Scotland Yard Home Inspections

I called Scotland Yard because we had a "$49 dollar vent cleaning special" guy come out and said everything had to be replaced in the attic due to asbestos and that we were going to get cancer and die if we didn't spend $5500. with his company. Gerald came out, was prompt, courteous and very thorough. He took the time to go over the entire house to explain where our issues were, and where they weren't. He agreed there was some asbestos wrapping the vents (as is the case with most of the homes built 50+ years ago) but that it wasn't nearly as severe as the scam artist vent cleaner guy. I highly recommend Gerald for an honest, professional, courteous and expert home inspection! it's great to do business with high integrity!

Gerald was very thorough and spent almost an hour crawling underneath the house to locate the source, what's causing it and told me how to resolve it. Even sent me pictures of the problem area via email. He sounded very knowledgeable and honest. I highly recommend and I would definitely call him again if I need an inspector. I wish I have known him when I was purchasing this house!

I am purchasing a condo and brought Gerald in to do the inspection after reading all of the great reviews on here I had great confidence that he would do an amazing job and he did! He did a very thorough inspection on the condo, which is what I was looking for. I am one of those people that wants to know every little problem with a dwelling before going forward with the purchase and he didn't fail me on that one! His report was very concise, informative, and easy to read. I will definitely use Gerald and Scotland Yard again when I purchase my next home!!!!

The hype is true: Gerald is great at what he does. I really enjoyed him and found him to be warm, helpful and professional. He even crawled around under the crawl space among all the black widow egg sacs (shiver). Brave soul. He was very accommodating with answering a few extra questions not covered in his official report that we needed to provide to our insurance company.

From the moment my husband and I met Gerald he was very professional. We are getting the inside of an older home remodeled so we wanted an independent person to come in and a let us know if there was anything that needed to be addressed. Gerald inspected every aspect of the home, was very through and let us know about items that needed to be fixed that we would never have though of. We explained to him that we do not live in California and will be trusting the contractor to get all of the work done correctly, so we wanted an accurate picture of work to be done. Gerald was kind enough to offer to be our "eyes" for us and stop in to make sure construction was going as it should. Now that is what I call customer service. He even recommended a sewer line inspection company and they were great as well. It was a pleasure to meet Gerald and I highly recommend his service.

I am a first time home buyer and I hired Gerald of Scotland Yard Home Inspections to conduct the physical inspection of a prospective house. Gerald quickly responded to my initial inquiry and we were able to set up the inspection at the time and date that I requested. Gerald was early to the appointment and began his inspection immediately. Given that it is my first home, I was very curious about the condition and basic operation of all of the house systems. Gerald kindly tolerated the thousand or so questions I asked of him as he conducted his impressively systematic investigation. At the end of the journey I was exhausted from learning so much about the house and its condition. Gerald helped me prioritize the outstanding problems with the house and gave me much needed perspective. Everyone who I have shown the final home inspection report has remarked that it is the most comprehensive inspection report they have ever seen - and that includes experienced general contractors, real estate agents, and people who have purchased multiple properties for themselves. It would be a true privilege to have Gerald conduct my next home inspection. We are very lucky to have someone with his sincere enthusiasm and depth of knowledge here in Los Angeles.

In a word: AMAZING. Gerald was great. He is very personable and friendly and extremely diligent and thorough. He spent 5 hours assessing every single detail of the property we are purchasing and his final report went into a great amount of detail. Gerald definitely over-delivered - I got exactly what I wanted and more! It was important to me to find someone with a lot of experience who was going to write me a customized report. I've seen reports in the past from other companies that just give you a boilerplate set of responses that are vague, generic and hard to decipher. Gerald's report was very clear, very specific and very well written. Gerald also proactively followed up with me THREE TIMES to check if I had any questions and he was more than happy to take the time to go into the details of my questions. Gerald definitely lives up to all of the positive reviews on Angie's list and he has been a pleasure to deal with. My agent and even the sellers were equally impressed and they both made sure to get his card! As my sellers said when he left: "He's more than thorough... he's Scottish!"

