United Professional Real Estate Inspectors

My realtor recommended this company.  I did visit the websites of this company, as well as two others and decided that thoroughness was important enough to me to go with this company, especially after talking with them on the phone.
Alarm bells should have been ringing on the date of the scheduled inspection when I saw the inspector fish around in his pocket for a key that he used to scrape some ear wax from his ear.  
Since the house was empty and vacant, I stayed for the length of the inspection which took approximately 3 hours.  The inspector pointed out a hole in the closet that housed the furnace, saying "Look at that.  It isn't supposed to be here."  He didn't even mention it on his report, or mention the clearly visible exposed wiring in the hole, much less take a picture of it.
I did not follow the guy around and watch everything he did and did not do, figuring that the amount of money involved precluded the necessity.  
The report was Emailed to me two days later.
The report was rife with inaccuracies, mistakes, mis-statements and errors.  Several outlets that, according to the report, were stated to be GFCI protected, were clearly not protected at all.  One outlet was in a bathroom, another was on the exterior of the house.
The inspector stated the insulation in the attic was cellulose and of adequate depth when it clearly is neither cellulose nor of adequate depth.  He stated the ducting was fine when it CLEARLY is not.  Of course, no photos accompanied these statements.
(A subsequent inspections of the premises by individuals not associated with UPII was performed at a later date.)
He stated some of the windows couldn't be opened because of furniture being in the way, yet the the house was completely vacant and all of the windows opened with ease.  He stated one of the bedroom doors was leaning against a wall, unhung, yet no such problem existed.  Again, no accompanying photos were included in the report.
There were SO many things wrong with the inspection and the report that it is mind boggling how a company can operate in such a manner.  The items mentioned above are merely a sample of the abundant errors.
The president of the company, Russ Calliu, did "seem" to be appropriately concerned during our second phone conversation (after the second Email).  He claimed he would "make it right" and came to the house to verify and address the issues of complaint.  He agreed that the issues of concern were valid and he would arrange to have some of them repaired.  I'm still waiting.
My guess is that the inspector, Bill Gauthier, has either not been trained or screened by UPII, or else he is completely incompetent.  That being said, UPII is grossly negligent in it's representation of the quality of work they perform, and thereby also completely incompetent.

Overall, the experience was okay. It was an older home and we felt they missed a few key items.

Looking for a home inspector in California is a c*** shoot since there are no licensing or other requirements. Thank goodness we found UPREI. From the moment of scheduling we new we were on the right track. Their professional support staff clearly and quickly took our information and the information on the house and provided us with a WRITTEN PROPOSAL outlining exactly what they were going to do. ( not just a quote over the phone). The inspector showed up clean, in uniform, and explored every area of the home in detail. He even performed a mold inspection, full roof inspection. heating and air evaluation and wrote down all the details on every appliance and performed a recall verification for each and every major appliance. (the dishwasher was recalled and I got $500.00 from the manufacturer to get a new one) If you are in need of a home inspection and want the best and most thorough (but more expensive), this is the company for you!