GIBBS SURETTE INSPECT

Steve came out and inspected a home we are purchasing. Being first time home buyers this entire process was completely new to us. He was very professional and personable and made the whole process smooth. As we walked through the home he was very patient and answered all our questions and pointed out things we would have never known to ask about. We learned a great deal about the property. It's evident that he is very knowledgable and the inspection seemed very thorough.

He was very thorough, thoughtful and professional. We ended up needed some additional testing done to our septic/well and there was a time crunch for closing. He was able to help us out in a lurch to get the testing done. I am very impressed with his Home Inspection and would recommend him in the future.

Steve was very professional and was on time to the inspection. He seemed knowledgeable as we went through the house and provided a detailed report with pictures. We were initially very pleased with the inspection. It wasn't until after we purchased the home and moved in that we discovered that he had missed so many things! It turns out that the kitchen had a hole in the floor and that the subfloor surrounding the stove and refrigerator was rotten and crumbling. We noticed the movement in the floor and even discussed it during the inspection with Steve, but he assured us that it was nothing to worry about. The movement of the kitchen floor was definitely something to worry about if we didn't want the appliances or people falling through to the basement. The subfloor was literally crumbling into the basement as we removed the vinyl flooring to figure out why the floor was moving so much. He also missed the window problems in the basement. There are 4 windows total in the basement and he only noticed that one of them needed a steel plate put in because the wood brace above it was sagging. He didn't notice the other windows that wouldn't even open because of the sagging braces. Last was the laundry room floor. During the initial inspection he missed the 4 inch drop in the floor from one side of the room to the other. One corner of the room gradually dropped down from all of the others until it was so far down that the baseboard had 4 inches between it and the floor below. We contacted Steve about this after the inspection and were told that it was probably just normal settling. It is not normal settling and our room is lopsided with potential foundation problems that have yet to be diagnosed. We knew the house had some challenges and needed updating when we moved in, but we would have been in a much better position to negotiate some of these repairs with the sellers or found a different house if the inspection was as it should have been. This has already cost us thousands in repairs that we were not planning on, and has the potential to cost us thousands more once the foundation problems are inspected. We were told that inspections don't catch everything and that he was here to essentially just do a general overview and test drive. We signed the papers acknowledging that we understood that, but I refuse to believe that a general inspection wouldn't have come across these things, especially since we discussed and asked questions about them during the inspection. A home is a very large investment. Make sure you have a good inspector.

In March of 2015, I was selling my house in Hendricks county and he willingly and promptly answered questions that I had in regard to that property even though he did not perform an inspection at that address.

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Glen did a thorough inspection on our new home. He arrived ahead of schedule, explained the process he would use to do the inspection, walked through each room with me explaining what he was reviewing, pointing out concerns and if they were minor or major issues. He came back the following day to test the furnace and water heater since the seller didn't have the gas turned on in time for the initial inspection. The report provided was very complete with pictures of each point made in the report.Would definitely recommend this company.

In my opinion, the inspection went well. The inspectiion was for our personal knowledge, There was not a buyer, relator, seller, deal involved.

MEMBER REPLY TO PROVIDER RESPONSE: I just saw the company's response. He is lying. We notified him in advance what was needed and he did not return any of the funds I paid him. I would like that noted in the report.

Excellent.

Overall - terrible. This is the 11th home we've purchased and by far, this was the least comprehensive, most inaccurate home inspection we've ever had - yet the most expensive! Not just the costliest from an inspection price, but 1 month after purchasing the home, we have spent literally tens of thousands of dollars on repairs/replacements/structural fixes that the inspection missed, didn't address, or that Steve actually found to be in "great shape." For example, during the inspection, an alarm for the pump (pumping waste water to sewer system) was going off, and it was not even noted in the inspection. The pump was not working and a $4500 pump replacement was needed. He found the basement to be "bone dry" for years and said the sump pump was working, just not needed. Within days after closing, the basement was flooded and we discovered the sump pump was not functioning. The service technicians we brought out couldn't believe this was not found in the inspection as they indicated that water is visible sitting under our foundation and built up in the drains. We also have major electrical issues with much of the electric being reworked - electrician is likewise shocked these issues were not brought forward from the inspection. The A/C also went out - we'll know today how large of an issue that is. We paid extra for a termite inspection. Steve stated that he was amazed that there was no evidence of termites nor treatment for termites. We found out that a week before the inspection, the owners had just had a termite issue addressed! Also foundational issues...the list goes on. The few things he did find and tell us about, he then did not write out in the report as needing to be addressed, just "monitored" in the future. Therefore, it left us very little leverage in negotiating any repairs with the owners. One would have guessed he was contracted by the owners or realtor and not working for us! Steve did arrive promptly and was dressed in nice, crisp, business casual attire - a much more professional appearance than any other inspector we've worked with. We soon discovered the reason - he wouldn't get dirty! He didn't get under crawl spaces, near the roof, didn't touch anything...just shone his flashlight briefly in harder to reach areas which explains all the misses. Definitely would absolutely NOT recommend.

