Sherlock Homes Inspection

The inspector was very professional and helpful during the inspection. I have confidence that I know all the things that I need to be concerned about regarding the home.

Comprehensive inspection with a full report and photos! Not only tells what is wrong but how one can remedy it. Great!

Great service

Seemed great at the time. I thought I saw signs of foundation issues and repeatedly asked the inspector about them and he assure me that everything was fine and it was a great house with good bones. Nearly three years later and we're up to $12,000 on foundation repairs and our starting our second round that will involve gutting the stairway and downstairs bathroom. The chimney was actually pulling away from the house and it required 8 steel piers installed to fix one side of the house, but now we're having problems on the other side. He also told us a wooden chimney cap the seller installed the day before closing was a very clever and effective solution. Turns out that it's made our chimney a death trap, will wick up moisture from the ground causing further damage and potential mold issues, and cost $5,000 if we can find anyone who will do it. Also didn't point out that there was no house-side gas shut off or any shut off on the stove or water dispenser hook up. Instead of urging me to follow my gut, he gave us tons of assurance to buy an absolute money pit. The photos are of the work we need done in the area I specifically had him double check inside the wall for signs of foundation issues.

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Last year we made an offer on a home built in 1998 and hired Sherlock Homes to do our inspection. Afterwards we had to return to our home across the country to get our current home ready for the market and generally wind things up there. We received their report by email and read it very carefully before closing the deal. It was well organized by section and easy to follow. Their inspector caught a number of things, many, many small to medium issues, some of which we noticed when we were inside the home and some we hadn't. However, he missed a very large issue that would certainly have terminated the purchase deal if we had known about it. In reading the report, we decided that most of the things mentioned were a fairly easy fix, some of which we could do ourselves and some of which would require professionals, such as a new HVAC system and a new roof, which we'd expected, since the previous owners had done nothing to the home. We negotiated cost-sharing for the new roof because we could see it had pretty much aged out. After just a week in the house, however, I was walking around the perimeter of the home to check drainage (which the report said to monitor) I noticed a stairstep crack in the mortar. When I looked more closely, I noticed that some of the bricks were cracked as well. I'm not trained as a home inspector, but do know that such things can potentially mean trouble, especially when the bricks crack, as happened here. The home is built partly on a sloping lot. I phoned a structural engineer who later came out to assess the situation. After looking at the perimeter of the home and the foundation from inside the crawl space, he determined that our foundation had a crack in it and would need 4 piers to fix the problem and a lot of drainage work, totaling $13,000+. To make sure his assessment was correct and not a case of exaggeration to drum up business, shortly afterwards I phoned 3 additional foundation and drainage people, who came up with similar estimates of between $13000-$15000 to fix the problem. Now part of all this is our fault since we perhaps put too much trust in the inspector, but then we are not in the construction field and were paying for their expertise and expected them to be thorough, especially with regard to big issues. While they were perhaps looking at the trees, they missed the forest. We were hoping the furnace, roof and a couple new plumbing fixtures would be all we would be faced with. Not the retirement we were wishing for.

I'll keep this short. Since we're moving from out of state, we had asked our realtor to stand in for us at the inspection. When she arrived at the designated inspection time, the inspector was already done. It seems he moved the time up by an hour and a half, with no notification to me or my realtor. When I called to find out what happened, they offered no real explanation, only saying that he was able to bump up the time that day and that they weren't expecting the realtor to be present. They did apologize, so I guess that's worth something, but there's really no excuse for the lack of communication.

We have used Sherlock Homes twice. In both cases and with different inspectors they were punctual, professional, and extremely thorough. I must emphasize the latter. We have had other inspections of other houses, but theirs was by far the most complete. I have no idea if they are the cheapest in town. I do know that they saved us a great deal of money and grief. Our first inspection identified significant problems in the house we were considering that were not obvious. We have owned three houses now and have done extensive work on all of them, but we would not have identified these problems without their services. Our second inspection was equally thorough and also identified problems. We were able to negotiate with the seller on these problems and came to a satisfactory resolution. Both of our inspection reports were returned to us within 24 hours. We strongly recommend them and would use them again.

The inspector called to notify us he would be 10-15 minutes late or I would have rated everything an A. He went over what he inspects, his process, and reviewed each item he noted. He did a great job and spent approximately 2.5 hours completing the inspection. The report was emailed and hard copied as promised. We are very satisfied on the work performed.

