Dunwell Home Inspections Inc

It has taken me some time to write this review do to life's events getting in the way but I felt it was important to let folks know about this company. My wife and I hired Dunwell Home Inspections after being recommended by our Realtor. We used them once on a house that fell through and everything seemed to go ok but we did not buy that house so no telling if there were any issues. On the property we did buy, a few months later, we had many issues come up. The inspector made costly mistakes on the report, the main mistake being the inspection of our windows. Our reports lists them as white vinyl double hung windows that operate properly. After we moved in, we realized that they are aluminum clad wood windows. They are also crank style windows. Out of 27 windows, 15 do not operate properly (they do not open or close! Someone has to go outside and help push the window closed, very tough to do on the 2nd floor), 4 have busted or stripped cranking mechanisms, and 4 have deteriorating wood/seal issues. Getting new windows will probably cost us 15-20K so this will be a big expense for our family. When I approached Joel regarding these issues he said they do not have to check all the windows and also said that they mistake double hung vinyl windows for crank aluminum clad windows all the time in this industry, it is normal. I pushed back furthered and expressed that the report fee should have been refunded due to these costly mistakes. He told me to talk to his attorney. The 2nd costly item was the driveway. On our report, minor pitting is noted and states that it is just cosmetic. Over the past 2 years the concrete has deteriorated to rubble. It took 1 minute for a concrete guy to come out and tell us that the concrete was bad and that the driveway will continue to deteriorate. I wish our inspector could have caught this and let us because the recent bids to replace are about $10K. I feel like these major things are why you get an inspection. Who really cares about a GFCI that does not trip right ( Although definitely important for safety, I can fix that for $10 bucks and 20 minutes of my time). As you can see just a bad experience all around.

Joel arrived on time and very personable yet professional. Joel went through the house telling us the items he found and in addition the safety issues, suggestions on how to repair. Joel was able to answer all questions posed to him indicating a great deal of experience / knowledge.

It was important to us to use a company that had full time, trained employees, not subcontractors that wouldn't necessarily provide a consistent level of service. Joel had previously owned a construction company and has been doing home inspections for many years so we felt more comfortable with the service being provided than other companies we considered using. We are in the process of buying a home that is a short sale so we wanted an inspection to determine the extent of the deferred maintenance and/or if there were any major issues that we would be facing when moving in. Joel was very professional and courteous, both on the phone and in person. He returned my calls promptly and was very responsive to my questions. He arrived early to the inspection and clearly walked me through his goals. Joel did an excellent job of explaining issues he found during the inspection and then followed it up with a very detailed report (approx 40 pages) with pictures and individual issues noted. We also had a radon test performed - we were not in a rush so they set up the test during the inspection and then came back after 48 hours to pick up the results. Joel had offered to have the radon test set up in advance of our inspection so the results would be done around the same time, however, it was not necessary for our timing. We were very happy with the price given the time and attention spent examining the house. My husband and I were very happy with the service provided and would highly recommend Dunwell Home Inspections.

I was very impressed with the service provided! The inspector was knowledgeable and friendly on the phone and was very prompt in scheduling my appointment. He was flexible with working around my schedule and was at the home site before I was. He walked me through everything and did not talk down to me when explaining what he was checking and what he was seeing. I felt very comfortable with him and secure that he was giving me all of the information and looking into everything. I would highly recommend this home inspection company to anyone looking for one!

I called as a follow-up on Thursday (7/28) evening to confirm, if he has been cleared by seller to install Radon test monitors. I left him a voice message on the first call, and then called again after 2-3 hours and found him. I was surprised when he mentioned that "Call me only, if you have any questions, otherwise he will meet me on Sunday". Also, he mentioned that Seller's agent refused for him to give an entry to the property for Friday. Curious, I called my agent to contact Seller's agent to figure out the issue. I was told that 'no one' contacted Seller's agent. This is outrightly a 'Big' lie to the customer on Professional ethics. I called BrickKicker on Friday (7/29) and scheduled an appointment for Saturday (7/30) to perform Home Inspection and Radon Test. I will never recommend this contractor to anyone who has no Customer Service and Professional Ethics.

Absolutely wonderful! My inspector, Mike, was extremely knowledgeable, thorough and professional. He arrived early for the appointment and was already on the roof when I pulled in the driveway! He checked everything - and I mean everything - every drain, faucet, outlet, appliance, everything. He's been in the construction business for 30 years and really knows houses. He was very patient and took all the time necessary to make certain I understood his findings - positive and negative. The written report was exceptional. It clearly noted the items that presented a danger or risk and I was able to address these with the seller prior to purchase. The report included numerous pictures of all relevant inspection points and was provided to me on DVD as well as paper. Dunwell also arranged for the radon testing and pest inspections, making this a one-stop shopping experience for me. I was very nervous about purchasing a home. I don't know much about repair and worried that I would find something (expensive) wrong once I moved in. Having this inspection provided me total peace of mind. I knew the issues before I signed on the dotted line as well as the relative severity. Because of this inspection I was able to negotiate a better contract pre-sale and have a clear idea of likely expenses in the next few months Such a pleasure to deal with! Wish I had more opportunities to work with such a great company!