Sherlock Home Inspections

I never heard from any home inspectors until this email. Angie’s list was a total waste of my time.

They came unprepared to inspect a tall roof and wrote up an ambiguous inspection report that led to a long, messy, time consuming dispute on roof repair costs. If the inspector had come prepared, the dispute wouldn't have existed, and one would not have to separately hire a roofing company to do the job that the inspector could have done. Their sales pitch said - we "go above and beyond", a claim based not on quality of results but apparently on some bureaucratic standards of ladder length - the minimum required ladder size was 20 ft, and that they used 22 ft. After the inspection, when the inadequacies in the report were pointed out, their reply simply amounted to "no, we are not required to do that". That's not my idea of "above and beyond". The sales pitch said - "we move obstructions". In reality their report says - "unable to inspect properly due to obstructions". They missed some big plumbing issues like a water hammer. Other inspectors said they would charge for 4-5 hours to inspect a house of that size. Sherlock inspector was more expensive and yet wrapped up in just 3 hours. In hindsight, I should have gone with other inspection companies that charge $50 more but include a wind mitigation report AND use drones to check the roofs of tall houses.

i am a first time home buyer and as anyone knows you NEED an inspection done in order to get homeowner insurance. when i called the gentleman on the phone went through all their inspection types and what would best suite me. as the house i am buying is a mobile home and over 20 years old a 4 point was a must have. when inspection day came the inspector had called me in advance to let me know he was running a little late, as i was myself, and he showed up at the time he informed me (20 minutes later). As soon as he got there he introduced himself and told me the steps he was going to do. as he was going through his inspection he told us what he was doing and why. the second he found an issue (big or small) he pulled me aside and let me know what the next steps were to get that to pass. he was very friendly, professional, thorough, he answered any and all my questions that he could. i am satisfied with his service and when i need another (any type) of inspection again i will be calling sherlock homes again.

The inspector missed an epoxy patch on the pool filter and I had to replace it immediately or risk draining my pool when it popped off if I wasn't home due to temperature fluctuations in the weather $500; The owner told em I shouldn't be complaining about a missed $200 item. A missing 220 outlet for the dryer which resulted an an additional $1200 expense for me because I had to upgrade the electrical box in order to install one. There were photographs of outlets throughout the house with a charge detector in them but no mention of the missing one even though the laundry room was referenced. The report said my roof was good but it leaked at the transition so it took me by surprise. I don't think reports should say if a roof is good or not good if they really don't know. The last one is that the pool liner was white. White pools are not uncommon where I came from but in Florida it means it is really old and I was not advised of this. New liner replacement $4100.00. Mentioning that the liner slipped about 6 inches is not as important as mentioning that the liner is old. I might have negotiated a better price had I known these things. There were minor things in the report that had already been negotiated in the offer to purchase. It did not go well when I wrote a polite email to the inspection company. and instead of doing public relations I was threatened. In my opinion this was a worthless service that I relied upon that cost me money because I did. There are higher expectations of home inspectors in Wisconsin. I don't really know if the other things inspected that were reported as being good, really are and I guess time will tell because who has the time and money to go looking for problems except home inspectors. Taking pictures of the water coming out of the faucets and proving that the stove burners go on are things I did myself when I walked through the house. I don't really feel that the State of Florida expects much of these inspectors in general and I don't know why lenders require these inspections because in my opinion they prove anything. I have a back ground in real estate in another state and I consider this experience as shocking. This home inspection covered little things I checked myself and the things I couldn't check or don't know about were missed or misstated....like the "good roof."

All when well. a very complete home inspection. detailed, and covered all areas of the home. this is the company one would want to hire to ensure the home you are buying is not flawed. very professional, and get the jobdone right at a good price.

I called them on Monday morning. An appointment was set up for Tuesday am. Todd was quick to respond to my questions an was very accommodating. The thorough inspection was performed on time and was as thorough as though we had been there. The verbal report was given over the phone. We later received our emailed report as promised.

Excellent! Professional , reliable ,courteous and knowledgeable? I would recommend this company

I have been investing in real estate for years, and have seen good and bad inspectors. I?ve used Sherlock before, recently used them again, and will continue to use them in the future. These guys are the best at what they do! If you want to know everything about a house, I recommend them highly

Awesome. Great customer service received when I first called, they clearly explained all they would do. The inspector showed up early and was extremely thorough, personable and knowledgeable too. After the inspection we got an overview of what was found and the actual report was emailed the next day. The report was packed with tons of helpful details and color pictures. I feel like I know almost everything about this property now... Sherlock Home Inspection delivers.

The inspector was quick to reply to my call and scheduled immediately. Was on time and professional. The report was just what we expected and I received it the same day as the inspection. I wonder if some of the reviews on this company take heat for the findings of a house rather than the service they provide. Seems like a shoot the messenger kind of thing. I was really happy with everything Sherlock Home Inspection did.

