BENCHMARK HOME INSPECTION SERVICES
About us
Owner Operated NJ Home Insp. Lic. # 24GI00064900 NJ DEP Lic. # MET11819
Business highlights
Services we offer
BUILDING INSPECTION. Real Estate inspection, HOME INSPECTIONS, RADON TESTING, SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECTION, STRUCTURAL INSPECTION, Underground fuel OIL TANK TESTING
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We used this company earlier in 2013 for a home inspection of a large ranch in Mount Olive, which we did not purchase due to unrelated complications. In both instances, Kyle (the owner) conducted extremely thorough inspections. Kyle was very accommodating of our desire for a complete walk-through, to ask questions as we went, and to take notes on anything that might need attention, even down the road.
The inspection in July was of a 3BR, 2BA ranch with full 2/3 finished walkout basement and attic. Kyle was slow, methodical, and paid close attention to details. He answered any questions I had to the best of his knowledge, and even gave advice on upkeep and maintenance as we were first-time homebuyers.
The inspection took 4+ hours, and covered every inch of the structure, inside and out. The report was just as thorough, delivered in a timely manner, easy to understand, included pictures to document specifics, and clearly distinguished "concerns" from "major conditions". Many of the issues noted were minor and of little immediate concern to us, but we wanted as much as possible brought to our attention before moving on in the purchasing process.
We always received a timely response from Kyle whether by email or returning a voice message. All-in-all we had some very pleasant experiences with a knowledgeable professional and would happily pay the somewhat higher cost for this superior product.
Probably priced higher than others, a trait Benchmark does not refute . My opinion: Worth every penny. Inspections took 4-5 hours. Inspection done by owner. He encouraged my wife and me to accompoany him and ask questions. We did, and he answered the questions in as much detail we wanted. And gave limited but thoughtful opinions when asked.
Benchmark showed up on time, and delivered reports within the time periods as promised.
Kyle hadn't been feeling very well but he showed up on time and was thoroughly professional. The house we were interested in was a 4 bedroom 4-1/2 bath foreclosure with a finished basement and unfinished attic so we weren't sure what surprises we might find and wanted to make sure that we covered everything. Well, Kyle spent close to 8 hours inspecting the house both inside and out and outside it was the COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR. Yet Kyle went through everything and explained everything as we tagged along taking notes.
He pointed out the bad and the good points of the house and made recommendations as we went along. Being a city girl septic systems and well water was not something I was familiar with and my boyfriend and I both had alot of questions about them. Kyle was patient and explained how they worked and arranged for a septic inspection at the same time he was there. The septic system inspector also was very thorough. We lucked out with both of these guys. You can't go wrong with them.
The knowledge that Kyle has in electrical, plumbing and heating systems etc. was very impressive. It took a little while to get the report as he had been sick but once we got it were even more impressed.
The detail of the report was remarkable and helped us to negotiate some more with the bank
We were very happy with the inspection that Kyle performed for us and you will be too.
I watch a lot of HGTV so I have a little bit of knowledge. I know that I can become very annoying. Kyle never became annoyed or irritated with my questions/input.
I highly recommend.
We interviewed 4 companies and decided on Benchmark Home Inspection Services. Now just to give a little lead in on our issues, I called Kyle and left a message on his voicemail. I didn?t hear back from him and after a couple of days I called and left another message. He responded a little while later. That kind of put up a red flag for me but being that the reviews were so stellar we let it go.
In any case, we spoke, he was very helpful, answered all our questions, he gave us a quote and we decided to go with him. All the follow up after that was normal and on a timely basis. He sent us a copy of the contract for us to review and make sure everything was covered and correct.
The day of the inspection he arrived on time, and got right to work. Mind you it was the first day that we experienced real cold weather, but he was enthusiastic and didn?t skimp on the time we spent outdoors.
I have to say that his knowledge and thoroughness is quite impressive. The whole experience of the inspection was quite insightful.
After the inspection was done, he informed us that the report would be in our hands with-in 2-3 days. This was a Tuesday. We were at the tail end of our time limit to get the inspection done, so receiving the report that Thursday or Friday would of worked fine for us. Thursday came and went and we didn?t receive the report.
On Friday after not hearing or receiving the report I decided to call and check in. I was at the office and didn?t see that he had called me back, so I had no idea that he had returned my call. Saturday came, still no report, we called again and left a message. Finally at the end of the day we get a call from him apologizing for the miscommunication and to inform us that he had been quite ill and that?s why he had not responded in timely manner, he did mention that he returned my call on friday. He let us know that he would have the report to us that night. The report never came. On Sunday we expected to have something in our email in the morning, nothing. The day went on no call no report. Finally early that evening I called again, this time quite flustered and left a stern message. He called right back. He again apologized and told us we?d have the report that night. We finally did get the report after 9:00pm.
Now I have to say that after all that grief, when we finally did get the report, we were very impressed. It was as thorough and detailed as the inspection. And actually because of it we backed out of the deal. I?m sure that it saved us quite a lot of money and frustration.
We decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, there was a nasty bug going around and I knew of quite a few people that were sick with the flu.
