Scotland Yard Home Inspections

Gerald McMahon from Scottland Yard Home Inspection gave me a quote over the phone according to the info I provided. Gerald arrived at my property on time,was courteous,professional,and informative. Provided me with a detailed inspection of my home with explanations and emailed my inspection report to me in a timely manner. Gerald stated if I had any issues or questions to simply call him. Enjoyed having Gerald perform home inspection and educated me on the inspection process.

This is the second time I have used Scotland Yard Inspections (Gerald) in less that 3 months, as with the first time I booked my appointment on his website, which was very easy and straight forward. As with the first time Gerald was extremely thorough in his inspection. The place wanted has a number of issues and along with his report and our other inspections we were able to get a substantial credit from the seller to go towards the repairs. He is very knowledgeable and I would recommend him time and time again for anyone who is buying a home, he will point out every little detail and let you make the final decision whether you are willing to go ahead with the purchase or not. It makes you feel so secure knowing that there wont be any nasty surprises down the line. Thanks again Gerald and I wish you all the best in the future!!

Gerald of Scotland Yard was recommended by my real estate agent. On my first call, I reached Gerald and he answered all of my preliminary questions about his services and prices. I was able to book an appointment on short notice. On the day of the inspection, he arrived on time and fully equipped. I followed him around like a kid follows a puppy and asked all sorts of questions. He was very patient and explained what he was doing, why he was doing it and what he was looking for. Even when I stopped following him around, he asked me to look at a few things so I would better understand the issues when he delivered his final report. There was a mix-up and the gas to the house was not turned on. He finished what he could and was very gracious by offering to come back to the house immediately once the gas was turned on. I think i received his preliminary report the day after the first inspection and his final report immediately after his second visit once the gas was turned on. The reports contained details, pictures, analysis and his conclusions. For a few matters he highlighted 2 potential issues and highly recommended that other experts be brought in to opine. When I did, he carefully reviewed with me those findings. I must have called Gerald at least 3 more times to ask follow up questions and seek his advice and recommendations. Each time, he was more than patient and helpful.

Gerald was on time and I appreciate that. We discussed the scope of work and he was thorough. He gave unsolicited insights to other potential issues.

This is my third time using Scotland Yard and I am happy to express my continued satisfaction and commitment to working with this fantastic company. I hired Scotland Yard to inspect another property prior to purchasing. Once again, Gerard did a top-notch job leaving no stone un-turned as he worked his way through a historic (circa 1900) multi-family building. They were prompt, professional and thorough - which helped put me and the other buyers at more at ease over making such a significant financial investment in purchasing the property. I cannot stress enough how important it is that they they have over 30 years of experience in construction and inspections. I used the information they gathered to successfully get a credit of several thousand dollars from the seller. Well worth the price I paid Scotland. They continue to be my go-to inspection company.

I found Scotland Yard Home Inspections on Angie's List. We are buying our first home and so wanted to find a very very good Home Inspector. We booked an appointment on their website and Gerald who owns the company, called to confirm the booking. He came to the property and spend 2/3 hours there, thoroughly inspecting all aspects and areas of the house we wanted to buy. His final report was extremely detailed and professional and left us confident that we were aware of all or any issues that the home may have, so there would be no nasty surprises. The reason I want to give Gerald an A (and if I could give him an A*, I would!), is because he went above and beyond. He helped explain various aspects of the report, and has always been available for any questions that we may have, due to our limited knowledge in this area. I can not speak more highly about Gerald and Scotland Yard Home Inspections. I am extremely confident in saying that you will not be disappointing if you use them for you Home Inspection needs. Thank you Gerald and please continue the excellent work!!!

I called Gerald to see if he would be able to perform a certified chimney inspection. He wasn't able to do that work but still spent 15 minutes on the phone with me discussing the findings of a different report already in my possession. He even recommended a chimney inspector if I needed another opinion. It's rare for anyone to give you 2 minutes, let alone 15, when they aren't going to get paid. It was an incredibly helpful conversation that will ultimately save me money.

A very pleasant experience. Gerald is very professional with all the knowledge he has and is also fluent in explaining his findings. He was very easy to work with and we do appreciate his flexibility in working with our schedule. We would definitely recommend him to other users and get his service again when needed. They have the best review on Angie's List for good reasons.

Gerald was really great. He was responsive and quick and accomodated our timeframe. He was a bit pricier than others but he came down in price, and then a little more after the job, because i was paying in cash. He was professional, polite, detailed, and a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend him!!

