APPLE VALLEY HOME INSPECTION

I was pretty happy with them. They were right on time. The inspection went quite well. They came through and highlighted a couple of obvious problems and a couple of not so obvious problems. They were very clear on setting expectations for the inspection for example; they are only able to observe what they could without actually taking walls apart. They can provide the best estimate for the condition of the roof only by going up there and see what it looks like on the under side. They highlighted long term potential issues versus short term immediate fixes. They set a priority list on what to look for. They also made suggestions for further more in depth inspections by other parties such as septic, plumbing and heating. That sort of thing. Things outside the scope of the home inspection that they were doing. They were very clear saying, "We are looking at this and not this. This is what I observed but this is not definitive. You may want someone with better qualifications to take a look at this." No promises were made and so far they were pretty accurate.

Hank was pleasant and thorough. He gave a lot of information - rather more than I could take in at the time. He wrote a detailed report and emailed it quickly to me. I felt he did a good job, as best a layperson can tell about these things. My only 'beef' was that because there was heavy snow on inspection day, he wasn't able to inspect some of the outside features very well. He promised that he'd go back when the snow melted and take another look to make sure nothing was terribly amiss. I reminded him of this and he said he would but I never heard from him again. I had to assume that no news was good news but was left feeling like he just forgot about me. His price is a bit high but my realtor insisted that he is thorough and good at his job so I just had to hope she was right! With inspections, there is really no way to know for sure until something goes wrong, unfortunately. So, overall, Hank is a pleasant and relatively responsive person to work with but I can't totally rate the quality of his work since I've only just moved into the house and it hasn't fallen to the ground just yet.

It went quite well and I look forward to working with Hank should the need arise.

Stay away from Apple Valley Home Inspections. Their inspector was either incompetent on in collusion with the seller of the house. He “missed” numerous important malfunctioning systems that would have prevented the sale of the house if he had pointed them out. He claimed the heating system was in “generally good condition” and that the furnace had just been pouring out heat—but the furnace was burned out. He claimed the well had been shocked and the polluted water was now fine—but the well had not been touched and the water was crawling with bacteria. He “missed” a broken thermostat. He “missed” leaking plumbing in the kitchen and in the bathroom. He “missed” shoddy workmanship throughout the house. And more. Having a house inspected before buying it is a great idea, but get a recommendation from someone you trust before choosing a home inspector.

Hank was a nice enough guy and everything looked great initially.  Not a week after moving into our home we are having some big issues.  He missed quite a bit.
Our furnace was a rusty mess on the inside and the fans were bunged up.  This isn't something that had just happened recently but something that happened over time.  Hank completely missed this.
Hank ran our tubs yet failed to notice the water spots that appeared on the ceiling after running the tub.  A week after moving in we are ripping down ceiling to replace a jacuzzi tub in complete and total disrepair.
I hate giving a negative review but I really feel this guy missed some pretty blatant things.  I guess home inspection is no guarantees but considering our results after the inspection I would never recommend Apple Valley in the future.

Mr. Pauli was rather abrupt in answering my questions, seemed to be in a  hurry although he did come on short notice.  He was not in so much of a hurry that he did not ask if I had brought check.  His report was thorough although first and second parts 
were redundant.  He pointed out obvious things like leaves in gutter, no handrail on steps,  Tested septic, water flow,  suggested venting on boiler, pointed out area of (newer) roof which should be monitored, took many photos BUT DID NOT TAKE PHOTO OF
BRIGHT BLUE PAN IN CORNER OF ATTIC  under the part of the roof where he suggested monitoring, which was obviously placed there to catch water.  That photo was taken by my contractor, hired after house purchase, and after roof began to leak.  This
was corrected at a cost of $3000.  Had I known about this situation, I would have rethought purchase and/or purchase price.

Hank was absolutely stellar and I highly recommend him for home inspections.  In fact, he was so good I'm thinking of having him out every so often simply to check that the house is in good shape and for his recommendations to ensure that it's safe.  The report that I received was outstanding and I still refer to it.  I'm not quite sure on the cost but I believe it was around $200.

Hank was extremely informative, professional and knowledgable. He was early and so already had some information for us when we arrived. He broke the inspection down into stages and let us know exactly what he would be looking for at each stage and reviewed his findings with us after each stage. He was very friendly and had a great sense of humor which made it a pleasant experience all around. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone and would definitely use him again.

unknown

I recieved the report and read it thoroughly and called Mr. Pauli with some questions. His attitude was not only condescending but very disturbing. He treated me, to say the least, like an idiot. It turns out his report is a boiler plate into which items particular to the house under inspection are inserted. This may be standard practice but it leads to some very misleading things. The following list is what Mr Pauli totally missed in the inspection of what is now our home. 1. Bathroom Vents - Report states 'the two second floor bathroom vent pipes should be better insulated' There were no bathroom vent pipes as both bathroom vents were venting into the attic and caused a mold problem which cost $4000.00+ to correct. 2. Main Support Beam - Report doesn't even mention a problem with the main support beam. A recent inspection by a structural engineer we hired revealed the main support beam needs additional support to alleviate the stress presently causing a bow that will lead to failure of the structure if not repaired. The cost to do this repair is 2000+ depending on what else is discovered down the full length of the beam. The sagging part of the beam is clearly visible in the basement area and was at the time of the home inspection. 3.Crawl Space Moisture - The report does mention a very little of this condition but apparently the efflourescence on the foundation walls nor the obvious signs of carpenter ant activity hanging off the floor joists in the crawl space were enough for Mr Pauli to strongly advise us to pay for a pest inspection. The cost of this repair is going to be 2000+ and is presently ongoing. We've just uncovered a major carpenter ant infestation and been told the rim joist will have to be replaced in many areas. This will require the house to be jacked up. Maybe some other people have had a positive experience with Apple Valley Home Inspections. Perhaps they were lucky not to have any serious problems with the house in the first place. We have our first home and thanks to Apple Valley are spending our first six months spending vast amounts of money fixing it.