J May Home Inspection

What a great professional he is! If you are a home buyer, I strougly recommend a home inspector like him. He found a termite problem in a good shaped and well-maintained property from the views of normal buyers like me. In addition, I was surprised because the property was already inspected twice before his inspection and the previous two professional home inspectors didn't find it. Here is what happened. Mike inspected the property under P&S agreement. Before his inspection service, I informed him that the property was back on the market due to some problems after a previous home inspection. I gave him all issues from the previous home inspection, which were also re-examined by a good friend of mine who is the local builder. Since I knew all major issues of the property and these were minor problems repairable with a marginal expense, I hired Mike not only one more external inspection but also I like to learn more about the property since many reviewers commented Mike was kind and instructional for the property managment, etc. The termite situation is now under inspection by pest control agency. I am not sure if I buy the property or not. It all depends on the termite damage. Knowing that some reviewers said that he was expensive, I still hired him because he would perform his professional job well and I needed the best man for my new sweet home. Well done, Mr. Atwell. I truly appreciate your professionalism, kindness, and sincere follow-up. All the best, Dominic

Mike was extremely thorough as all the previous reviews imply. He went through every piece of home that he could access and did not rush through any of it. Hi went up on his ladder and got a look at the roof, which many inspectors will not do. He also inspected a shed out back which was above and beyond what he promised. I highly recommend Mike and J May home inspections.

Michael was on time and conducted a roof to basement inspection of the home. I was very impressed with the depth of his knowledge. He later sent me a very complete 16 page report. I highly recommend him.

I had to apologize to Michael that it literally took me almost 2 years to write this review. Michael was a fantastic home inspector. He showed up early to the appointment, and took his time to inspect the whole house. He was able to find out some hidden problems of the house, and we were able to ask the previous owner to fix the problems. His report was thorough, and he was always available to answer any questions. Overall, I will not hire another inspector other than Michael in the future. I will highly recommend to my friends and families.

I have bought several homes over the years...so I am not new at this. With every house, I have hired a home inspector...some good, some OK, and one that was terrible. Mike Atwell performed the best and most thorough inspection of anyone that I have ever hired. He showed up early and stayed a total of five hours. Yes, that's correct...five hours! He went through every system and took detailed notes. He explained everything with no drama...just straight talk with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I would recommend Mike to anyone who wants to make sure their biggest investment is a smart one.

I called Mike and left a message earlier today explaining that i wanted a building inspector to come to my house to inspect some recent cracks in our foundation; in my message, I pointed out that this was not a buy/sell home inspection, so I was hoping to have someone who would charge by the hour.He called me back the same day, and asked me more detailed questions about my problem; he then recommended that I contact a structural engineer instead, and gave me two names as suggestions. I was grateful that he gave me this advice because he could have just as easily come to my house and charged me several hundred dollars just to tell me the same thing.

Mike was early, extremely thorough, thoughtful, professional. The quality of his written report was outstanding and helpful. He was far superior and more knowledgable than another inspector I had used on another occassion.

If you want a quick, down-and-dirty home inspection so you can rest assured there are no major defects -- look elsewhere. But if, like me, you want to get a real handle on the home you're buying, its systems, and how to take care of it all, Mike Atwell of J. May Home Inspections is your man. Mike spent three hours walking me through the house and covering everything from the roof to the basement floor. Now I'm ready not only to sign the P&S, but to truly take ownership, already having a list of what I can do proactively to help protect my investment, and knowing what to look for in the years ahead in terms of signs that my home needs some TLC. Mike is able to put things in plain speak for someone like me who's moving from a new-construction condo into a 1958 single family (and is therefore clueless). But I suspect that even if you're an accomplished DIYer, you'll find him knowledgeable and informative. He followed up with an incredibly detailed report that was not for the faint-of-heart, and may have sent a first-time home buyer heading for the hills (or at least a nice, new townhouse someplace). But I appreciate being aware of all the issues and imperfections, so that I've been able to decide what to put on my to-do list and what I can live with. For me, it was three hours incredibly well spent. And for the amount of time Mike put into the inspection itself, and a report that must have taken a good chunk of time to write -- I think it was a bargain as well. Post-inspection, Mike has also been responsive and helpful, providing recommendations for the other professionals I need.