Fantastic service from Scotland Yard. Their inspection was extremely thorough, nothing was left out. They were professional, punctual, courteous, knowledgable -- everything you want when you hire someone for a job. This is the second time we've used them and both experiences were consistently positive. Scotland Yard let us walk through the inspection with them and shared their findings as they went along. They really took their time and went through the home inch-by-inch. We were able to ask questions about concerns we had and they were happy to respond. They are patient and informative. We felt like they were there to represent our concerns in the home-buying process, and now we know what needs to be done before we close the deal. I highly recommend Gerald and his team at Scotland Yard.

Gerald at Scotland Yard Inspections was an absolute pleasure to work with from the moment we first spoke on the phone. He was clear in his communication, accommodating with my scheduling needs, punctual, and extremely thorough. The inspection took about 2 hours and during that time Gerald explained all of his findings, indicating what was minor, what was a bigger concern, and areas that I should consider bringing in a specialist. The report was sent within 2 days and was extremely organized and detailed. Gerald even followed-up by phone to see if I had any questions. During the inspection, Gerald indicated that there was a crack in the chimney and recommended that I call a chimney specialist. It turns out that the chimney is completely inoperable. A very important find for the inspection contingency, thanks to Scotland Yard Home Inspections. A+ service!

Gerald was incredible. He was very thorough and took at least four hours going through the house, climbing up into the rafters, getting on the roof, and crawling around under the house to see the foundation. He was very patient and took the time to explain things to us that we didn't understand or were unclear about. Not only that -- we were in an incredibly rush -- so Gerald actually turned around a massive and very thorough inspection report for us in less than 24 hours! This guy is the real deal. Honest, friendly, thorough and just a real friendly person to do business with. Worth every penny. Seriously, stop looking for someone else and just hire this guy.

Gerald was great. Extremely thorough, went through the house and property top to bottom and invited us to come along. (Definitely do this -- you'll learn everything you need to know about your house!) Pointed out every area of concern and also clarified what was important vs. those things that were normal wear and tear and could wait to be fixed. An overall great experience. Highly recommended.

The owner/inspector, Gerald McMahon, arranged to come at a time convenient to us. He was polite, efficient and thorough. A detailed report with photos was provided via e-mail the following day to us and our escrow company. He was a bit late, but there was heavy traffic in the area that day and he was unable to check the electrical sockets due to leaving his meter in his truck. We did not have him get the meter because he had to park quite a distance from the site and we had a way of checking them ourselves. Would we have him do inspections in the future? Yes.

My situation is a bit unusual. It has to do with questions raised by a current contractor I'm hiring about permits on work that the former owner had done. I decided to consult a local home inspector for advice, and turned to Angie as usual. Gerald was interested in the issue, and coordinated a time to visit and have a look at the situation himself. He have me great advice, and really helped me feel confident about the situation, but he deemed the advice to be advisory, and didn't want to charge me anything for it. He was super nice and professional, and I definitely can't complain about the price.

Overall we were very satisfied with the inspection that he performed. He pointed out a lot of things that we need to be aware of as well as some good, useful tips. He was late to the meeting which was due to traffic but he called and informed me of the delay. Once he was there, he got to work right away. The final report was very detailed and professional.

Gerald was meticulous in his inspection of a three unit property which I was in the process of purchasing. He was very thorough in his notes and helped identify areas where I should bring in specialists and areas that were not high priority concerns. I hired three other specialist inspectors after Gerald's recommendations - each of whom identified the same areas of concern and provided quotes for the repairs. I will be using Scotland Yard again when the need arises.

Amazing guy , very professional. He saved us a lot of money. We were at the last stages of buying a property and I called Gerald to come and do the inspection. From the first moment I realized that he knew his job very well. At the end of the inspection he told us that the house was looking like a mobile home ... we were shocked because we weren't told that by the seller or even our agent. We did more investigation and we found out that he was RIGHT and the real value of the house was $11,000 . I'm so grateful and thankful and would highly recommend Gerald to all of my family and friends. God bless him.