Gerald, was prompt and professional and very approachable. He first introduced himself and wanted to start out asking me a few questions in regards to the purpose and intention of this inspection and what are my concerns. It helped to focus my mind on the things that truly mattered - big ticketed items. He also observed that the seller was putting in a new roof - he talked to the contractor installing the roof and somehow magically was able to have them add an extra exhauste fan and four (not sure of the name) but they actually pull in fresh air - they added two on the garage roof and 3 on the main house roof. That was awesome. He not only went over the findings with me on site but also went over it a few days later with my partner on the phone. He is a super patient man and knows his business. He also came back again -- AT NO COST -- to inspect the roof. I was blown away by his customer service and just that he actually cared. He advised us to inspect certain items and was adamant on having us do them before close of escrow. My partner and I were so thankful that we took his advise because it saved us over $8,000. Without those inspection reports we would not have been able to negotiate with the seller (the seller thankfully agreed to have them repaired). So again, Gerald is awesome, trustworthy, professional, and very thorough/detailed. .Thank you Gerald...you saved us $$. Jeff and Juan

Gerald Inspected two homes for me and did an excellent job He saved me from making a big mistake on the first home and made my decision to buy the second home easy Thanks, Gerald DAVE

Gerald was very responsive, punctual, thorough, friendly and professional. He walked through the property with us, sent a very detailed report with recommendations for repairs, and also went over the report with us on the phone to answer all of our follow-up questions and provided additional advice.

I left the inspection with a good knowledge of the new home I was buying and what I should be asking for in repairs from the seller. It was very beneficial. We found that the home did not have a heater and Gerald said that he would return, "free of charge" to review the heater's final installation. A very nice offer and easy to work with! I'd recommend him to anyone!!!

If you are looking to purchase a house and are in need of a Home inspection you have to call Gerald. He is a Rock Star! From the moment I called him for a quote I knew he was great. He was very polite and friendly and responded to my requests promptly. I called him a few times for some scheduling conflicts and he was very flexibly and answered all my questions before the day of the inspection. He showed up earlier and started looking everywhere. He is very detailed, however not to a point where he lost sight of the overall objective. He has a great system to go through things, takes photos and remembers what to document later in his report. He has great memory also. He took me around since I am detailed myself and explained every part of the house and the issues he saw. What sets him apart is that he will cover everything in the house and takes photos of each major items so you refer to it later and it will become very useful in knowing what to expect later. He was also a very fun guy to be around and makes the time go by fast and enjoyable. He was also very professional with the other parties involved and didn't get annoyed when people asked questions and handled every situation very diligently. Finally he provided me with the report earlier than expected and it was very clear, detailed and easy to follow. Gerald - Thank you so much for the great service. I will be referring you to lots of friends and family.

We've used Gerald twice to inspect homes we were trying to purchase. The second home was a multiple-bid situation with a short contingency removal period. Gerald was very accommodating and told us to go ahead and book an inspection appointment (prior to us knowing if we won the house) and to let him know if we needed to cancel (in case we didn't win). We ended up winning the house over the weekend and Gerald showed up first thing Monday morning (on time as usual). He is very professional, courteous, and thorough. He spent close to four hours examining the property, climbing up into the attic, down into the basement, and into the crawl space. He will point out and discuss the main issues with you if you are on site and puts together a very comprehensive report, which is delivered within 24-48 hours. The report includes a lot of details, photos, and recommendations. We had a few additional questions after receiving the report and Gerald responded right away with a phone call. Highly recommend!

Gerald was two minutes early to the appointment time. Always good to have. He checked out our house from top to bottom--roof and attic to crawlspace and foundation, and everything in between. He allowed me to follow him around and ask questions. What we are all looking for in this position is someone who is an expert, whose knowledge of building and construction we can trust, and we certainly got that with Gerald. He gave his judgement on whether our electrical system needed an upgrade, whether we should get a new roof, and whether cracks in our interior walls indicated foundation problems. He answered all of my questions with a clear yes and no, and then a satisfactory explanation. He also pointed out things that weren't even on my radar. Very complete and very thorough. After his visit, I feel confident in his evaluation of our house's condition, the good and the bad. Plus, he is a very pleasant and friendly guy to boot. We have his card, and will be recommending him to our friends who need a reliable, competent and trustworthy inspector.

I own investment properties. It has been hard for me to find reliable people who are easy to work with?so when I do I am more than happy to share that information with others. I?ve hired Gerald McMahon from Scotland Yard Home Inspections for multiple property inspections. He is extremely professional, knowledgeable and thorough from start to finish. As I am sure he will mention, Gerald was a General Contractor for over 26 years. This is an incredible asset to have in an inspector. He not only knows what to look for, but he has decades of experience dealing with everything from electrical equipment to crawl spaces, attics, and places you would never even think to look. I recently hired him to inspect a four unit complex built in the 1890s. He went through every board and fixture in that building and clearly communicated what he liked, what he didn?t and what he thought I should dig into further. This is exactly the peace of mind that I want before I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on something. I would gladly pay him the $1,100 to do what he does so well rather than waste $11,000 fixing something that he would have caught. This is a good guy to keep in your rolodex.