Mike Atwell did an amazing job and is by the best home inspector I have ever used. He was extremely thorough, detail oriented and explained in concise terms what the issues are and how to remedy the issues. The e-mailed report I received the next day had a huge amount of details along with explainations how to fix the issues. I would highly recommend him to anyone who wants to get the best home inspector.

Best $250 we ever spent on our house. Trade contractors have an incentive for you to use their solution. Mike provided unbiased advice based on what appears to be a career of experience.

Mike Atwell was fantastic - thorough but not alarmist. Highly recommend him.

Mike showed up early and was already underway, walking around the property with a pair of binoculars when we arrived. He had already made observations and shared them with us clearly. He was extremely receptive to questions and helped us to brain-storm through how we might respond to the builder-seller on a few areas of concern. One might think there is little for an inspector to do on new construction, but Mike had plenty to say, all of it helpful. He spent over half an hour taking us on a 'tour' of the newly-installed heating-cooling system in the basement and gave us language and key points to use in negotiating with the seller-builder in the P&S. He also helped us to select flooring for the basement based on how various surfaces might work in that specific environment given our expected usage patterns. In addition to being a walking encyclopedia of information about all things housing, Mike is pleasant to be around, eager to teach and help in any way he can. I would not hesitate to recommend him.

Mike was on time. He gave us a brief rundown of what he was going to inspect and what was not included. He let us walk around with him as we wanted to. In the end we let him inspect an area and then we sat down to go over his findings and then he moved onto the next area. We felt his inspection was very thorough. He emailed us a short report the next day and a full report arrived a few days latter. The two reports provided us with a short list to go back to the seller of items that needed fixing as well as a list of items that we need to fix once we take ownership.

Finding a knowledgeable, respected home inspector who is available in a tight timeframe due to home purchase deadlines can be tough. Within an hour of leaving Mike Atwell a message about his availability to conduct our home inspection, he called back and asked detailed questions in advance so he could prepare for the inspection. We were purchasing an older home and had a lot of concerns since we were moving from a condo in the city. Mike was already inspecting the exterior of the home when we arrived a few minutes early the day of the inspection. The home had a previous offer which fell through, so the home had already been inspected shortly before we put our offer in. Although we did not see a copy of the previous inspection, the broker gave us a general sense of the items that came up. I think both the sellers and the broker were surprised at how thorough Mike was--he found asbestos in small spaces in the basement, which was overlooked by the previous inspector. He also found some key issues with the plumbing and new electrical work that was not up to code. Buying an older home, we knew there would be some issues that we would have to address with the broker, and after Mike's thorough 5 HOUR inspection, we felt reassured that although there were some concerns, it was a sound, safe and lovely home that with a little TLC, will be a gem. Without Mike's expert findings, report and knowledge about older homes, we may not have purchased the home. He is a true inspection connoisseur and I would highly recommend him.

Our home inspection went as smoothly as possible! Mike was so thorough and explained absolutely everything in terms we could understand. He had a detailed email to us in a day and a great detailed report mailed to us just a couple days after that. A couple of minor issues with the house came up. I emailed Mike a couple times to ask him more questions about these issues and he always got back to me so quick with such detailed responses. We will without a doubt use Mike in the future as needed and recommend him to everyone we know!

Mike Atwell came to the rescue and acted as an independent inspector of our new home. We wanted to find a real professional so we could avoid any friction between the builder and ourselves. Mike conducted an extremely thorough, professional inspection, highlighting numerous areas that needed attention and providing recommendations for long-term monitoring of the condition of our house. I've worked construction in the past as has one of our realtors and we were all blown away by the depth of his knowledge. His work was outstanding - absolutely the an to call when you need an inspection completed!

Mike Atwell is the real deal for home inspection. He is thorough, knowledgeable, and candid. He caught a number of pre-existing issues with the house, as well as numerous oversights by the renovation contractors. He apparently has a background in homebuilding as well, and suggested relevant fixes for the issues. He went to the limits of what he could do in the house without breaking anything - checking in the attic, on the roof, under the carpet, in the fireplaces, and all around outside. Mike is up to speed on modern home construction principles and answered my questions consistently with what I know of the topic.