Steve Surette inspected our future home, and he did a great job! We followed him around through the whole process, and he was very thorough and efficient. He was patient with our questions, and he was very knowledgeable and qualified. We were extremely satisfied with everything, and we would definitely use this company again.

Overall we were not satisfied. The company used a subcontractor to do the inspection. While several items were identified by the inspection which were helpful, two major issues with the house were not captured in the report. We learned after we owned the house that the roof had hail damage from a past hailstorm. The report made no mention of hail damage. Also, the basement had chronic water problems. One area of the basement leaked through the foundation wall during larger rains. Another part of the basement was wet much of the time and created a mold problem. The report mentioned signs of past water, but did not indicate this was a significant concern. The company gave me some assistance in working with insurance companies on the roof issue, but refused to refund the cost of the inspection work, despite admitting that the report was not well written. We spent close to $10K fixing problems that were not highlighted by the inspection.

Excellent. Inspector was on time, fully prepared having all the equipment needed to complete inspection. Inspector was very thorough.

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WE PURCHASED OUR HOME 10 MONTHS AGO AND HIRED STEVE SURETTE TO CONDUCT THE INSPECTION AT THAT TIME. DUE TO MY HUSBAND'S RELOCATION, WE HAVE PUT OUR HOME ON THE MARKET. THE CURRENT BUYER'S INSPECTOR DISCOVERED THAT THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL PANEL IS OUT OF CODE. THIS WAS VALIDATED BY A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN WHO SAID OUR PREVIOUS INSPECTOR (STEVE SURETTE) SHOULD NOT HAVE MISSED THIS FACT. WHEN WE CALLED MR. SURETTE TO INFORM HIM OF THE SITUATION, HE PROCEEDED TO DISPUTE THAT THIS WAS EVEN A PROBLEM. FURTHERMORE, HE BLAMED EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED AND REFUSED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS MISTAKE. I REALIZE THAT HOME INSPECTIONS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE EXHAUSTIVE, BUT A LICENSED HOME INSPECTOR SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF ASSESSING THE BASICS OF AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. LASTLY, THERE WERE NUMEROUS OTHER REPAIRS NOTED BY MY BUYER'S INSPECTOR THAT WERE NOT NOTED BY MR. SURETTE'S REPORT 10 MONTHS AGO.

SURETTE WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME BY INDIANA HOUSING. CURT SHOWED UP ON TIME AND WAS VERY PATIENT IN EXPLAINING TO ME WHAT HE WAS INSPECTING. THE SELLER HAD AN ISSUE WITH A DEFECT THAT WAS FOUND DURING THE INSPECTION, BUT CURT AND STEVE HANDLED THE SITUATION WITH THE UTMOST PROFESSIONALISM. CURT EVEN MADE A SECOND VISIT, AT MY REQUEST, TO VERIFY THAT THE HOUSE WAS CLEAR OF TERMITES, WHEN HE PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE TO (HE WAS ON TIME FOR THIS APPOINTMENT ALSO). OVERALL, I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR SERVICE AND WOULD USE THEM AGAIN.

THE PRICE WAS FOR BOTH HOMES OF DIFFERENT SIZES. HE WAS VERY GOOD.

GREAT COMPANY.

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THEY DID TWO SEPARATE INSPECTIONS. THE AIR QUALITY WAS $600, VERY EXPENSIVE. BUT THE LABS ARE INUNDATED WITH MOLD ANALYSIS AND ARE PASSING ALONG THE COST. THE OTHER INSPECTION WENT VERY WELL.

WE WORKED WITH BOTH STEVE AND KEN. BOTH WERE FRIENDLY AND ON TIME. STEVE HAD LOTS OF DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT OUR NEW HOUSE, INCLUDING SUGGESTIONS FOR MAINTENANCE and FOR COMPANIES TO REPAIR SOME DAMAGE. THERE WAS SOME DELAY IN GETTING A REPORT FOR THE CRAWL SPACE INSPECTION, BUT OVERALL THE SERVICES WERE DETAILED, PROFESSIONAL AND HELPFUL.

I THOUGHT STEVE WAS AWESOME. HE WAS VERY THOROUGH, VERY NICE. HIS PRICES WERE COMPARABLE TO OTHERS. HIS REPORT WAS GIVEN TO US THE SAME DAY WITH PHOTOS.

KEN WAS VERY FUNNY, COURTEOUS AND THOROUGH. HE DID A GREAT JOB AND WE WOULD USE THEM AGAIN.

COURTEOUS, ON TIME, EXPLAINED EVERYTHING WELL, WROTE IT ALL DONE AND GAVE TO ME.