PILLAR TO POST

Completely incompetent. Inspector was not punctual. The actual inspection was the worst I have ever seen. They items they brought up for concern were either erroneous or simply passing the buck because they were too incompetent to know if that part of property was ok or not. To start with, it is their standard procedure to advise you to pay an ADDITIONAL inspector to check hvac, electrical, and sewer/septic. What exactly are you paying the property "so called" "pillar to post" inspector for?!?!?! Then they completely missed items that anybody of competence would discover and in error on every single item they claimed was of concern. They said electrical circuit box had loose wires and mismatched breakers. A certified professional electrician from local company came and checked breaker box and said it was perfectly fine. The "mismatched breakers" was because "pillar to post" was too incompetent to see brand name was faded and too lazy to look up breaker model number clearly labeled on breakers to see they were all same brand. Then they claimed there was no gas shut off valve for clothes dryer yet anybody with a flashlight could look behind dryer and see valve with bright red handle. This issue caused much confusion. Then they claimed a sink was leaking which did not leak and claimed the dishwasher was leaking because they were too incompetent to close dishwasher door all the way. These also caused much confusion. They also wanted to raise concern that sump pump was plugged into a GFI circuit. Their issue was "if gfi trips the sump pump wont work". So exactly what would happen with anything in house if gfi or circuit breaker tripped?!?!?! AND, isnt it code to have a gfi anywhere there is water?!?!?! and lastly they made a huge issue about "floating walls" in finished basement. This became code in the 90's so pretty much any house finished in basement prior didnt have floating walls. On top of that, something apparently unknown to "pillar to post" is that walls can be floated on top, not just the bottom. But once again the inspector made an erroneous claim that none of the walls were floated when in fact 90% were AND a competent inspector would address soil type on property instead of whether walls should be floated for soil condition that dont exist. On top of all this, the inspector removed screens to check windows and bent several frames and broke one screen. What still puzzles me is why they simply didnt open these windows from inside to see window frame. A lot of wasted time, money, effort, and caused a lot of unwarranted concern for many people. This company should not be allowed to operate in Colorado. DO yourself a favor and get a competent inspector or simply hire several specialized inspectors. Any fool can check for leaky plumbing (well, any fool except "pillar to post"), sloped soil around foundation, and level floors and walls, but a good inspector should be licensed in AT LEAST 2 house contruction areas such as electrical, plumbing, hvac, roofing, etc etc, and even better is company with licensed engineer on staff. A competent house inspector wont just show up with clipboard, flashlight, and ladder. They will also have (at least) a shovel, infrared camera, blacklight, vials for soil/mold/etc for possible later testing, laser and standard levels, and even a radon detector (they plug in and can give ballpark results by end of inspection so you know if high enough to do 2nd long term test). Finally, we are not alone. In talking to 2 realtors, they both said the father who started this business here was excellent but then son took over several years ago and they tried them one time and decided never to use them again. One realtor said inspector spoke on issues they were not qualified to and 2nd realtor said they felt the inspector didnt know what they were doing. Not a surprise.

Rob and Bonnie were very courteous and through with our home inspection. On the day of the inspection the roof had snow on it so Rob couldn't access the roof. He returned a few days later to examine the roof, take photos, etc, and gave us peace of mind that everything looked good. Moreover, during the day of the inspection it was unusually cold (10 degrees) and one of the outside faucets wasn't working. It wasn't clear at the time if the faucet was frozen or if the water had been shut off to the line. When Rob returned the second time for the roof he checked out the faucet and found that it flowed freely, but once inside the garage near the faucet head he could see where the line had frozen and leaked. Due to his diligence the sellers were required to fix the faucet, drywall, etc. Thanks!

Rob and Bonnie called to let me know they were running late a few minutes on the 1st house. But arrived as promised in a few minutes. They were very professional. He started with the outside, she with the inside. After about 3 hours they handed me a 3 ring binder with my report very neatly outlined in every detail, along with pictures so I could see the water damage/mold that was in crawlspace. This saved me a costly buy. The second house, they were right on time. This house was in better shape, the same report showed some roof damage, but minor, and pictures as well. I could make an informed purchase, and offer a fair price. We close end of this month.