would definitely use him again and recommend him. Veteran owned business.

Rick seemed very knowledgable and was very easy to talk to. He was happy to answer questions we had and to offer advice/suggestions.

Rick was very thorough and responsive during the inspection process. He was a one stop shop for all the inspection services I needed to obtain before purchasing my new home and very flexible in accommodating my rushed schedule.

Rick was on time, friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and thorough. He encouraged our questions, and explained things clearly. His reports were ready the next day, and were detailed and organized. His pricing was very reasonable as compared to other inspection services that I researched for the age and size of house. I would highly recommend him!

Responded to my inspection inquiry very quickly. Set up inspection for 4 days later. Showed up at property before I arrived and showed me around the outside of home pointing out everything he noticed, while offer advice on possible solutions. We then entered to property. He immediately turned on all appliances and water sources. We started in the basement where we spend the most time. He showed me how to operate the Oil Furnace and even gave tips on maintenance. He also explained how to prevent leaking and cracking in the foundation. We proceeded with the rest of the house, and he was very detailed. Over all he was great at answering any questions and you will know after his first answer he very much knows what he is talking about. He seems to enjoy his job. The report came the next day and was very well detailed with photos and possible solutions, even cross referencing items that correlate. I would recommend him 100%.

Rick was great! He was very informative and even helped us out by including a last minute unscheduled termite inspection. His prices are very reasonable and he went above and beyond for us. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

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Excellent!  We can't say enough good things about him - probably the best home inspector I've seen.  Rick Marlowe, the company owner, is certified in many aspects of home inspection, and did the work himself.  From our first contact, Rick responded to our inquiries both by email and phone in a prompt and courteous manner.  We scheduled the home inspection, but then had to postpone for a week due to a blizzard; and Rick worked hard to reschedule in a timely fashion to accommodate both the needs of the the buyers (us) and sellers.  On the day of the inspection, he arrived on time, examined everything thoroughly, and explained what he was looking for and saw to my husband, who accompanied him for most of the inspection.  Despite existing snow and mud, Rick had a shovel and coveralls, and crawled into the crawl space under the home to examine it thoroughly.  After the inspection, Rick provided a thorough debrief of what he saw, along with recommendations.  The report Rick provided included multiple pictures, and was comprehensive, thorough, and prompt - arriving in my email the day after the inspection.  My husband and I had a few questions after the inspection which we emailed to Rick, and again, he responded quickly, thoroughly, and professionally.  Rick obviously takes pride in the company he has worked hard to establish, and we feel he did an exemplary job.  We would happily use Rick again, and would refer him to anyone who wants a thorough, professional, top-notch home inspection.

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Bottom Line Up Front: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "A" GAME INSPECTIONS. The conducted the most thorough pre-buy inspection for any house I have ever purchased, was not rushed, explained everything to us, and ensured without question that the job was complete. Rick, the owner (I do believe it's a one man show) was the one conducting the inspection and made it very clear that he was working for us, not a realtor, not a banker. And to top it off, his pricing structure has to be the most fair I have seen for this service. He passes savings on the clients, does not gouge, and makes sure we the customers gained a solid understanding of every detail we asked about. Absolutely no "holier than thou" condescending attitude which I have experienced by other inspectors in the past. Very honest guy who readily admits he'll probably never be rich because he refuses to take advantage of his clients.

Now The Details: Rick was HIGHLY recommended to me by a good friend who had recently purchased a home. We have purchased a total of 3 homes over the past 15 years, and always elected to take the easy way out and go with the inspector our realtor recommended (i.e. had a kick-back deal with). I suspect there might also be a "Don't find TOO much wrong with it" understanding when thee arrangements are made. Anyway these inspections would last roughly 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and often leave me thinking "Man, I should get into this business because that's EASY!". The inspections we were being provided could be analogous to trying to determine the condition of a gasoline engine's pistons and connecting rods by checking the oil and windshield washer fluid levels.

Well this time after listening to my buddy's experience, we decided to disappoint our realtor (same one as the last two houses, love him to death and don't actually blame him for having kick-backs set up) and go with "A" Game. So I called the number provided by my buddy, got voice mail and left a message. The message stated that he guarantees to return my call by 8:00 PM, it was 2:00PM, his return call came in about 2:30PM.

It became very apparent during this initial phone call that Rick had a higher level of competency with regard to the construction trade, local county building regulations, and plain old customer service (a lost art) than any of the inspectors I had dealt with in the past. He was already giving me sound advice, helping eliminate some of my concerns regarding the property. This call occurred on a Friday, and at my request he was scheduling me for the following Monday afternoon, outstanding! I asked if he needed a deposit, which he declined. No pressure what-so-ever.

Here's one of the most significant details (in my opinion) that sets Rick apart from the other inspectors we've used in the past. The appointment was set for 2:00 PM, I planned on meeting him at the house at 4:30, at which point he estimated he would be roughly half way through his process. Yeah, He was planning on spending 5+ hours inspecting this one house. This was one of the things my buddy explained to me, and while completely foreign to me, I liked the sound of that concept! Keep in mind, we're not talking a 4,000 sq/ft McMansion! This house was 2 bedrooms, maybe 1,800 sq/ft, mostly renovated, originally built in the 1940's, with a small newly finished efficiency in what used to be the basement. I know people with sheds and workshops bigger than this place, and Rick was going to cover it from basement floor to the top of the chimney.

At approximately 2:02 PM, Rick called to let me know that he was starting the inspection. At 4:30, my wife and I arrived at the house, it was a rainy, 33 degrees miserable day. We met Rick and he started filling us in on some of the issues he identified.

It became immediately apparent to both my wife and I that Rick's priorities and loyalties were with us, the customer and to the house he was inspecting. He explained his processes, reasoning for methodology, and insured we both had a solid understanding of the issues with the house. He brought us up into the attic where he showed us a leak in the roof that I am convinced our previous inspectors would have missed. Why? To find this leak, he had to basically contort his body to fit into an access hole the size of a large toaster, have the experience to know what and where to look, and assess the likely damage to the impacted structure.

So obviously with a leak, he'd need to take a look out on the roof. With 33 degree rain, not going to happen. Instead of doing what we have experienced in the past (The inspector stating he could tell the roof was good from the ground....who was I to argue?), Rick decided in order to properly complete the inspection, he would need to come back the following day. That is something I have never seen before with an inspector, and can very confidently say that you will be hard pressed to find that level of service anymore as it is a true rarity in this day and age.

So the following day, he emailed me when he was finished with the additional set of inspections and had the completed report in my inbox the next morning, minus the lab processed results which were to follow the following day.

This is not Rick's first successful career, consequently he doesn't have a need or desire to nickel and dime clients. From what he told us, he does a maximum of 2 inspections a day (I've seen other guys do 4-5), and works almost exclusively off referrals. That said, I cannot overstate how happy my wife and I were with this experience. If we end up buying the property, we will be confident that all the issues have been addressed. If we don't buy it, we can thank Rick for saving us what could have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.