INSPECTION MASTERS CORP

I made the assumption that he is paid to do an inspection, that he has my back. In purchasing two homes back East, I never questioned that my Inspector would not do his job. It is a given.

I am so not happy with his service. All seemed OK until I found out there was a leak underneath the house. The contractor who went down there said that not only was there an active leak caused by very old corrosion but all the pipes displayed extreme corrosion and needed to be replaced soon. Every contractor since then has told me this...that the pipes underneath should be replaced ASAP because there could be another leak due to their age. I have a picture and a sample of this pipe. It is extremely corroded and rusted with a big ugly hole in it. Anyone looking at it would be able to see what is wrong with it. It is that bad. John, my inspector, did not catch this. Why? He didn't bother to go underneath the house. He just didn't do it. And he gave me lame excuses for why he didn't. He first said "it wasn't necessary" (well, that was wrong) and then later blamed it on something else. Funny how no other men I consulted had issues, only John. I should have known about these problems before negotiating the price. If we had, I am positive there would have been negotiation because everything else was negotiated...even small things. This major defect would have probably lowered the price of the property for me. Because John didn't bother to go under the house...we didn't know about and I am stuck with at the very least $5,000 in repairs. And there was no excuse to not go down there. In fact, it is standard in the business to do so as long as it isn't dangerous, or inaccessible. I had at least 4 other men go down underneath the house to inspect...and they didn't even charge me. All of them could easily see the problems and it was they who alerted me, not John, who SHOULD have been the one to do it. When I called John on it was he concerned? No. He said he wanted to see it and we made an appointment. What did he do? He simply did not show up. No phone call, nothing. So not only did he ignore a major part of inspection but he stood me up as well. Not surprisingly, I haven't heard from him since. Did he offer ANY amends? No. Not even a refund of the money paid. Instead he threatened me if I talked about the issue. Also, his contract makes it very hard to take action. He makes you go to arbitration which costs a lot more than small claims and is not as consumer friendly. He says in his contract that he follows CREIA standards but I found out later he doesn't even belong to the group and he doesn't follow them. He just says he does. I am just so utterly disgusted with him and his work and attitude, I can't even tell you. I am not thrilled my the real estate agent who recommended him, either. None of them seemed to care the effects of their actions on me or the sale of this building. Lesson...do not assume that just because your Realtor seems nice that he/she has vetted out their recommendations. Just because they are recommended does not mean they are the best choice for you. Oh, he also didn't catch other items like the dry rot that was very visible and all around the back unit. Even the tenant could see this. The tenant said he even pointed it out to John but John didn't record it. It was in the front and back...all around. It would have been very easy to record this but he didn't. I truly wish I hired someone on my own not connected with an agent. I wish I hired someone who actually follows CREIA rules. A little comment about my ratings above. I marked a "c" for punctuality because he did show up on time for his appointment but he stood me up when there problems. So I gave him an average grade. I marked a "b" for cost because it is reasonable even though I am extremely unsatisfied with his service and response to the issues I mentioned above.