PRAIRIE HOME INSPECTION SERVICES INC

He was TERRIFIC! Came 15 minutes early, already on the roof when I arrived. Took me step-by-step of each part of the house he was checking out. Took about 2 hours, but very much worth it. I didn't end up getting that house, for reasons that Pete found, (and other issues). He's honest and just a nice person. Highly recommend.

I am not selling my house, but was instead using a home inspection as a diagnostic to see what the most pressing issues with the house (100 yrs old, 3 story + basement) were. Pete gave me great and extremely detailed information about what exactly needed fixing, what was DIY and what wasn't, and tips for how to accomplish the repairs; i.e. what kind of mortar I should make sure a tuckpointer uses, or how to repair our gutters instead of replacing them. He answered every last one of my many questions, and said I can call him up to a year later for clarification or advice, for free. I'm positive I will save money in the long run having hired Pete.

Very good. He was very professional, knowledgable and took the time to answer all the questions.

He was very knowledgeable and provided lots of valuable details throughout the course of the inspection. I would recommend him to my friends and use him again in future inspections.

Mr. Neuman was thorough and professional. He politely answered questions and explained in detail what he was looking for. Every step of the way he was friendly and available to the prospective buyer, pointing out what he saw and slowly explaining what he saw and why it was important. At the end of the inspection, I felt comfortable that I was well informed, not only with specific problems, but also with how urgent they were and how they should be repaired.

Very well. Pete took his time explaining what he was inspecting and answered all questions that we had. After the inspection was done we received an email copy of the report and a hard copy in the mail a few days later.

I called to ask Pete if he would come and inspect two suspect areas of my home where water might be a culprit or something else might have been causing erosion of the cement. He offered free advice on the phone and came out the same afternoon at my request. He is knowledgeable, professional, friendly and warm and I was impressed with his thinking and approach.

Pete was patient answering our questions. He also spent a good deal of time explaining his approach to home inspection-he focuses on identifying problems, but doesn't try to troubleshoot problems on the spot. I appreciated his approach and his experience with older homes.

Pete was fantastic! Answered all of our questions with the right amount of detail. Checked the house top to bottom. Being first time home buyers, we were a little intimidated initially by the process but he quickly made us feel comfortable and taught us a lot. Can't recommend him enough!

Excellent. He's very pleasant & polite, & seems very knowledgeable.

A week prior to closing, we were scheduled to complete our initial home walk through with the developer, Gladstone Homes. We scheduled the inspection to commence immediately after the walk through. As the walk through lasted longer than expected, Pete commenced the inspection of the exterior of the home and conveyed to us the results of that part of the inspection after the walk through. We walked alongside Pete at each step of the inspection, and he offered us the opportunity to select whether we wanted detailed or summary explanations of the work he performed as well as the systems he inspected. Pete answered all our questions and provided some comments that we passed along to our developer, most of which they will handle. The inspection took approximately 2.5 hours, and at the end of the inspection, Pete promised to deliver his report by the end of the following day (Friday). As promised, he delivered it on time. We would recommend Pete to any one considering a home inspection.

The work was extremely thorough and Pete spent a lot of time explaining what he was looking at/for so we really understood what he was doing and why. A detailed, very professional written report followed just 48 hours later. I'd strongly recommend them to anyone who wants an honest and detailed inspection done. Some may be cheaper, but you really get what you pay for.

Pete was very punctual and began his inspection by carefully explaining his process and what I could expect. He was always clear and concise and always explained his findings in understandable detail. He was even able to tell which structures were original to the building and which were part of the '98 rehab. Even the sellers agent was very impressed by his overall professionalism, thoroughness, process, and final report. He was always very courteous and helpful, happy to answer any questions, and efficient. The final report was easy to understand and extremely detailed. We were able to get a sizable credit for several issues he discovered. Many elements that were noted were general maintenance issues that were not critical but very ''good to know''. Overall, I was very happy with the quality of service for a very reasonable price.

