HOUSE 2 HOME INSPECTIONS

As a prospective homebuyer, I quickly became aware of the many steps and hoops I had to jump through to buy my first house. Frankly, it became pretty hectic learning all I had to learn as well as talking to all the people I had to meet. My realtor initially arranged for Joe Abate from House 2 Home Inspections to conduct the home inspection in November 2012. As I had no experience in this area, I went with my realtor's recommendation. I am extremely happy I did. Joe met with myself and my realtor at the house we had put an offer on. He was professional, personable, and even arrived a bit early. Again, as a new prospective homebuyer, I did not know what to expect AND I had a ton of questions. Joe was very thorough in checking every aspect of the house, interiorly and exteriorly, taking digital photographs when necessary. (I am not going to list the many things Joe checked, as the list would be SO long!) The most impressive thing, though, is aside from his attention to detail, Joe entertained and answered all of my questions and concerns. Joe pointed out not only the things that needed attention, but also showed me what things were of good repair or quality. Joe even gave me a heavy duty flashlight and encouraged me to accompany him into the crawlspace. All-in-all, Joe spent 3 hours evaluating and diagnosing the house from top to bottom. As it was late afternoon when the inspection was complete, Joe said he would probably not be able to send me the complete report till the next day. However, Joe was able to email my realtor and I the report later that night! And what a report it was: a very professional 36-page PDF document which included bookmarks/table of contents, superb formatting and organization of each area(s) inspected with the recommendations, and easily readable text and phrasing, especially to the uninformed like me. It was also helpful to see that Joe included the aforementioned digital photographs in the document, which allowed me to remember what we had actually discussed during the inspection. Joe's professionalism did not end after the home inspection. Six months later (May 2013) , I was now the owner of the house, and now had some concerns that I developed after living in the house for six months. I contacted Joe by phone, explained to him my feelings, and Joe was very amenable to coming back out to my house to walk through and reexamine. Joe returned to my house (again on time) and spent another two hours at my house, which not only reinforced his original assesment but also verified and/or ruled out my concerns. Joe was again professional and showed the same amount of attention to detail as he did six months prior. I should mention Joe did this follow up free of charge. Currently, I am having my house assessed for a specific issue which may require a specific type of contractor. To make a long story short, this specific type of contractor (whom I found on Angie's List) first said I did not need remediation, then later changed his tune and recommended $5000 worth of work after it was clear that his services were not necessary. This ultimately led to a trust issue. I contacted Joe, explained the situation, and he is currently reviewing that contractor's assessment. Through the homebuying process to now homeowning, I've been in some different situations that require contacting many different people - some of whom are trustworthy and some of which are not. I have found that Joe is one of the few people in the industry that I can completely trust. He is honest, professional, and a pleasure to work with. I could not recommend him anymore highly!