Greater Houston Home Inspections

Dale was very thorough and informative in his inspection.  Even if it was something that was not a deal breaker, but was not as it should be, it was noted in the report.  His knowledge of houses and the proper maintenance for them was also very useful knowledge to have going forward.  He showed up on time and was very responsive when I called to discuss his report in more detail.  His reports included everything of note as well as lots of pictures which made it easy to remember or see what was being called out.

.

Dale never showed up to inspect the house that I was purchasing, and I had to find another company on very short notice. Then he told me the next day that he would HOLD UP MY CLOSING if I didn't pay him for the termite portion of the inspection which was allegedly done the day he didn't show up. When I asked him to send my the termite inspection report before I released payment, he told me that I would have it by the end of the day, but it took him a full week to send me the report.  I paid him for the inspection, but I seriously doubt it was done when he said it was done.
He was extremely unprofessional considering the fact that he failed to show up for the inspection or even bother to call me to tell me he would be late.  The inspection was supposed to start around 2pm with a walk through with he and I around 6pm.  He did not show up at 2pm.  I knew he was doing another inspection before mine so I waited until 3:00pm, before I called him to find out when he would arrive for my inspection. He told me he would be there no later than 3:30pm.  When I returned to the house at 5:45pm to take some measurement and attend the walk through, Dale still was no where to be found.  I called him again and asked if he was going to have time to do a thorough inspection that night since it was getting late.  He apologized for being late, assured me he would have ample time to do a thorough inspection, and told me has in his vehicle and he would be at the house within 10 minutes.  So, I waited......and waited.....and waited some more.  After a full hour of waiting, I canceled the inspection.  
I can understand that people can get over booked and behind schedule.  If he had simply told me that he needed to reschedule for another day instead of wasting my time and lying to me, I would have gladly rescheduled.  The fact is that he never showed up at all, he never called to let me know what was going on, and when I contacted him he lied to me twice.  And then he told me that he would hold up my closing if I didn't pay him!  Ridiculous.

Dale went to inspect the house.  After he completed the inspection, he gave me a call and went over what he found and gave details of the problems.  He later sent me the reports with pictures of the inspection.  I gave the report to the builder and they fixed all the problems that Dale found.  I would definitely recommend Dale.

Dale is meticulous in his inspections and very thourough. He spend over 5 hours inspecting our new home and I could not be more confident he found everything worth knowing about the property. Any problems he found he would walk you through at the end but does not require you to be there during the inspection. He is able to access the home with the lock box on the door since he is licensed through the TREA. He squeezed our inspection in last minute on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend and had our complete inspection to us (43 pages) VERY early Sunday morning. Most other inspectors were either now available or not working over the holiday weekend.
Thanks again Dale!

Dale was very professional, attentive, and friendly. He was very meticulous in his inspection, and when he finished, he explained everything to us answering every question we had thoroughly, making sure that we understood completely. I would (and will!) definitely recommend him.

The positive: We found Dale and two other inspection agencies on Angie's List last week and contacted them about inspecting a home we are thinking of purchasing. All were highly rated on Angie's List but Dale was the most responsive and though he said he had a full schedule he worked our inspection in on a Sunday afternoon in order to have it done before our option period ran out. 
The property, built in 1981, is big and the house is around 5000 square feet. Dale showed up on time and spent nearly 12 hours going through it and finding various issues. Based on his findings and recommendations we called a foundation expert to come look at the home as well. Though there were other issues with the report, the pictures included in his report were very helpful, as one of us is out of state and unable to view the property for themselves.
The negative: Though Dale was initially very responsive to emails and phone calls, he became less and less so once he was done with the inspection Sunday evening. We read on numerous reviews that he got them the report the same or next day, and he told us as he was finishing the inspection that he was busy and would get it to us as soon as possible. By Tuesday our check had been cashed but we had still not heard from him. Tuesday evening, after emailing and calling a couple of times, we finally reached him and he said it would be to us by Wednesday morning at the latest. On Wednesday afternoon, we emailed and called and again Dale did not respond. We informed him that our option period would be ending soon and that we really needed the report to negotiate repairs with the sellers, but Dale did not respond to phone calls or emails. On Thursday morning he sent a short email apologizing for the delay and saying it would be to us that day. Last night at 11:30pm we finally received the report, leaving us with 1 business day and the weekend to review his findings and go over them with the sellers. 
Though Dale seemed to do a very thorough inspection, took great pictures and was initially both responsive and flexible in scheduling, it is obvious that he overextended himself and should have told us he was too busy to take our house on. In addition to the above mentioned complaints, our sellers were able to show us 9 different errors on the inspection report, including basic things like "inoperable dishwasher" and "inoperable ceiling fans," or "screens missing from multiple windows" when there was just one screen missing. The report was obviously rushed and it showed - a faulty report left us with little time and negotiating room.
Based on the other reviews, perhaps Dale is an excellent inspector and we are the exception. However, it is obvious that Dale should not have taken our property on because he was over-extended. If you hire him you may want to see what his schedule is like that week and clarify exactly when you would like the report, before you schedule the inspection and especially before writing a check.
Update: Since moving into house we have discovered that several items in our home warranty are voided because of Dale's faulty inspection report. More importantly, we have discovered some major leaking/water damage issues in the carport, roof and deck that were not mentioned at all in Dale's report. We were told by multiple contractors that the structural issues that now need to be repaired happened over a long period of time and that any inspector would have seen and commented on them just several months ago. Our new home might be costing us another $40K or more to keep rot from seeping further into the house, less than a month into living in it. We certainly never would have bought a property with this much wrong, and hope this review helps others thoroughly question this inspector before they take his report at face value.