Wonderful. Mr. Neuman was very helpful when discussing the problem on the phone. He was punctual, thorough (I was only worried about the house but he checked the garage as well, and gave me a heads-up about the chimney, which we will be getting fixed), and had helpful suggestions about dealing with the problem. He offered to hold off on writing a report unless I felt I would need it in dealing with the problem, thus sparing me the expense of the written report. There was indeed a problem with the work performed, and the fact that we had a building inspector look at it was enough to get the company to take notice of the problem. Mr. Neuman also declined to suggest anyone for the chimney work, citing conflict of interest. This gave me further confidence in his professionalism. Though a small job for him, he recognized its importance to us, and treated it accordingly. A great guy.

No one returned our call to let us know if they could do the work.

Mr. Neuman did a great job, not only at inspecting our home, but at explaining what repairs are required (included diagrams) and helped us prioritize them as well. He provided a detailed report which exceeds 25 pages with findings of every area of our house. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we didn't need some work that ''professionals'' had told us was required. One contractor told us that we needed tuckpointing work to the tune of $625.00. Mr. Neuman quickly pointed out that we only have to replace two bricks and seal a couple of areas which could be done under $50. This alone was worth his $300 fee. He also advised against replacing our roof which is only six years old, and yet again, two so called professional roofing companies told us we needed a new roof. We were able to save almost $5,000. Mr. Neuman's findings as to the roof we didn't need were confirmed by roofers we called from Angie's list. I'd highly recommend Prairie Home Inspection Services.

I'm disappointed after all the rave reviews here. At the time, I was kind of thrown that the inspection time was less than 3 hours, for a fairly large house. Later, I realized that only a sample of outlets and windows were checked. As we now have contractors and repairmen coming through, I realize Pete missed some serious things. A bathroom described as functional in the report proved unusable due to rotting fixtures, and the rehab has been a nightmare because the piping doesn't fit into the floor (there was a separate box built for the plumbing behind the toilet which we didn't notice- but we believe our inspector should have jumped on such a thing). Meanwhile, one thing that the report harped on- the fact that the boiler and water heater vent into the same chimney- is apparently no problem, according to both the company that serviced our boiler, and the man who came out to fix some crumbling masonry (which Pete did alert us to).

Pete arrived on time on the date scheduled. He carefully evaluated the building and patiently provided the information I sought. He just as patiently answered all of my questions. In this case, our association now feels that we are keeping adequate Reserves, but due to Pete's information know the bulk of the funds will mostly likely be dedicated to tuckpointing and not to roof replacement. Pete provided very helpful information, not just on what would need doing, but how it ought to be done and where the typical pitfalls are. He saw the appointment through to conclusion, even as it rained off and on. I have dealt with several home inspectors over the years, all of whom did a good job. I plan to to do business with Prairie Home Inspection in future!

Pete Newman is a pleasure to deal with.

Pete was very thorough, explaining everything in great detail, and answering any questions or concerns. The furnace wasn't working at the time of the inspection so Pete discounted his price, because he wouldn't be able to perform all the inspections.

Pete were extremely thorough. He had great attention to detail, very knowledgeable, polite, and professional.

The work was done timely and with care. Pete Neuman takes the time to make sure he answers all questions and that you fully understand any issues. He completed the report in less than 24 hours -- and it was a great, comprehensive report. I have great confidence in his review. He seems to have extensive experience in older homes in Oak Park and surrounding areas. Overall a pleasure to work with.

Overall, Pete did a phenomenal job. This was the first time that I had a home inspection done. My father was also there and was impressed at how thorough and patient Pete is in explaining things. He actually invited us to ask him questions! He is very knowledgeable. He took digital pictures of our roof and showed us what needed fixing. Afterwards, he mailed and emailed us the report within 2 days.

After reading the numerous excellent comments about Pete and his business, I was willing to pay the extra money for Pete to travel quite a bit and inspect the house I was going to buy. I was certainly not disappointed. Pete was extremely thorough in his inspection and described everything he saw with great clarity. We would certainly use Pete again and will refer him to anybody looking for a great home inspector.

Excellent, thorough, explained everything. Would use again.