I'd highly recommend Mike to anyone looking for an inspector. He was extremely punctual - early, in fact - and when I had lots of questions, he stayed nearly a whole hour late beyond the time we'd estimated in order to answer them in full. Mike is very experienced and he was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the home, and was more than happy to make specific recommendations on jobs both small and large, and being clear about how pressing and severe they were (get it done ASAP, get it done in the next five years, get around to it when you can, etc.) He checked out the roof, which I understand few inspectors are willing to do anymore, explained everything from attic ventilation to the functions of each pipe and dial on the boiler. Mike not only took questions, he enthusiastically invited them, you can tell that he really values educated homeownership and is committed to doing his part to encourage homeowner education. He also had a great attitude throughout - it was four hours for a house under 1000 sqft but never boring! I learned an ENORMOUS amount from him in the course of the inspection, and now feel like I have a better understanding both of that home and of the responsibilities of homeownership in general. Is he a little more expensive than some of the others at the top of the list, yes, but when a hundred bucks is the difference between thorough analysis and thorough guidance, and a checklist-marker who doesn't want to be interrupted, it is so worth it. This guy was good enough that my realtor, who hadn't worked with him before, turned to me just about 45 minutes in and "Wow, where did you find this guy? He's terrific!" If you can book him, do!

Mike was early for the appointment that was moved twice due to the listing broker's schedule. He accommodated the schedule even while he was out of town and was in regular contact with us during his trip. He spent 3+ hours inspecting the property. First on the outside he did a lengthy review and then after he had all his notes called us to review what he saw that needed attention. He did the basements next, the attic and then the two living spaces pointing out everything in the same way and explained issues where they existed and why they were a concern and also how to address them. He mentions the small cosmetic items but doesn't dwell on them. I was impressed in that he opened and closed every door and window in addition to reviewing the structural components, mechanical systems and had tons of knowledge about every aspect of the building. His knowledge is great and he was extremely easy to talk. You can easily ask him questions and he offers advice on how to deal with even the smallest issue. In our particular case, he found some significant issues that we'd like to have addressed and felt confident that he had his facts straight I would certainly recommend him to any other members. He even gave us a home owner's manual that provides you with the information you ask of a professional.

Solid job. --Patient in answering my questions. --Friendly yet professional. --Knew the systems very well. --Gave me a good idea about which issues were big and which were small/minor. --Report was timely: email report within 24 hours with a mailed paper report within a week. --Very responsive during the busy home buying season (after 2 other places failed to even call me back).

Mike was hands down one of the best, most thorough home inspectors we've ever worked with. He pored over the house we put an offer on, finding all sorts of red flags a less qualified inspector would have easily missed. He was a great resource as well, providing us with the name of a reputable structural engineer when we needed to assess aspects of the home beyond his expertise, as well as another inspector (when we backed out of house #1 per Mike's report and put an offer on house #2) A very very good experience overall! p.s. Don't quote me on the cost- it was a few months ago, so I'm guessing!

Mike Atwell performed a thorough, complete inspection in a superior, professional manner.

Mike showed up promptly was friendly, informative and patiently explained all I needed to know. He was efficient and a good communicator.

Mike was easy to schedule with, and was upfront about what the service covered and what it didn't, and also when to expect reports. He also respects that fact that you as the potential buyer may not want inspection details discussed in front of the seller or their agent (I didn't have this issue, but its good to know it was an option). He impressed us with his thoroughness. Most inspectors spend a few hour covering the highlights; Mike immersed himself into the details of the construction (in all pertinent areas: basement, roof, electricals, plumbing) and uncovered several minor issues that were addressed on site. His recommendations for corrections, repairs and fixes were appreciated, and the builder has since complied with most of them. in addition to the 'snapshot' of the current house, Mike also provided us details on potential problem areas in the first few years (gutter design, attic insulation, HVAC, roof design) and beyond. Almost 5 hours into the inspection, the construction supervisor remarked how he didn't usually meet an inspector this thorough and current on his codes. We received our report the next day, and a more comprehensive one the day after in the mail. He is personable, knowledgeable and extremely patient in his explanations. I would not hesitate to use Mike's services again, and would heartily recommend him for any inspection requirements.

He gave me good information as to what to ask for the inspection. I wound up not buying the house. He juggled his schedule to make time for me.