ON-SITE INSPECTIONS

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Hired Steve for property inspection on new home purchase. Steve was very punctual and professional. Not only that he inspected the property carefully, he's also patient on explaining the items that needed repair, or not necessary for repair, and the reasons.

. Exceptional. Really helped me out of a panic mode situation Integrity, Knowledgeable. The best.

Steve did a thorough job of inspecting my home (home and termite) which is going on the market. He is extremely knowledgeable, answered all questions I had in great depth and is very pleasant to work with.

We had Steve Rush perform a property inspection on the home we recently purchased. Scheduling with Steve was easy. His availability suited our needs well. He actually showed up a little early to get a jump start on inspecting the roof of the house. Instead of having me climb on the roof with him, he took several pictures and walked through his concerns with me before continuing the rest of the inspection. Before continuing with the inspection, Steve took a moment to give my wife and I an overview of what he was going to cover in his inspection and how to prepare our expectations for the results. It was a very professional and best of all it was so honest and straightforward that it bothered my real estate agent. She was obviously concerned that Steve might have frightened my wife and me into breaking out of the contingency period. This brings me to one of my favorite things about Steve, he was obviously working for us, the buyers. He would dilute his findings in order to help the real estate agents get an easy sale. For the rest of the inspection, Steve took me through the house providing details of the items he would cover in his report. He also provided some helpful tips on simple home care. We thoroughly inspected the interior and exterior of the house. This includes the attic and the crawlspace. The only place that I did not follow was in the crawlspace. This by Steve's request given that the area was rather tight. The results of the inspection came in the most detailed report I've seen from a property inspector. It included photographs, diagrams, and explanations of why certain things are an issue. I had seen several reports in the past from seller disclosures that were not nearly has helpful. His results were on par with the sellers inspection plus a few additional items, so we fell comfortable with what we ended up with. It's been a few months now, and so far nothing major has come up following Steve's inspection.

iThe inspection was so thorough and took quite sometime since this guy leaves no stone unturned. He was so conscientious about keeping things clean and returning things to the proper place. He was outside the house, in the house, on top of the house, and under the house. I thought my dogs would go crazy, but they loved him and they hate everybody. When he finished the inspection, his review of my house was so informative that it has given me confidence to continue with what we are doing to sell our home. I would recommend On-Site Inspections to any seller or buyer, and am definitely having him check out my next place!

I have nothing negative to say about.

Steve was detail-oriented and informative. Further, he has a pleasant personality and was genuinely fun to work with. As my scores indicate, his service was competitively priced in comparison to his competition, he showed up on time, spent more than two hours with us going over the house, and turned around the final report in less than 24 hours. Additionally, he gave us more subjective feedback about potential approaches and techniques we might consider for resolving the problems the inspection identified. We've worked with other inspectors in the past and Steve is up there with the best of them!

Well, first off, we discovered termites swarming in the home. We then looked on Angie's list for 3 termite companies and got three inspections done. One inspection was wildly off from the last two and ballparked estimated about $8k-$10k worth of repairs that was needed on the house, and informed us that any other repair quote we got for under $3k would not be doing the repairs properly. Naturally that alarmed us quite a bit and after doing extensive research, I discovered that you should only rely on a home inspectors statement on the condition of the home and less so a termite inspection professional, even if they have experience in construction. So I found On-Site Inspections on Angie's List, I called them up and Steve spent a good 20 minutes or so with me on the phone listening to my situation, what we wanted to confirm, as well as our desire to understand the general condition of my childhood home. I checked his qualifications and they were impeccable. He is very heavily accredited, and one of those associations requires "in-person" (not online) continuing education annually to make sure their home inspector is up to standards. The fee was very fair, especially considering the level of detail and time spent. So in the end, we got a very good report on the condition of our home, learned a lot more information regarding home ownership, as well as some pitfalls to watch out for. We are very pleased and now have a trusted home inspector for when my husband and I purchase our first property.

Couldn't ask for better.

I was going through the process of purchasing a house and I needed to get an inspection done. Steve was recommended to me by my cousin who has worked with Steve on several occasions. When the day came for the inspection Steve showed up on time and first briefed me on what they were doing and looking for. He went through the whole house and pretty much pointed out all the things that were bad. He also explained each hazard or bad thing to me so that I can understand what could be done to fix it. He was very thorough and professional.

He is very thorough. Sometimes real estate agents don't like him because he is so thorough. He does a great job.

We had a great experience with them with the first job, the termite inspection. But we had some issues with their work. They stopped the job half way and have not come back to finish it. I had called them about it but the response has not been good. The termite situation has still not been resolved.

