Pillar To Post Inc

So home inspections are one of those things you need to do when buying a home, however most home inspectors really don't know what they are doing. The inspection on our home in Shaker is a great example of how a home inspection company failed us. The inspector arrived on time, he was overwhelmed with the beauty of the renovation that the house had gone through that he really didn't dig deeper to find any of the real problems. This guy was so worried about getting the model numbers and serial numbers of the BRAND NEW appliances than actually inspecting things, like the basement, plumbing, electrical, sump pump, roof, gutters (both which we very visible from the ground level, and the 2nd floor porch and mold and water damage. The list of things this guy missed makes me physically ill - for two reasons, that means he is missing things for other customers, and I am going to probably pour about $25k into the repairs he missed that I could have used as leverage prior to closing the pair. Fortunately I was smart enough to have some separate inspections done on my own - all of them reviewed the inspection report and basically asked why I would pay almost $700 for a binder. Here is a sampling of what the guy missed: miswired GFCI outlets in bathroom and laundry room mold in the basement on rafters, far worse than he originally suggested a overhang roof / porch had a roof so rotted that it moves - leaked so bad there were water stains on the ceiling and bricks - no mention of this in his report there was a fireplace in clearly visible that had mortar joint missing no mention that there were ungrounded outlets in parts of the house no mention that none of the tubs were caulked - just grouted - there are 6 bathrooms in the house no discussion of the yards grading no mention of leaking gutters, clogged window well drains with debris - despite plenty of evidence no caulking in the shower missing smoke/heat detectors in the furnace room leaking show head the list goes on. none of this is mentioned in the report. If you want to pay for an expensive binder - go to officemax, you will save about $750 bucks. We learned our lesson - you need to interview the inspector that is coming to your home as if he were babysitting your kids. If you are going to drop 1/2 a million bucks on a house, you need someone with experience. If they guy went through an online course, and has never actually worked in the trades or built anything you should probably move on. The guy was nice, he just didn't know anything and was following a script. The insurance rep from Nationwide Private Client was more knowledgable in his inspection that the home inspector from Pillar to Post. I could have done a better job inspecting this house, unfortunately my partner fell victim to marketing and brand appeal instead of experience.

The inspection was incredibly unprofessional and disappointing. We initially were going to go with a competitor, but elected to go with Pillar to Post...our mistake. We knew that the property had a great deal of issues, but were relying on the inspection to help us identify the areas so we could secure quotes to determine our financial position. After touring our property, this company missed key areas of grave concern. These were subsequently brought to our attention when we enlisted the assistance of a local masonry union president. In addition, where he actually documented damage in the notes section, the drop down box selected NO across the board for if there was damage. This Inspection Report was being submitted to the Bank as part of our negotiation process. When we asked him to at least correct all the drop downs where there was damage and select YES, he stated that he was "sorry, but that is our software system and it doesn't let us do that." If you are an Inspection Service and you have "Yes" and "No" drop down boxes for if there is damage and you are charging over a thousand dollars, why would your software not permit you to select "Yes"? While we going down the Inspection Report, we noticed that it DID have YES in a few places. He appeared "put out" that we would call him on this and ask him to change it, even though he had already secured a check from us for $1,300+! He kept trying to tell us that no one looks at the drop down box, they only look to see if there are notes. Our position was that we paid good money, as he already had the check, for the Inspection Report to be accurate and wanted it accurate. He then agreed to go back in and change all the areas where there was damage to "YES". One example of his poor documentation was that the property had been abandoned for four months and he entered "Nice landscaping." The trees were overgrown and clogging the gutters, bushes out of control, wood branches hanging all over the place. The driveway was also in "good condition", but it was like driving in downtown Cleveland; could lose a tire! We pointed this out to him on a rainy day as deep puddles of water formed all over the place - and asked him if he considered that gravel driveway a "good driveway". My perception is that he also wanted to email it and communicate by phone, as he pushed that several times. Our assumption is that we paid him a good deal of money and wanted to meet and discuss it. Quite honestly, I would never ever go with this company again and would not recommend them to anyone about whom I care. Contractors that subsequently provided quotes to us shook their heads at the results of the Inspection Report. it is too bad because the referral came through friends and we were completely confused by his report, even asking him at one point in time if he had been on the property before as we thought he might have had a conflict of interest, but he stated that he had not been on the property. Note: He did change the boxes to "Yes" and did send over a new report within 24-48 hours after we requested it. However, we still believe it was not a thorough and accurate inspection - our perception. Good luck!

At the time of the inspection, the staff at Pillar To Post was professsional and on-time to the appointment. I was informed about the components of the inspection, and additional options. I asked for a full inspection. I walked around with the inspector and asked to be told of the findings, and was also provided with an inspection report. The inspection did not match my experience with the house. For example, I was told that the roof was in fine condition, and now after being in the house for two years, I need to have the roof completely replaced due to water damage. Another example: at the time of the inspection, the inspector pointed to a rod on the sump pump and said, "You should get around to having this replaced." What the inspector did not say was that the sump pump rod was the critical component and if the rod malfunctioned, I could/would have flooding in my basement at the first hard rain. After two weeks and the first hard rain, I had $5,000 worth of damage to my basement which ruined the carpeting, furniture and the (original) pine wood paneling in the finished basement. Soon after moving in, I found that parts of the heating system were old and needed to be replaced, that a toilet was not up to code, and that there was gas leakage from a broken valve. In addition, contractors that I brought in to do the work pointed out water damage that my (then) untrained eye did not detect. The contractors assured me that any reasonable inspector or contractor could see that the repairs done to the wall and ceiling was in response to earlier water damage. There is even problems in one or two rooms with the old wood floors sloping towards the center of the room. I could not detect this until living in the house for several days, but an inspector should have seen by examining the floors closely. The inspector's lack of knowledge was hard to believe. I would not have purchased the house had I known of all the problems that the inspector should have caught. I would never recommed this inspector to anyone.