Dale was very detailed, professional,and took his time to go over all his findings with us. He got his report to us the following day it contained alot of pictures and recommendations on repairs. Would recommend and use again.

Dale performed a very thorough inspection on an older pier and beam home in Galveston.  The home had a variety of issues that we knew about.  He addressed all of our concerns as well as many that we hadn't considered.  I couldn't be more pleased with the comprehensive inspection that he performed.

The inspection went very well. It took him a little over 2 hours to do a complete walk through of the property inside and out. He was upfront about costs, about what he would have fixed and what he thought would not be that big of an issue even if it would not pass according to inspection standards. He answered all of questions and is always available through text and phone calls. He believes in service done right and if you pay him his asking price, you might end up saving hundreds of thousands on a home that is not quite livable. He was professional, courteous, knowledgeable and I would absolutely use GHHI again and again.

we were most impressed.
they were punctual, pleasant, efficient, and knowledgeable.
pointing out areas of concern we had totally missed.
their report was thorough, timely, and more than complete!
we actually walked away from our offer after this inspection...saved us from a "glossed over" house.

It went well and it was a great experience. The provided grade A service and were very professional. I highly recommend them and I thought their price was reasonable. They were friendly and willing to accommodate their clients. They take care of their clients.  

Very professional and thorough.

This gentleman offer the service of going beyond a simple inspection of our pending property.  He helped ease my fears of purchasing my first home.  I highly recommend him to anybody who is needing a home inspection report.  He looks out for your interest and investment with you pending home purchase. 

Dale seemed to be very knowledgeable and did a comprehensive inspection on a house we are planning to purchase.  Although he did the inspection before our arrival to the house he spent another 1 ½ hours with us to explain his findings.  He was able to point out things to us that we would have missed and explain the what may have been the cause of the deficiency and how to correct it.   A full report with WDI inspection were provide the morning after the inspection took place.  We were very pleased with the service he performed for us and would use his services again.

Inspector was punctual and professional but missed some big issues.  Missed an obvious water stain in the kitchen ceiling.  Also missed the tub shower tiles that were loose.  Also missed that the a/c drain line was a water hose instead of PVC.  He was not as thorough as other inspectors that we have used.

I called Dale and set up an appointment for a home inspection. He came on time, did a thorough inspection, and I got the full report that same day. He was efficient and professional. I would definitely use him again.

I would highly recommend.

Dale responded to my calls and emails promptly, and was easily able to fit my scheduling needs.
My cost did include a "wood destroying insect" report.
I followed him as he went room to room, and checked every outlet, and every nook and cranny.  Tons of pictures, and some good advice here and there.  Very knowledgable on his trade.

I only had a couple of issues - my cost did NOT include a measureable foundation report. I was not told this when setting up my inspection, and he did not have his equipment with him so it would have been an additional $150 for him to come back out and do this. The foundation inspection he did was a basic "is the foundation doing it's job".  

My other issue, was when I was scheduling this inspection on the phone, he let me know that I did NOT need to be present. As much as I appreciate this, I want to be there to know what is wrong and see it first hand. 
Dale arrived on time for the inspection and repeated I did not need to be there for the inspection. I insisted on staying and he said ok, but it's best if I'm not near as he likes to talk, and therefore the inspection would take twice as long.

He still did a good job, but I would not use him again. I would spend the extra dollars and get my foundation price included and an inspector who wants me to see first hand what is wrong with the house I am buying.

We are the sellers for the house that Dale inspected. So, we were not here when the inspection took place nor did we pay for his services. However, we had a question about the inspection and Dale was very helpful in addressing our concern and letting us know what he had found. He is an unusual breed these days who communicates well and clearly cares to satisfy and keep his customers. If we were purchasing a new house locally (as opposed to moving out of state) we would definitely ask Dale to be our inspector.