JD GREWELL & ASSOCIATES INC

Fantastic job! Sean was very thorough and checked every single thing in the home. He provided a 74 page report including photos of all of the items that needed to be addressed. I recommend Sean to anyone who is looking for a great home inspector.

The price was a little bit on the higher side, but he is well-renowned in the area.

Was referred to JD by many other inspector for our home inspection. Scheduling was easy and JD explained to me what he will inspect on the phone. I was informed that he will come with another inspector. Both showed up on time and they started right away. The inspection took over 3 h because of the size of our home. Afterwards he showed to me everything they found. The report was emailed to me the next day and was very detailed. The report was in a digital form with pictures. Would use JD again for any of my upcoming home inspections.

He is great. It went well and was very informative. I have used him on all of my properties.

JD Grewell claims to have had a lot of notable clients on his client list. However, I can only speak to my first hand experience. First, he quoted me an hourly price for a given time period. However, he brought another individual with him, and at the end of the inspection, attempted to charge me twice as much, saying that the price quote was an hourly rate. He only refunded $200 to me after several phone calls after the fact, and I was still overcharged hundreds of dollars. The inspection report was three pages long, hand written, with a number of accurate but relatively small items on it, as well as a number of innacurate items. For example, he said my thermostats did not have emergency heat capability, which was not true. There were a number of rug fragments in the basement that he did not bother to move. I moved them several weeks later to clean up, only to notice large foundation cracks which he failed to notice. Some things he didn't catch: the doors are cut too small, one of the doors doesn't close properly because the door frame was installed incorrectly, there was air leaking into the basement from a poor seal, the central humidifier system didn't work, and the master bath floor is extremely uneven with many jagged pieces. In other houses I have purchased, the inspectors provided me with large books with detailed checklists, photographs, and explanations of how to care for my home and systems. JD provided none of these things. Just a three page, hand written report with relatively minor accurate and innacurate items, which he attempted to charge me significantly more than his competitors. Iand quot;m not sure why he has several and quot;Aand quot; ratings, my guess is that this reflects a lot of first time homebuyers who don't have a frame of reference for the quality they should be getting with a home inspection.

While the inspection and report seemed to be thorough, JD Griswell did his best to ignore me during the 3-hr inspection process. I found this quite frustrating as I

JD and Sean were very professional and knowledgeable!! They arrived before the appointment time working on the outside. He didn't rush through the inspection! (big plus!!!) He checked the house from top to bottom. We are extremely satisfied with the job they performed. They answered all of our questions. He found aluminum wires which come to find out, not every home inspector would have caught that deficiency. JD's secretary (can't remember her name, sorry) is also very courteous and professional! JD is worth every penny!!!! I would definitely recommend and hire him again. :D

Contacted his office to inquire about the inspection of a home on which we have a contract to purchase. Receptionist was very helpful in informing me about availability of the inspectors for the time period in which I was interested. Once I was able to confirm the date with the selling agent, I called back and was told who would be coming to do the inspection (JD himself) and tips for having a good experience. She then let me speak to JD about the property and ask him any questions. On the day of the inspection he and an associate, Sean Troxell, were early and had already completed the outside inspection. He promptly pointed out issues that would need to be addressed. He then spent the next 2.5 hours checking all systems: plumbing, electrical, central heating, central cooling, roof, walls, ceilings and floors, foundation and basement, and major appliances. Once he had completed the inspection, as others have noted, he goes back to his car and writes up the report in about one hour then explains everything to you. I really appreciate that he is candid and professional in his assessment of the property. He will not make any judgments on what he cannot support with evidence. He will give his opinion on what he thinks if asked, but only the facts are in the report. He is not haughty about his skills, unlike other inspectors who profess to be extremely knowledgeable about all homes. His experience and thoroughness speak for themselves. I called him the next day to ask some questions, and he was responsive to my requests. He charges based upon the purchase price of the home. He probably costs more than other home inspectors, but you get what you pay for.

This article describes his approach to home inspection better than I could: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/26726/this-old-grouse .

I got the recommendation from my sibling who also liked using him. He showed up on time with a clipboard. He spent 3 hours going through the house, checking appliances, walls, ceilings, floors, faucets. Running tests on bathrooms and kitches. He spent a huge amount of time in the basement looking for water issues, detecting issues because of smells. Looking at the water heater, furnace, outlets, corners, walls. He described any issue in detail. I am happy he didn't spend too much time chatting about nonsense and only about the issues that he discovered. Then he went away to write up the report and agreed to meet me in 1-2 hours for the full report. We received, in detail, all the information about every issue. I asked questions and got thorough responses.