The inspector was not one who has been mentioned in previous glowing reviews on Angie's list and similar sites. Maybe I should have tried harder to hold out for one of them. At the time, he seemed reasonably thorough, but now that I know more about houses and what can be wrong with them, I'm shocked at what he missed. There were several things that he noticed were wrong, and he could have followed up more, looking for the actual source of the problem, but just wrote down the first thing he noticed, without checking whether it was part of a larger issue. For example, he wrote in his report that a window screen was damaged, but didn't mention that the whole window was broken! Maybe he just didn't feel like bending down to take a closer look? He missed evidence of water damage in several places, including some where he noted an issue that would lead an experienced person to look for evidence of water damage. I don't have a ton of experience with home inspections, but I keep finding more and more things that have obviously been longstanding issues, and that I would have expected an experienced home inspector to find and note. Our realtor was surprised that a house of this age didn't have more issues in the report, and now it seems clear that it's because the inspector missed a lot of things.

They did a very good job. They were very informative.

They are very punctual and do a good job, they work well with clients

Lee van Buskirk performed the inspection, and he was meticulous, courteous, and offered clear explanations. He encouraged us to accompany him for most of the inspection and told us his impressions as he went along. He gave us a clear sense of which repairs to prioritize, explained the risks and benefits of various fixes (or leaving things as is), and recommended additional consultations to get more expert opinions on two possible major concerns. He didn't mind answering a lot of questions, and was patient, encouraging, and clear. He went out of his way to give extra knowledge and advice (including things like tax breaks for adding insulation). His written report was incredibly detailed and thorough. As a first-time homebuyer purchasing an older home, I felt much more informed and confident after getting Lee's assessment. I would use Lee again, and would recommend him to friends.

Overall, these guys were top notch inspectors! I got Lee as my inspector, and he was extremely thorough, took in my concerns on the house, and gave me as much information as possible. They were very hands on, and physically inspected just about every nook and cranny of the house. Ultimately, I received a 40+ page analysis on the property which was very clear, included pictures, and made it simple for me to understand. The only downside was the price. I was charged more than their website specified ($400 instead of $350 as listed) as my house was older. Not a huge deal, but I wish that clarity would have been there upfront on what the expense would have been. Overall though, it was an excellent experience, and really helpful with the home buying process.

I was real pleased. They did a a good job.

The inspector was very nice and helpful. He took his time to explain concerns about the home and things to watch. The 40 page inspection report was well written and will serve as a reference manual.

We selected Sherlock Homes for the inspection of the house we are purchasing, because we have used them to inspect the last two homes we have purchased. They do an excellent job, are extremely professional, courteous, and welcome the opportunity to teach you about the how various systems and appliances in your home work or should work. Scheduling was done by phone about four days in advance, and Lee VanBuskirk performed the inspection. The bios of the inspectors on the Sherlock Homes website are quite impressive--licensed, educated, with years of experience--which is reassuring. Lee arrived a little earlier than scheduled, and he reviewed what was within and outside the scope of the inspection. He asked if I had any particular concerns or questions before starting, and welcomed my tagging along and asking questions throughout the morning. He was very objective, and I came away feeling confident that I knew the house much better. If at all possible, I think the prospective owner should attend the inspection and learn as much as possible about the house they are buying. To make that kind of investment after having seen it fairly superficially once or twice makes having a trusted inspection all the more important.

It was fantastic. The inspector was a certified electrician and energy inspector in addition to being a home inspector, and was able to give me a detailed, professional opinion on all aspects of the house. He took personal care in my investment and advised me as if I was family. I am much more confident making this huge purchase now!

DAN and CYNTHIA ARE WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES AND ARE DEFINITELY QUALIFIED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT HOMES, RADON, MOLD, ETC. (ALSO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE REPORT). AS FAR AS I KNOW, INDIANA DOESN''T LICENSE INSPECTORS. NONETHELESS, THERE IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS ASHI (AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HOME INSPECTORS) AND BOTH ARE MEMBERS. DAN HAS EVEN BEEN PAST PRESIDENT OF THE INDIANA CHAPTER OF ASHI, CHARTER MEMBER AND FORMER PEER REVIEW CHAIRMAN, EDUCATION COORDINATOR, AND DIRECTOR ON THE BOARD FOR GREAT LAKES CHAPTER OF ASHI. HE ALSO HAS BEEN A BUILDING CONTRACTOR AND IS A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN. SHERLOCK HOMES PRODUCES A GREAT REPORT THAT LISTS THE ITEMS OF MAJOR CONCERN, WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL IN THE BUYING PROCESS. THEY ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU BE PRESENT DURING THE INSPECTION SO THAT THEY CAN EXPLAIN INTRICACIES OF THE HOUSE OR DEFICIENCIES THAT IT MAY HAVE. DEFINITELY WOULD RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO MY CLOSEST FRIENDS.

WILLING TO WORK WITH REALTOR FOR OUT OF STATE MOVE.

VERY PROFESSIONAL, DID A THROUGH INSPECTION OF OUR HOME, PROVIDED SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED AND HOW. HAD THE COMPLETED REPORT IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS.

THEY PRODUCE A GREAT REPORT WHICH LISTS MAJOR ITEMS OF CONCERN