Signature Home Inspection

Ron Gerome, the owner of Signature Home Inspections arrived at our home promptly on time for the inspection. When I got up to meet him at the door (I saw his car come up the driveway) I was shocked that he didn't knock, he just opened the door and walked in as if he owned the home himself. He was surprised to see me at home, even though my realtor had asked repeatedly if it was a problem. I explained that we have young children and it was pouring rain outside, so I was waiting for one to get home off the bus so that we could go out. He started with the outside inspection, then moved indoors. Asked me about a stain on the ceiling which I calmly told him happened once many years ago when the kids got a little too exuberant around the tub. Asked me about "bubbling" in a high corner of the foyer - he said it was water damage. I told him I'd never seen water there, and it didn't look like water to me. Today I took out a long ladder and looked at his "water damage". It was the drywall tape that had warped slightly as the house (which we had built) settled. Not unexpected and certainly not due to water. At this point we left and he completed the inspection with the buyer. In the basement (where we had a small leak) he repeatedly took pictures of the expansion or control joints in the poured concrete walls and called them cracks that needed to be addressed by a professional. They were obviously straight, neat and intentional parts of the foundation and not damp. Also in the basement he adjusted the hot water heater, which he did not return to the original setting, causing scalds in the shower the next day (he set it to very hot, which is +125F in our house). In the basement we also have a reverse osmosis unit for the aquarium - which he assumed were the PEX lines for the house and he called them very dirty and need to be replaced. The aquarium was to be removed for the buyer and thus this unit as well. The home humidifier (on the furnace) was described as an April-Aire when it clearly stated "Honeywell" on the casing. And the radon test. Let's get started on the radon test. It was done on a very rainy day (which increases readings artificially) and he did NOT tell us to turn off the incredibly powerful vents we have on the aquarium - this creates a negative pressure in the home and again raises levels. Even with that, the level came back at 7 - which he said needed to be mitigated even though the EPA recommends that levels under 8 be check again, preferably with a longer duration test. Obviously the buyers walked away, thanks in no small part to the errors this man made in the inspection. He has had a BBB complaint against him. If you end up using him (or having him in your home) I'd recommend being there and keeping him honest. I personally wouldn't let him into my home again.