We understand that home inspection is the most important step in home purchasing process. Thus we are very picky on selecting the right person to do this job. Gerald is the best guy you can find in town (LA) for home inspection. He met us at the property on time and started the home inspection process right away. He took time to explain every process to us as well as our realtor to help us to make the most INFORMED decision on this expensive home purchase. This is a triplex, thus Gerald actually performed 3 home inspections for us in 1 day. Another added bonus of Gerald is his background in construction. During the entire process, Gerald patiently explained to us about his findings. He also followed up with an extremely detailed home inspection report for us to review. Because of his thorough examination of this "older" triplex, we were able to negotiate some items with the seller. Gerald will definitely be our TO GO guy for any of our future real estate purchases. Lastly I have used another highly ranked home inspector from Angie's list in the past which I though he was excellent until i found Gerald.

I got Gerald's details from Angie's List and am so happy to have had him inspect our new home. My husband and I are first time buyers and my husband was not available for the inspection so it was just me and I know nothing about such things. I had a list of things that needed to be checked out and Gerald was very patient with me answering ALL of my million questions. I tagged along a lot, he explained everything to me. He recommended some more specialized inspections like roof and sewer which I appreciated. He took his time with the inspection and i feel he didn't leave any stone unturned. He gave us a very detailed report and I will definitely hire Gerald again if the need arises for another inspection on another property.

This was the second time that I have asked Gerald to inspect a portion of my home. On this occasion, the ceiling in my bedroom had a lot of cracks in it, and I was concerned that there was a problem with the foundation. When I contacted Gerald, he managed to quickly fit me into his schedule. He arrived on time. He listened to my concerns, and then inspected the ceiling cracks, took a look inside the attic, went into the crawlspace, and inspected the roof. He reassured me that there was nothing out of the ordinary about the condition of my foundation, and that the likely causes of the ceiling cracks had to do with the roof. He told me what my next steps should be, and what a fair price would be for having that work completed. He also made me aware of some other repairs that are needed in the very near future. I'm so grateful that I have someone like him to turn to. He's consistent, he's reliable, and he always explains things to me in a way that I can understand. Kind, polite, wonderful!

We have used Scotland Yard Home Inspections several times before, as I explained in an August review. We have always found Gerald McMahon to be thorough, honest and helpful. In this latest inspection, when I called Gerald, I said I had been told that the house was retrofitted (according to the agent.) This turned out not to be the case. He called me right away, to see if I wanted him to continue with the inspection, possibly talking himself out of a job, but saving me the cost of the inspection. We decided to continue, and Gerald gave me a recommendation for a Seismic Safety company that gave me an estimate for doing what was supposed to have been done. We were able to use this in the price negotiations. After it was all over and the inspection had been paid for, Gerald kindly took several calls from me and my roofer- he also said he would talk to my electrician. He is a very nice man to work with and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

Gerald arrived early and did a very thorough inspection of the condo we were looking to purchase. He pointed out places that he thought were more critical for us to address and also suggested ways to fix some of the issues. He was quick to get provide us a very detailed report about the inspection along with photos of the areas he inspected. Gerald was friendly and knowledgeable and we'd use him again.

I called Gerald at Scotland Yard because of all his rave reviews on Angie's List, and he lived up to them! He was very friendly and helpful on our first phone call, and he adjusted his schedule so that he was able to do the inspection in the very tight window I had available. His inspection was very thorough and he didn't let any small detail go unnoticed - but he also pointed out when the issues were minor or were to be expected for a home of its age (1947). In other words he let us know about every problem, but then whether or not it was something we should actually be concerned about so we wouldn't go running for the hills for minor issues. Gerald suggested a few specialty inspections that I should get based on his preliminary findings (chimney, HVAC, and sewer line), and I'm so glad we took his advice! Several big concerns came up in the specialty inspections that we wouldn't have known about otherwise, and now we are able to ask the seller for credits for these items. A few hundred extra bucks on these inspections could be saving us thousands in the long run! For instance, the HVAC inspector was able to tell us that the furnace in the attic had actually been recalled years earlier as a fire hazard, and that it had to be replaced immediately by law. Gerald let us know at the end of the inspection that we can call him anytime with questions - even way down the road - and I was already able to take him up on that offer. I had some questions regarding my home insurance policy because I was dealing with a company who had very strict standards for older homes. He proved that his 'call me anytime' policy was truthful and he happily helped me understand the home insurance issues. I hope that we won't have to do another general inspection for years to come, but when/if we do - I'll definitely call Gerald!