Mr. Grewell and his assistant met my wife and I at the scheduled time for the inspection. They immediately went to work inspecting the outside of the home including the roof and crawl spaces under the home. They then proceeded to inspect the interior of the home. Overall the inspection was very concise and detailed. The inspection lasted 3 hours. Following the inspection, Mr. Grewell took the time to explain his report and was very willing to answer any questions we had. He was very professional and thorough.

Mr. Grewell and his staff were fantastic about allowing us to reschedule at least 6 times as the foreclosure bank promised to have all utilities on but delayed for over a month. We have bought 6 houses and re-habbed others(family/friends), including working with professionals for Habitat for Humanity within the last 15 years. Also both of us are mechanical engineers and are skilled DIY-ers having always bought fixer-uppers. We have have had some excellent inspectors and a couple lousy ones. So we realize that an experienced home inspector is vital and hopefully between all of us, the "real house" will stand out. Mr Grewell was punctual and had required equipment for a full inspection, including a ladder for high spaces and the attic crawl space. He checked outdoor items such as caulking, foundation, siding and soffits, visual inspection of the roof. I was right with him the entire time, but he said nearly nothing. I am used to inspectors talking non stop as they look at everything. I don't at all feel he missed anything though. I did have to ask specific questions to follow what he was evaluating. He pointed out that the deck does not meet current specs but is okay since it was built in the time period of the house. Good catch knowing old code vs. current building code. Inside, the basement tells the story, and he did a great job crawling into tight spaces,checking moisture levels, examining piping and studying the interior of the breaker box, pointing out some home-done wiring, Pointing out a totally enclosed sump pump that we did not even realize was there! As a note, he is not a certified mold inspector, so he recommended that if we had any questions in that area, that we should get a mold inspector. Also the HVAC would not work, so he recommended having an HVAC contractor check the system. The rest of the inspection was the main and upper floors. He tried all plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets and GFCIs as available, warning us that some electrical problems may also exist. Then he started running up and down the steps, and we had no idea of what he was inspecting in that way. As I mentioned earlier, he was rather silent on what he was studying at the time, but I knew he had his own methods. At the end, he produced a checklist several pages long, which addressed what he had evaluated in the house. Basically it told us if items were acceptable, needed attention or were unacceptable, needing immediate fixing. He did go through the sheets quickly, which would have been okay if he had been telling us all along what he was thinking. We were pleased with his report, reaffirming some of our own opinions and giving quality info about other items we had not considered. He gave us an overall estimate of how much he thought it would take to bring the house to good condition. I believe he was considering both equipment and labor, especially since major systems like the HVAC soon needed replacement and the roof appeared near the end of its life. We agreed that the number was probably accurate and knew we'd handle the DIY stuff ourselves. I am really glad he did not do the fancy printed, glossy-photo-ed report. For us, we'd rather not have the time and paper wasted on producing a document we'd pretty much committed to mind already. Usually we never bring out those bulky reports to check anything. Ok--the following item is also an item that our real estate agent and we see if the inspector catches (We have worked with her before and she's smart as a whip, so we joke about this challenge). Mr. Grewell did not specifically say the sprinkler heads were out of code. The new ones are easy to spot, and ugh, expensive to have replaced. He did, though, mention checking the sprinkler valve in the basement. Overall I think he did a thorough job, but I would recommend he be more vocal about what he spots, good or bad, as you are going through the house. He knows his stuff and deserves his reputation. The only reason I gave the B was comparing the ongoing communication versus excellent inspectors we have used for houses (even historic houses) in the past. I feel a first time home buyer might not get everything out of the inspection they need. He does emphasize to call with any questions, so I think he's doing a good job.