I found Steve through Angie's List; and I'm lucky I did! Being a first-time home buyer we had no idea what value a property inspection would bring. With a tight time-frame because of an impatient seller (the bank), we interviewed three folks and Steve came across as a good fit. Unlike termite inspectors (of whom Steve is also one) we learned that property inspectors are unregulated and run the gamut from folks who "just give advice" to organized professionals who belong to like-minded organizations like ASHI and CREIA and have E&O (errors and omissions) insurance. Steve has these all. Property inspections, unlike termite inspections, are not required or legally binding in any way. They are just "a good idea". You're investing hundreds of thousands of dollars - we think it's more than just "a good idea". The other thing to know about property inspections is that you can find nearly worthless "Walmart-like" operators who are large companies that provide very cheap inspections, much less than boutiques like Steve's. If you go to open houses and see a property inspection you will become very familiar with these operators. They look at tons of houses in a day and provide very little in their report, and seem to have poor service according to some anecdotal reports. Realtors typically like this because they don't need to invest a lot of money in them. We only had the house open to us for a few hour window, so Steve had to fit our schedule. We had to have quite a few subcontractors on the property at the same time to give us estimates on work so we knew what needed work in remodeling. Steve had no problem relating to each of the subtrades. Steve was punctual (early, actually) and walked the house with a second inspector. They went through the house very thoroughly. They welcomed us to walk with them but with all the subtrades it was actually a little bit busy - instead they made lists which when we got the chance, they gave to us in "digest form". As opposed to the 7-9 page reports I've seen with the big operators, Steve produced a 42 page report with full color photos of each of the problems, along with cartoons on how to better comply with current code. This sort of report is invaluable. It gave us ideas not only on how to fix current problems, but how to prevent issues in the future. And there were several tips on how to improve the property in general. Above and beyond the call of duty: After the inspection the seller's agent made several blunders and we found ourselves in a situation where several items Steve had pointed out needed to be corrected to proceed with the sale. Steve, together with us, kept a level head and found a way to get through it all in an efficient manner. A real pro! It's amazing to say, but after getting Steve Rush to inspect our home I'm tempted to do this every five years with him, regardless of whether we are selling or buying this house. He's that good.

Steve conducted two home inspections for us recently while we were in the process of purchasing a home in San Francisco's Sunnyside neighborhood. We found him through asking a friend of ours, who is a green builder, to recommend a good inspector. She told us we should go with someone who has CREIA certifications. We ended up selecting Steve because he has all possible credentials and he also has several good Yelp reviews as well as a professional website. We were very impressed with Steve's attention to detail during both inspections. In the first house, he noticed that the fire box had fallen and would need replacing. He also noticed some problems with the foundation. In the second house, he immediately noticed sub-standard plumbing done during an un-permitted renovation. Specifically, the drain for a couple bathrooms - including toilets - was an exposed pipe draining into the garage floor drain hidden underneath and behind the furnace and water heater. This was a very important detail to us since repairing this plumbing will be a job on the order of 25 - 30K. I think another inspector who was moving more quickly and not paying close enough attention to detail could have missed this big problem. We would recommend Steve without hesitation, and in the future if we need to have more inspections again, we will definitely re-hire Steve. He is very detailed in inspecting homes and writing up a clear report. He is also very personable and clear in communicating issues.

Steve took special care in describing the process of his home inspection, along with careful explanations on what was expected and important for the potential purchase of a foreclosed home. As first time home buyers, we were very nervous about the condition of the home and we have heard about the pitfalls of bad inspections. We went with On Site Inspections based off the glowing reviews on Angie's List. Absolutely would hire him again and recommend him to anyone looking for a thorough and honest inspection of their home. His professional opinions on the areas where we needed further inspection were extremely close to the final inspections done by other folks. Foundation? Check. Electrical? Check. Simply an awesome experience!

Steve was able to get us in the next day due to a cancellation. He was extremely helpful over the phone when I first called, arrived on time and completed a full inspection with my husband and our two toddlers in tow. He was thorough, practical and explained everything while he went through the process. Bonus points for his excellent demeanor with our kids. Steve had our professional report ready the next morning (a Saturday) and called to make sure we had received it via email and to ask if we had any questions. The whole process was painless, educational and pleasant. We cannot recommend him highly enough and will certainly pass his name along to friends.

Steve arrived right on time, was very personable and friendly. He explained his findings during the inspection. I asked him lots of questions about remodeling, etc. and he was very willing to share his experience and thoughts. He pointed out that the furnace model currently installed was a potential fire hazard and referred me to a website to read about it. He was a pleasure to deal with!

Steve did a tremendous job of inspecting a very strange and difficult foreclosed property that I recently purchased. He was incredibly thorough, professional, and a super-nice guy to work with. He took the time to explain his findings in a way that was easy to understand, and pointed out several very important defects that could have easily been overlooked. His observations around things that I should look into were incredibly valuable, as it alerted me to several potential issues with the property that I was able to negotiate with the seller. I've purchased many properties over the years, and Steve was by far the best home inspector I've ever had. Aside from his tremendous professional knowledge, he was right on time and delivered his written report in a day. I would highly recommend On-Site Inspections to anyone who needs a thorough and detailed inspection of their property, especially one that you think may have hidden defects.

Overall I would the experience as fair to good. Steve was prompt and there to complete the inspection when he said he would do it. He was thorough in the home inspection, though at times I found that he was not really checking everything (given that the house was relatively new, 6 years old, there was limited issues to be found). He was polite and answered all questions though at times I felt he was frustrated with the specifics I was asking. However, on a subsequent call he was very helpful. He is a very knowledgeable inspector, though I would say he is not very familiar with SF houses. The pest inspection was very quick and probably not worth the $250 we paid for it. What surprised me most was there is a whole lot of stuff not covered in the inspection including whether the heating works or not.

Mr. Rush arrived on time; 9:00am, on Friday morning, April 11th, 2008. I met him in the driveway and we spoke for a few minutes as I gave him some information on the house to the extent that I knew about it. Mr. Rush then proceeded to inspect the outside noting some branch overhang of overhead power lines, improper drainage at points and exterior cracks in the stucco along with areas where earth needed to be cleared away from the foundation. He took a picture of the house and then proceeded into the full basement area. In the basement, he noted concerns is a very and professional manner, showing me what the concerns were and making notes and taking pictures as he went. We then proceeded upstairs and he checked all of the major appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. Again, he made notes and discussed the matters with me as we went along. He completed the process at about 11:30 am and had a report ready to be downloaded the next day. A very personable and professional guy.

Steve Rush was very professional and thorough and provided us with a very detailed report (in pdf format) complete with pictures. I would definitely recommend and use his service in the future.