I chose Gerald because he is the president of his local chapter of the national association for his profession, as well as the consistently good and recent reviews here. I definitely wanted someone independent without an existing relationship with any of the parties involved. After a couple of phone calls back and forth to coordinate everyone's schedules, we made an appointment with Gerald for our inspection. It was quite short notice, since we are having a particularly short escrow. He gave me a quote based on the age and square footage of the house, to which he stuck, so no surprises. He was punctual and got to work without any dilly dallying. He asked if there was any issue that we, the home buyers, had noticed ourselves, and also gave us a detailed copy of the CREIA standards and procedures that he would be using. He took three hours to investigate very thoroughly, including energetically going back to check into the attic by his ladder when it seemed that the heating system was not working properly. I don't think he paused for a moment until he was done, when he gave us a brief verbal report and made a few broad suggestions. The full written report came in within 24 hours, and included wonderful, clear photos of the few issues that he discovered. This has made it especially easy to indicate the needed repairs. The only incorrectly noted item was one cracked switch plate was noted as in the wrong room (bedroom not master bath) but the photo makes it clear which it is anyway. We can hardly wait to close escrow and move in to our dear little house. I am happy to have found him, and if we do any further home buying in his region, we will certainly call him again.

I have nothing negative to say. The whole experience was a pleasure. He was very professional, prompt, pleasant and FAIR -- to both parties. He was meticulous even though the property he was inspecting was brand new. Even our realtor wanted to hire him for future inspections. I would highly recommend this company -- it's very evident that he loves his job and takes great pride in his skills and knowledge.

Before hiring Scotland Yard, I called about twenty inspection companies. I called the companies referred to me by my agent, and all well reviewed companies listed here and on Yelp. The prices range from $350 to $500. I decided to hire Scotland Yard for a few reasons: 1. I liked the phone conversation. 2. Availability 3. I personally prefer working with smaller companies because the owners are willing to put a lot more time in to make their customers happy and do the job right. In my opinion, that's worth an extra $50-$100 for a more thorough inspection of what will be the largest financial investment I've ever made. The inspection lasted about three and half hours. Gerald (the owner) went a bit beyond the inspection requirements as outlined by CREIA. He brought a lot of issues to my attention, including some potentially large structural errors he noticed in a recent remodel/addition. Gerald seems to have a lot of experience in construction and that experience was represented in his inspection. UPDATE: I've since followed up on the inspection with plumbers, electricians, roofers, and HVAC, and here's what I've learned about Gerald's inspection. First of all, inspectors are nothing more than observational specialists. So even if the inspector doesn't know all the codes, you definitely want someone that can point things out and recommend further investigation by a licensed specialist. Gerald definitely did that. The home he inspected is relatively small, approximately 1400SQ ft. He definitely missed a couple of obvious errors. Mainly in the plumbing. What to look for in an inspector: An inspector that knows the building codes. Preferably an inspector that has a lot of construction experience. One that can get around tight spaces under the house and in the attic. An inspector with more detection tools at their disposal: Inspection cameras, moisture meters, temperature sensors are a few essential observational tools that most inspectors don't have. Scotland yard did not bring an inspection camera, or moisture meter but still got the job done effectively. I'd probably hire Scotland Yard again, but I'd certainly still call around and ask potential inspectors more questions about their tools and experience.