I noticed that the owner responded to the review posted on 11/12/15 stating that the person's review was bogus and that he wishes that they would have given him a chance to respond. I found this funny because in our situation, we have given him weeks to review a horrible experience that we have had and he denies all responsibility for the issues we are having. We have used Sherlock Home Inspections on two previous occasions a couple of years ago and had excellent experiences with them. The inspector that completed our previous two inspections arrived alone and was thorough and knowledgeable. We actually decided not to move forward on our home purchases based on his reports. Fast forward to our most recent home inspection and I'm disappointed and frustrated to say that we had a horrible experience. Two home inspectors arrived. One of them worked the entire time, the other man stood at the counter and chatted with my realtor at least 80% of the time. He frequently commented on her looks and appearance. It was very strange to the point that my realtor and I both commented on it. The home inspection was completed on 10/9/2015 and we moved into our residence on 12/7/15. Our first night their we tried to take showers and realized that the hot water wasn't working in our main bathroom. We contacted a plumber, from Angie's list, who came out immediately and assessed that we had a corroded cartridge, valves and pipes. It was the professional opinion of three licensed plumbers that this level of corrosion would have been present at the time of home inspection. We reviewed our reports and noticed that there was no mention of the hot water working in this bathroom. We also noticed that there was no mention at all of this bathroom and that there were no photos. This was strange because they took photos of all of the other bathrooms, appliances and every other area in the home whether it was functioning or not. We contacted Sherlock Homes and the owner denies all responsibility and says that if there was no mention of the hot water not working in our report then it must have been working on the date of inspection. We went back and forth multiple times over multiple weeks sharing the opinions of our realtor and plumbers and pointing out that the the bathroom in question was not addressed at all on the home inspection report. Despite all of the facts pointing to a major home inspection fail, the owner of Sherlock homes denies any responsibility. In fact he was insulting in his responses. This is unfortunate because a few years ago, I would have highly recommended this company. Maybe they grew too fast for their own good and are hiring poor home inspectors to keep up with demand. Do yourself a favor and avoid this company. I do not take it lightly when I have to leave a negative review and I rarely do so. If you look at my Angie's list reviews, more than 90% are positive. We were just so disappointed and frustrated not only by the poor home inspection but by the owner's response.

Inspectors argued with my realtor, did a half assed job

I'm still trying to figure it out.....can't complain about these company or the service.....I just don't know if it was really worth it.

Arrived ten minutes late but called before hand. From there everything went very well. Spent a lot of time explaining the process and the details of the inspection. Called out all issues while in the house and even asked me to show him my areas of concern at which point he spent extra time inspecting those areas. I would use him again.

It was a two person team (husband and wife) that did the home inspection and they did a thorough job. It took a couple of hours but they really checked all aspects of the home, even noticing a small amount of discolored paint (in a very dark room) that ended up being a small area of moisture in the wall. They both gave suggestions for how to get things repaired and what to look for when hiring companies to do that repair work. The pest inspection was also very well done. It was included in the inspection at no extra charge and the company provides quotes to do initial and ongoing pest control, which is helpful as we make decisions for what we want done in the house. Great job and I would definitely recommend the company to others.

I called this company because I was getting ready to purchase an older home that had been vacant for over two years. I made an offer that was contingent on passing inspection. Although I loved the house, I was hesitant to jump in without really scoping it out. I spoke with Todd the first time I called. He answered the phone on a Sunday evening too. He was exceedingly helpful, answered al my questions and explained the process very thoroughly and in plain English. I told him I wanted the extra inspections, even though it was a little out of the ordinary, because of the fact the house had been empty for so long. On the appointed day and time, Jay Tappen came out to do the inspections. He was punctual and very professional. He let me follow him around during the inspection, explaining everything he was doing. He patiently answered my questions as we went along and made a few recommendations on some minor issues he found. Jay finished up, made sure I was satisfied with anything I didn't know and then promised to deliver (via email) all the inspection reports within a day. I was not disappointed. Jay came through, the house passed with flying colors and thanks to Jay's and this company's expertise, I will be closing on my new home tomorrow (as of this writing). I highly recommend this company and would use them again if I ever needed them. My cost for the inspections are higher than normal, because I wanted them to do pretty much every inspection possible, above and beyond the standard 101-point version.

I've been meaning to issue a complaint about them.

They're very thorough and I would recommend them to anyone. They are great at their jobs.

I used them twice. first house was in very bad shape. so I canceled that buy. the second house was found to need some work, but was manageable. So, I bought that house. The point is, they were very good in letting me know everything about the houses. And they were pleasant to work with. I walked around with them. they explained and showed me what they were looking at. And I received a complete though report via email within 24 hours. which was very important to me.

They were fantastic. It was a couple that came out and I really like them. They did a thorough job. They were on time, which I really like. They were meticulous.

Friendly and very professional highly recommend

Inspector was a trooper through a few items found and worked professionally

They were prompt, thorough and fairly priced.

It didn't go so well. We moved into the home and found we had large holes in the A/C ducts; however, the home inspection said the ducts were "Good." In less than a month of moving in we had to replace the A/C unit and the ductwork. We understood the system was old and needed cleaning, and replaced at some point. However, we were not made aware of the gravity of the situation (overflow switches not working, drain pans and ductwork work sitting/lying on the ceiling, large holes in the ductwork, etc.). That information, along with all of the other issues we found, would have helped us negotiate a better price. Perhaps they could have recommended that we contact an A/C company for an inspection. We ended up with a leak in the ceiling as a result and it led to a total replacement of the system. Additionally, we found upon moving in that the dishwasher did not work. It does not dispense soap and the board is fried so it isn't even cycling. The garbage disposal doesn't work. It runs but it doesn't dispose of anything. The icemaker on the fridge makes ice but does not dispense. Leaking reclaimed water pipe and faucet on the side yard. We thought the yard was soaked because of rain but it turns out it was the leak. Pool equipment does not work properly. Family and friends are asking why we didn't have an inspection.

It was really good working with these guys. They respond really fast and could get to my place as soon as possible too because I needed a home inspection to be done fast. They were very professional and had Massey pest to do the pest inspection. Overall, very professional and I would recommend them to anyone.