After receiving the report we emailed him thanking him and letting him know that we were going to use his services again. We were in the process of looking at some more homes and would reach out once we were going to need inspection services again.
We spoke after all this, he mentioned he had gotten sick again and had to cancel some of his appointments, so to please give him as much advance notice as possible once we were ready to get the inspection done. A week later I emailed letting him know that we had identified two properties, which we would know by the end of the week which one we were going with and requested availability for 4 dates. The first being almost two weeks from the day I sent the email. It?s been over a week since I sent that email and haven?t heard back.
Needless to say, we will not be using his services again.
Kyle, we understand people get sick and things happen. But not communicating or letting people know what?s going on is just unacceptable. Not sure if you?re the only person running the company but I would advise you to at least get someone to help you with bookings, phone calls and follow up.
We had scheduled it for Monday, October 29th - which was the same day that Hurricane Sandy was to make landfall in New Jersey. I called him the Friday before to confirm he was still doing the inspection and we even spoke the night before. He said we are still on - I was impressed that he was keeping the appointment.
He arrived with all his equipment in hand and got straight to work. We spent just under 4 hours inspecting a 1914 colonial 2 story house with a partially finished basement and an unfinished attic. He was extremely thorough - explained everything in detail. I took notes and followed him around asking questions. He took his time inspecting the house and answering all my questions. He is knowledgeable on every aspect of construction and renovation. He knew all about the brands used from the boiler to the furnace, to the kitchen appliances. He has a great appreciation for old homes (this house was built in 1914) and even gave me a website on where to find guides on preserving and restoring older homes. He red flagged several things for us which had we not known we would have been in way over our heads if we had continued with the purchase. He provided a very detailed inspection report. We tried negotiating the repairs and/or credit but the homeowners refused. We walked away.
I knew that we would call upon Kyle again if and when we find another house which we did about a month later. We had the 2nd home inspection on Dec 18. Once again Kyle did a fantastic job, spending 5 hours inspecting a 1890 colonial 2 story house with an unfinished basement and a partially finished attic.
I am incredibly impressed with his diligence and professionalism. He is very knowledgeable and definitely knows what he is talking about. I have personal experience with construction, renovations and design so I had high expectations for Kyle. He went beyond all of my expectations with these home inspections. Without hesitation, I would highly recommend Benchmark to everyone buying a home.
The second inspection that he performed was on Sept. 4. This is also a newer home (8 years old) and there were far less issues, thankfully.
I would recommend Kyle's services as a home inspector 100%. He is extremely knowledgable, professional, friendly, & courteous. And to say he's thorough is a gross understatement. He doesn't just give a cursory look to the home and call it a day. He looks inside, above, behind & underneath everything as much as he possibly can. What's also important is that he explains everything he's looking at as he goes along and answers any questions you may have. We learned so much about how things work and how to maintain them, which is necessary if you're going to own the home.
The cost of service is pricey but we definitely got our money's worth considering how thorough & competent the inspections were. It's worth spending more to ensure that you're not buying a lemon - it's where you're going to live so it's worth it! Other inspectors may charge less but I know that they probably miss at least half of what Kyle catches. We had that experience with our first home.
The inspection will also take a good amount of time depending on the size of the home. Again, important & well worth it. Just make sure to bring some bottles of water and snacks with you!
As I said, I would highly recommend Kyle to anyone I know.
He was punctual and we could tell that he wasn't someone who cuts corners, but rather takes pride in doing his job very well. We felt as though he left no stone unturned. We were able to negotiate a very meaningful sum off the home purchase price as a result of his work so he certainly paid for himself and more, not to mention the peace of mind he provided us.
We can't say enough good things about Kyle - we certainly would use him again and recommend him highly to anyone. It's rare to find an individual who's passionate about his work.
Kyle was meticulous, patient, extremely knowledgeable of all trades and code requirements. He not only found what was wrong but he gave solutions/fixes to the problem and rough estimates as to the cost. He gave practical advice about things you could do to just get by while you save money to then fix it right or when it wasn't worth it to do a "patch job" and to just bite the bullet and fix it the right/complete way from the start. I should also mention Kyle would point out the good things as well, for example he pointed out that they landscaped an area of the yard properly with a "curtain drain" and pipe... something he said many people do not bother doing because of the time and expense etc. In the end I received a report that was every bit as detailed and thorough as the walk through inspection - complete with everything we talked about from the problems to the solutions to the rough cost estimates etc. Everything was clearly stated well organized and photo documented as well.
Kyle was friendly, personable and made a long, hot, July day with no AC or fans go by quickly... cracking jokes etc.
We may not buy the home based on Kyle's findings, I only mention this because I wanted to say if we choose to move forward with another house I would not hesitate to use Kyle again to inspect it.
I wanted to end by saying I took a chance on hiring Kyle and believing in the reviews as every single one is a glowing "A" review... I was skeptical not just of him but of Angie's list reviews/process etc. I'm glad I hired him the glowing reviews are not fake, based on my experience with him it is clear that he earned every single "A" review. So add my "A" review to the list!
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