Gerald was incredible to work with. He was prompt, thorough, considerate, knowledgable and keenly aware of a buyer's needs. He was also very patient and considered all queries and responded in a way that we could fully understand him, without being patronizing in the least (as many skilled professionals can be!). We were actually referred to a number of other inspectors by real estate agents but while doing our own research felt most confident in the reviews of Gerald on Yelp and Angie's list. We are SO glad that we chose Gerald and HIGHLY recommend him to anyone purchasing a new home!

For a first time home buyer Gerald was a godsend. We used him to look over two different houses we were interested in buying and he did an excellent job. Very thorough and helpful Gerald goes above and beyond to make sure you will need everything you need to know about the property you intend to purchase. I will and have recommend him to all of my friends and family. A great guy who does a great job, I couldn't have been happier with the service he provided. DamienB

Gerald did an excellent job of inspecting the house and providing a detailed report of everything that he could see. Based on my previous experiences and that of my friends, I would say that Gerald performed exceptionally well compared to other inspectors. Some inspectors tend to sugar coat major issues while blowing minor issues out of proportion. Gerald is not like that at all. He is straightforward and tells you straight up what is wrong, what can be fixed easily, and what may require further inspection. He performed the inspection on Friday, and delivered the report by Sunday, which is a great help, specially given the current conditions where you have to offer a short contingency period just to get the seller to accept your offer. Overall, we are extremely pleased at the level of service we received and genuinely believe that it was money well spent.

Gerald is extremely professional and more importantly a very honest and nice person. He arrived at the property on time and immediately started the inspection process. He also proactively requested us to follow him around the house so that we can see and understand the issues observed better. He covered all the areas of the house and the garage, carefully noted down the issues and explained them to us. The house being inspected was built in 50s so he also suggested us to perform the sewer line Camera inspection which was really helpful for us. The Detailed report was provided to us within the timeframe committed and he was very flexible in answering all our questions through emails and phone calls. We are very satisfied with the services provided by Gerald. In future, We would definitely use his services again.

In order to be competitive in a multiple bid situation, we wanted to be able to offer the shortest contingency period possible. Gerald was willing to hold a spot in his schedule, which allowed us to offer a very short contingency period with the knowledge that we would be able to get our inspection done. Gerald was incredibly detailed and helpful. I walked through the entire inspection with him and he pointed out everything that would be in his report and was happy to answer any questions that I had. He paid special attention to issues that interested me, including investigating the attic of the separate garage to help assess the condition for renovation as a guest suite. Gerald is a former general contractor and his knowledge and experience shows through. My only regret is that he is no longer a general contractor, because I would hire him in an instant.

This was a great experience because I was very worried. When he got there on time he got to work starting to take pictures. Once he was done doing the inspection he took me and my sister around the property to the issues he found. First he showed us where the gas and power shut off he noticed it was missing a earthquake shut off and told us to report that because its required, then on the power he suggested getting a lock to lock our units power so no one can turn it off. After that we walked into the garage showed us all of his concerns and even mentioned the garage door having a motion sensor to as he said "protect your puppies". Told us nothing really caught his eye and seemed to really care as well as being very knowledgable. He was licensed and had insurance which in california isn't required. He also said if you guys were my daughters I would lock the access to the roof and get a fire ladder to put out the window. He showed us where all the circuits were and the box. He took his time and also was open about his concerns right up front not just waiting to put them into his report which was nice because the owner of the property was there. I would recommend and use this company and Gerald again in a heart beat.

Gerald came, introduced himself, provided his credentials, described his process and went to work. He climbed onto the roof, went under the house and the attic, and through the home. Very detail oriented and professional. He provided a report in two working days. The report is thorough with pictures and explanations. The recommendations are actionable. We are pleased with his services.

We chose Gerald based on his excellent reviews on Angie's list. The owner was there and make the situation difficult. Gerald showed up on time with a great attitude - knowledgeable, friendly, accessible. His presence made the inspection day go very smoothly. He did a thorough inspection along with digital photographs to document his findings. We were present during the inspection and he took the time to explain his findings and was also available after the inspection by phone and email to answer our follow up questions (even called us back at 9pm on a Saturday!). He also recommended good people for the pool inspection and sewage line inspection. We highly recommend his services.