MARK'S HOME INSPECTION SERVICE INC

"To this customer I offer the following: I have been doing inspections for over 13 years...I take pride in what I do and how I do it. I have thousands of satisfied customers and will continue to stand behind my reports and the findings therein. 1. I have done many home inspections for satisfied clients that your Realtor has recommended my services for over the years. She is an excellent agent and I respect her as a professional in this business. 2. You always have a choice in who you hire to work on your behalf. 3. I arrived at 12:21 PM, nine minutes prior to our agreed upon start time. 4. My inspection process is the same on every inspection; the exterior first, the garage, kitchen, mechanical items and unfinished areas of the basement, and then the finished rooms and attic. If the attic access was in the garage, I may have seen it prior to going inside, but that is not typical. 5. Per your contract with my company, an un-floored attic area is not fully accessible due to the risk of slipping and falling through the insulation and causing damage. Therefore some items (like the electrical ones you are referring to) may not be discovered and may remain hidden even after the inspection. 6. Instead of reaching out to me directly, you chose to write 2 negative reviews on the internet...I would have worked with you and your husband on this issue, but no longer since your negative reviews will potentially negatively effect my business, only hurting me and not benefitting you at all. I hope that you feel better having slandered my good name."

"In defense of our company against this confused customer, I offer the following. He claims that we wrote: “funny smell in basement – need to evaluate.” Those words do not exist in our report, (they may in his other inspectors report). Our report does mention a long list of plumbing related issues including “cap any abandoned drains in the basement.” The list of moisture related issues in the basement include: stains, peeling paint, musty smell, efflorescence, mold, fresh paint, normal to high moisture reading by instrument and a running dehumidifier. This is as I recall an educated customer, possibly a physician who was so impressed with himself and understanding that people in his profession often get a second opinion, he thought it wise to do that in this case. His explanation is an offensive, rude and inaccurate account of what happened. The Home Inspectors job is to find and document defects. We are not there to make you feel good or bad about the house. We have no relationship to your Realtor. Realtors do provide referrals to Home Inspectors, but not unlike someone who is referring a friend to a doctor, lawyer, or plumber. We are professional Home Inspectors. You are free to decide for yourself who to use. If there are significant safety and/or structural issues with a home, those are typically resolved between the Buyer & Seller. Many items noted in a report are general maintenance and are not used to renegotiate a deal."

"I offer the following to a customer that bought a vacant 91 yr old home. Several things can happen to a vacant home; rubber seals dry out, plaster cracks, and plumbing can begin to leak. As for the boiler that you say needed replacement, we documented 12 gas leaks in the home, and for a variety of reasons recommended having the boiler serviced by a professional NOW. The job of a General Home Inspector is that of a generalist, if something is found that warrants further analysis by an expert in a specific field then that is what is recommended to a client, as in this case. If you chose to not act on the recommendation at the time of the inspection, that is not the fault of the inspector. As to the plumbing leak that you mention from a bathtub, this was not leaking at the time of the inspection…if it were; we would have documented it and recommended a plumber make the repair. As for the electrical issues that you mention, without any specifics I can not address this at all. I want people to know what they are buying, for better or for worse, and make an educated decision on whether or not to purchase a property, not an emotional one. Our report is proprietary; we created it in order to provide a customer with more useful information than others reports. It is not antiquated as you describe, it is thorough and you receive a copy on-site at the time of the inspection. If you had a problem reading something, we are always available to explain what a comment meant."

"In response to this customer, I offer the following. This customer was a young attorney, just a few months out of law school who tried to extort money from our company. He purchased a 45 year old home with many documented defects. His boiler happened to work properly during the inspection, one of few systems that did. The control valves reportedly failed later. It is extremely unlikely that all three valves failed simultaneously, which was his claim. These are mechanical devices that can and do fail and will eventually need replacement. He attempted to sue us and in the end had to withdraw his complaint, because he had no case. When pressed to produce receipts for work completed, they came to roughly half of the amount he had previously claimed. He is not an honest person. He bought a home that needed a repair and wanted someone else to pay for it. He tried to have another attorney in his office represent him, but when it all came out in the end; he had no case and received no compensation from us. As for the fee adjustment that he is referring to, we try to gain as much information about a property on the phone during the initial contact with a client. If you are not honest about the home in terms of the number of rooms and heating systems, then don’t be surprised if you are asked to pay an additional amount based on the actual features of the home."