Housemaster

HouseMaster's home/WDI inspector failed to identify a serious termite infestation that we didn't discover on our own till a couple days after the closing. A previous inspection for another potential buyer had identified the infestation and recommended treatment but the seller and her agent failed to disclose this information to us and we are now in costly litigation. Housemasters, #1 Choice Real Estate and the agent, Joe Kandala, all refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Home Buyer Beware! And seller's too. Who wants to hire an agent who will help you do something unethical you will pay the consequences for later? And don't just rely on your buyers agent for recommendations as we did either. Do your own research. I sure wish we had as we the cost of that substandard service is mounting way beyond the inspection fees.

Our Inspector from Housemasters was named Scott. He is a wonderful person, genuinely professional, polite, and thorough. We hired Housemasters to inspect the house we were buying, because the buyers of our prior home hired them, we met Scott at the inspection, and thought very highly of him. We requested him for our new home. He was wonderful, no complaints! HOWEVER...ands far as the company, we paid $510 for the inspection the day of inspection. Check was cashed 3 days later. THEN 3 months later we receive collection notices from Housemasters stating we need to pay our bill since it hadn't been paid at closing. Once again, we already paid, check was cashed/deposited by Housemasters. We called several times with proof we paid, and had bank statements showing it was paid/deposited the week of inspection, with no response. When someone did finally return our call, it was looked into and they admitted they did receive payment. Our concern is that some people would have paid a second time, upon receiving the collection notice/bill. The notice was even handwritten note on it stating we didn't pay. This is a concern and even though it was corrected it was startling to receive a letter like that. Very unorganized company as far as billing/payments. Use caution!

I needed an inspection done quickly to satisfy the buyer prior to selling my house . Scott was prompt, professional, and very knowledgeable. He explained every point in his report to my satisfaction. He provided a list of qualified EIFS contractors (not associated with HouseMaster) and returned on VERY short notice to re-inspect the work performed. During a tense time for me, he went out of his way to re-assure the buyer that the contractor (with whom he had no connection) had done a good job. His final report satisfied the buyer and the sale went through without a hitch.

We heard from someone else that they had come in and done an energy audit for them and told them things they could fix to make it more energy efficient. We did that also. They were helpful. We did do some extra insulating and things like that. They come out and do the testing and then if you choose to do what they told you to do they will come back out and retest your house to make sure it is more energy efficient.

Inspector showed up on time and was very thorough. Found all issues that existed and was very personable during the inspection. Very pleased. If I ever buy another house in Pittsburgh I will be sure to use them again.

If I wrote this review immediately after it was done I would of had no complaints. After being in the home several months some smaller issues popped up that I would like to think they should have caught. Luckily, they didn't let anything major slip through the cracks.

Completed the home inspection and missed multiple items. The worst of all was understating the water intrusion in the basement, which was rated as fair. Within a week of the inspection the foundation was leaking water into the basement. Upon talking to them, they indicated that they did indicate that there was some previous water intrusion and essentially used that as their get out of jail free card. They clearly know how to defend themselves by conveniently using the word "may" in every statement of their report. Such an obvious 'CYA' move. When I received the equivalent of a 'too F-ing bad' letter, the included a Giant Eagle gift card with it. Not sure if they thought $25 in food was going to make up for the thousands I spent addressing the foundation issue which I could have asked to seller to cover). One word = FAIL. You are better off doing it yourself.

The home inspector gave a detailed report which highlighted several items that needed repaired. However, two weeks after moving in during a heavy rainstorm we noticed very substantial water leak in the basement. Water was actually pouring through the glass block window vent. The roof also leaked. I contacted housemaster and they offered a whopping $50 home depot gift card for my troubles. I ended up spending $1,000 on new gutters and fascia. Today, 10-29-13 I had a HVAC technician at my house who informed me that my furnace is producing 15ppm of carbon monoxide. It made my wife and I sick. The HVAC technician stated that this should have been caught during the home warranty. This repair will cost $1250. I would never, ever again use Housemaster or refer any friends OR enemies to this company. I am completely dissatisfied and I have notified my realtor in hopes that he never recommends them to unsuspecting home buyers again. Mark Stanko

Two man team did a very thorough job. Arrived on time Very nice and professional. Answered all questions. Provided thorough information as they worked. Would definitely recommend.

I called the company to say I was unhappy with the carpet being pulled up without our knowledge and I have never heard anything back from them. We just received verification that there is NO mold but those buyers have recinded the contract thanks to Housemaster's poor work. I don't know about all their inspectors but this particular inspector obviously doesn't know what he's doing and he cost us a potential buyer and the cost of this mold inspection.

The inspector was very knowledgeable and pointed out what needed to be fixed in the home, and what might require future attention. He explained everything he saw as he went through the house. Very happy with the service.

The overall experience was fantastic. It was clearly evident that the inspector had detailed knowledge in the field. He left not stone unturned on the inspection. I was able to stick my head in and see what he was seeing. In addition, the company provided a very detailed report that included photographs along with explanations. The final report was very thorough and very useful to me in making my decision. I would definitely hire them again.