I checked Angie's list, then heard from other sources that he is the best in the business. I know that consumer affairs of Montgomery county has high regard for him. My husband and I had multiple recommendations when his name came up and seems to be the one lawyers and real estate agents use for their homes when they need the highest level of expertise. He was extremely helpful at explaining what problems existed, their causes and possible remedies. Outside of numerous problems with the house which were obvious, there were structural and dampness problems not readily apparent,as well as improperly done construction of an addition and insect damage. This guy is really the god of home inspectors, in my opinion. We have had several home inspections done in the past by other home inspectors, one of whom is well rated on this list, and there was no comparison in quality. He is not cheap, but I think for a home purchase, I want to know what I am getting into and it is not the time to skimp. My husband and I think of J D Grewell as being in a class of his own. He is brilliant, honest, and astonishingly knowledgeable.

we chose to deepen the window wells and line them better and we have no more moisture the basement all this was prior to the huge snow storms- so we are extremely grateful

Mr. Grewell arrived on time and was very polite and patient as he took me around my house and identified lots of issues that needed to be addressed. He provided a thorough explanation for all items that he identified and rough estimates for how much each repair or enhancement would cost. I came away knowing SO much more about my house. He is very good and thus you need to schedule him at least a couple weeks in advance. For the current home that we are purchasing, I had to use a different home inspector due to short timeframe requirements. He was about half the price of Mr. Grewell but I would have preferred to pay more to Mr. Grewell given the high quality of home inspection that he provides.

JD Grewell has been assisting us with a long term project. Our interactions with JD Grewell have been positive. He is well respected in his profession.

The office is very responsive and friendly over the phone, Mr Grewell was available and flexible in meeting me. He arrived punctually and went over the house in good detail. He does not produce an electronic report, which some realtors and loan agents prefer. I did purchase the house and have found that his evaluation of the items likely to need attention has been accurate and so far complete. He did advise me to seek an estimate on several items in particular and the estimates were far higher than his ballpark figures, but his figures were issued with a fair disclaimer. Overall it was a good experience but if I had a future home inspection to do I would prefer an electronic report with photos and more education about the construction and home systems from the inspector as he progressed. Mr Grewell is very experienced about homes and homes in DC and I feel I got fair value for my money.

After using Angie's list to identify an inspector, I called this company. It was very easy to set up an appointment. The receptionist was very pleasant. I was able to get an appointment in the same week. Mr. Grewell was punctual, very knowledgeable and took time to explain to me what he was looking for and what issues I might want to pay attention to and repair. He also provided several recommendations for contractors that I should research. I definitely recommend.

A pro - through and through. Will not steer you wrong.

I was out of town and could not be present for the inspection. JD answered the phone personally and discussed his service and we spoke about how things would proceed as we could not be present. He was very helpful. The day of the inspection, he was present before our realtor and representative arrived. On the inspection, my representative went along and performed all of the crawling and climbing with JD. Throughout, he offered commentary on the cost and expected time that repairs would need to be accomplished. He finished with a written report. This took approximately three hours for a 3200 square foot home. After, he took time to explain details with me by telephone. He was very helpful and patient.

Very well. I know I need specific work done but wanted an independent review from an unbiased person so I would be better informed to deal with contractors. Mr. Grewell did a very good job reviewing my areas of concern and advising me on possible solutions. In addition to his review of my specific areas of concern, he also pointed out several potential electrical problems in attic of which I was unaware.

The inspection was performed in a thorough manner. He arrived promptly and inspected the inside and outside of the property while explaining everything during the process. He was very well versed in the building codes and the recent changes to the codes. A written report was delivered at the end as promised.

After listening to my over-the-phone description of the problems, Mr. Grewell advised me to consult a structural engineer. He could have given me the same advice after coming to the house and charging me several hundred dollars, and I appreciate the integrity he demonstrated by not doing that. He even gave me a list of structural engineers that he trusts.

The company was very flexible in setting up the inspection; we had to reschedule several times based on the purchase negotiations. The inspection was complete; all systems reported on. Because we were concurrently evaluating features of the house ourselves (e.g., potential water damage), we did not regularly follow Mr. Grewell as he evaluated each component; that was an error on our part. During the overall system review, we found it a bit difficult to get clear assessments of some systems (communication was somewhat curt and abridged at times), but the written report provided additional, detailed information. Later, during home purchase negotiations, we were asked to provide details of specific damaged windows (we were provided only a general assessment of many units (had problems)) Mr. Grewell offered to provide the detail for an additional $200, which we declined. Because of the higher than average cost of the original service, we would not use the service again.

Mr. Grewell was punctual and delivered a detailed report on how I got my water damage problem. He estimated how much it would cost to fix the problem. I called him to ask questions about his written report, and he answered with useful information.