Professional Building Inspectors

I am very disappointed. This was a referral from our real estate agent. I personally spoke to him and he wanted to charge the full amount to reschedule when we learned the home we were trying to buy was a short sale and we had to move the date on short notice. I should have known then. But I talked to him and he went into this long explanation about how he charges for his time and blah blah blah and didn't offer customer service. We agreed to maintain the original appointment and take leave from work to go over to observe the inspection. He did not send the report directly to us, he sent it to our agent. He did NOT perform the wind inspection, or take the photos or any of it, and when it came time to get the insurance estimate for the house, he developed amnesia and wanted us to pay him AGAIN to go out and do what he was supposed to do the first time. He spoke to me, my boyfriend and the agent and had confirmed he was performing both inspections, and he failed to do so, and tried to upcharge us for his mistake. I wish I'd checked Angie's list first as I see that this problem is not unique to us!!!

Anthony Gimenez, and his company Professional Building Inspectors, were recommended to us by our real estate broker, a seemingly 'safe' means to secure the important services of someone who any buyer trusts to fully evaluate and discover unseen issues and potential defects in the condition of a home being purchsed. I should have taken the first hint of a problem provider during my phone interview with him, when I casually asked if he was a licensed general contractor, as many home inspectors are, and if he would be able to point out any code violations during his inspection. I could hear the hair rising on the back of his neck as he launched into a long diatribe about the difference between licensed home inspectors and general contractors, and how it was not his job to tell me about the building codes, and if I wanted a code inspection that would cost nearly twice as much, etc, etc. And, how I was going to get far more in value and benefits from his work than I would from any other inspector because of this, and that, etc, etc. His arrogance and defensiveness were palpable from the start. Unfortunately, I hired him anyway as he was available on short notice and on the only day I had available for the inspection. He showed up on the appointed day and time, and conducted what I thought at the time was a more or less thorough series of inspections as requested. I hung around for the duration of his work and pointed out a number of things I discovered which he missed in the process (my second hint). I paid him his fee of $800 on the spot and his report showed up via email several days later, howbeit a couple of days after he promised. We negotiated with the seller on a few points from his report, and he returned immediately prior to closing to reinspect those repairs, howbeit for an additional fee of $125. We closed on the purchase and moved in. The problems started almost immediately. For unknown reasons, the dishwasher would not work despite his report indicating it was in working order. One bedroom continued having major infestations of carpenter ants, the source of which turned out to be a serious water intrusion problem where siding had been incorrectly installed and was allowing moisture to clearly erode the stucco and continually seep back into the wall. Unmistakable and serious water damage was discovered to an entire section of first floor wall directly below an upstairs AC airhandler (which he had correctly identified as creating moisture problems) and while reparable, could have been used in negotiations with the seller had it been on the record before closing. The clothes washer, also reported as in full working order, exhibited a serious case of water hammer (banging of the cold water pipes) on the rinse cycle apparently due to a bad solenoid which required the purchase of a new washer given the cost/benefit of repairing an older unit. And, numerous areas of rusting, expanding rebar just below the stucco surface on the footings were clearly missed in his report. While none of these issues would have changed our opinion to purchase the home, they would have been important negotiating points in our transaction with the seller. Our final, and biggest disapointment with Mr. Gimenez and Professional Building Inspectors came when we attempted to contact him regarding the promise that his work was 'guarnteed'. Instead of arranging for a conveinent time to come by the house to discuss these concerns, he dropped by unannounced at a point that we were not home (the only reason I learned he had been there was from the contractors hired to fix the problems he missed) then fired off a long, defensive, accusatory email essentially indicating he had gove above and beyond his usual level of service, that I had not fully read his report, suggesting I should contact an atourney to fully understand the contract obligations of his agreement for services and demanding immediate payment of the reinspection fee ($125). The arrogance and defensiveness continued to the end; at least he was consistent in that regard. My suggestion: take your time, interview a number of home inspectors (other than Professional) and have them back up their work in writing.