My husband and I are incredibly pleased with the service we got from HouseMaster. Our inspector was Doug. We scheduled a inspection on a home we're buying/ trying to buy. I was referred to HouseMaster by my realtor and looked up the reviews here on Angies list. The lady on the phone who scheduled me was courteous, professional, and knowledgable. She answered all my questions and explained the cost for each type of inspection. ( we had to have Home, Pest, Well, Septic, and Radon for our financing) She sent me an emailed contract, and confirmed the appointment through email a few days later. The day of the inspection, Doug beat me to the house (not hard I'm pathologically late) He had already been up on the roof and was in the bushes taking pictures of the front deck when I arrived. To keep this short, Doug was pleasant, professional, courteous, knowledgeable and never once inpatient with me because I kept asking so my questions he'd forget what he was doing for a second. He was very thorough, and explained things to me as we went along. When we got our report, there were no surprises, He explained the exact defect or issue he found in a brief, concise fashion and attach photos of the problem area so we could see what he did. Furthermore their report included several very helpful informational reports, including a cost sheet for pretty much every repair or improvement you can do to a house which we have found crucial in negotiating with the seller, and has proven very accurate so far. I know that if our terms aren't met by the seller and we walk away we WILL be using HouseMaster again on the next house we put an offer on. Some people might feel that 700 is on the high end for a home inspection so I'll end with saying that in home inspections you get what you pay for. House Master and their inspector Doug went above and beyond our expectations and they earned themselves a customer for life. Thanks HouseMaster!

At first, I was very pleased with the service we received from HouseMaster. They were great when setting up the appointment. The inspector was prompt, professional, and nice. He explained everything he would write up on the report. He also explained the dangers of lead paint and how to remove the chipping paint from the window frames as our house was built in 1970. My feelings on the quality of the inspection changed once I invited my friend, a union carpenter, to the house to give us pointers on repairing some of the issues found during the inspection. We were in the master bathroom where he noticed the paint on the window was chipping at the base. He immediately commented on the amount of chipping at the base of the wood window, opened it up, touched the base and said, "the wood has rotted completely across the base! Did your inspector mention this?" The answer was no. Our friend showed us where it was rotted and we could feel it too. The wood was soft and squishy! Why did he not find this? The inspector did open every window in the house but did not mention any rotted window frames. I reviewed our report and under Master Bathroom the only item mentioned was: 14.0 SINK(S) Poor/Defective The sink in the main bathroom is leaking. Make repairs. I searched the report for Windows and nothing about rotted windows was mentioned: 11.4 WINDOWS (1) After being opened, windows fall down - hard. These are known as guillotine windows, and they can break a child's fingers. They should be repaired/replaced at this time. The effected window is located in the front bedroom. (2) Peeling paint noted at most windows. Due to the age of the home - pre 1978 - the likelihood for lead based paint exists. Lead paint issues have come back to public and political concern as assumptions that lead would diminish into the environment over time proved wrong. According to the DEP, when found, lead based paint should be sanded and sealed. All debris material should be collected and disposed of. Anyone working on lead paint should wear breathing protection. Work should be done by a qualified contractor. Yes, we received a nice report and the man was courteous. However, I rated the quality lower because I feel this should have been obvious enough to be brought to our attention. Yesterday, I checked the windows in the master bedroom and they were rotting through as well.

The whole company was very easy to work with from the lady who answered the phone and booked the appointment to Leonard the inspector. I even had to call back to make a change to the inspection and had no problem what so ever in doing so. In fact, I actually received a call back from the local office letting me know she received my message.

Excellent! Bob inspected the house from basement to roof, answering questions (from the buyer and seller) the entire time. Very professional, courteous and friendly. I have never seen a more detailed home inspection report! I will use this company again.

I was very pleased. He was very thorough and answered all of my questions, no matter how silly. He was also very patient. He also explained what he was doing as he went along; he made sure to tell me why he was doing what he was doing and what he was finding. I thought he was very friendly and good natured.

Leonard from Housemaster was the most professional person I think I ever met as a contractor. He not only has 24 years experience but is a people person and communicated very well and was extremely friendly. He has a way of explaining something that is the most technical, down to layman's terms that anyone could understand. I was extremely pleased with his service and the services Housemaster provided. I am a property investor myself. With my training, I found many things wrong with this one property. He not only found the same issues but MANY more. The seller was trying to cut so many corners by doing his own repairs that the home is no longer safe! We ended up not buying the home because of all the issues! Well worth the cost to discover the money pit that we would have bought! Thank you HouseMaster and Thank you Leonard!!!

Inspector took his time and showed us everything that he saw. He went into great detail describing everything. Very good experience.

Geoffrey Hanks was my inspector. He was very personable and detailed. The weather was horrible there was a ton of snow but he still did his best to look at the outside of the house. He assured me that he would be back at no extra charge when the weather subsided to finish the outside.

Inspector was on time and very courteous. He took my husband and I through the entire property, answered all of our questions and was very honest. This was an invaluable experience and I would highly recommend this company. The office staff and the inspector went above and beyond to accommodate us when our property had problems with the electrical and our initial appointment had to be delayed. Overall, a great experience and I learned a lot!

Brain did the work that he was suppose to, but there were problems with communication.

Was well worth the money. Was easy to get a hold of someone at the office to set the appointment and Kim was very friendly and helpful. The inspector showed up right on time and was very thorough and took the time to answer any questions we had.

This inspection saved me from buying the house. It would have been a mistake to buy this house, this company showed me all the things wrong with the house. I am glad that I hired him.

Scott Brown is professional, efficient, pleasant and thorough. Excellent inspection.