Ashburn Inspections, LLC

How'd it go? A very good question. Mr. Ashburn was very energetic and knowledgable, and covered the house in question very thoroughly. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and appropriately to a gas leak inside the house, that was not noticed when we toured the same house with our realtor. The house was ventilated, the listing agent notified, and that agent notified the seller, who called the gas company to shut off the gas until repairs were made. Mr. Ashbury provided meter readings and photographs to illustrate his findings, and had a ready recommendation for each item found. We were able to decide whether to or not to buy this property based on the report.

Mike is one of the best home inspectors I ever met. He did a thorough job on inspecting all areas of the home, while providing me a detailed report on every room and all important element in a home. Roof, heating and cooling, electrical, plumbing...you name it, Mike inspected it. He was completely professional at all times. I would def use him again if I ever decided to buy another home. Excellent!

Punctual, professional and thorough. Personable and willing to explain anything we didn't understand. Happy to prioritise anything we had a particular question about. Spent time doing the job well. Drew up a thorough, easy to understand report with accompanying photographs. Available for follow up questions and to come back to finish things which couldn't be properly checked. Instant response to emailed follow up question followed immediately by extra paperwork requested. We will be using him again if we ever need a survey done. Would recommend highly. On the higher end in terms of cost but you get what you pay for and we feel that he found a fault with our potential property which would have been a serious hazard to health and would not have been detected with a less thorough inspection.

I hired Ashburn Inspections to look at a property I am purchasing. Mike was able to fit me in within one week of the initial call. The home inspection went well and I felt the work was thorough. Mike went up on the roof and into the attic spaces and was able to point out things to me as he went through the inspection process. He also was able to point out the age of major systems and was knowledgeable on the original manufactures. He also gave me many recommendations on how to best take care of many small items that were discovered. This included links to web sites were I could obtain additional information and help if I desired. One thing I liked about Mike was that he was very honest with his opinions. I have an engineering background and I felt that Mike gave honest and straightforward critique of anything that was found. He did not blow anything out of proportion and made sure that I fully understood the issues. I would not hesitate to recommend Ashburn Inspections to anyone looking for this service.

His services were great. I used his inspection as a guideline for what needed to be repaired for the property that I bought. It helped me prioritize what I needed to fix in order to get the house up to standards. The second house I will not be buying. He found a lot of problems and I respected his opinion and the findings in the report (pictures, descriptions, etc) to not by the property. Michael tells it like it is...and that's what you need from your inspector.

It was great! Sarah was really enthusiastic about her job, diving into crawlspaces at a moment's notice to ferret out any flaws in the house. She even found a crack in a support beam that no one else had noticed and ndash; which saved us $5,000 on the cost of the house.

Michael arrived early to the inspection and was very friendly and thorough. He walked through all aspects of the house explaining things I would need to know as the potential future homeowner and kept my best interests in mind at all times. It was clear that he was very knowledgeable regarding all aspects of the house. He examined the house from top to bottom....from the roof to the foundation and took many pictures as well. I received a very detailed and easy to understand report the very same day.

Michael is an amazing house inspector. He looks into every single nook and cranny, crawls through the crawls spaces, leaves no stone unturned. He takes extensive photographs and does things like make thermal maps of the property to show where energy is being lost which he compiles into a very thorough report on the property in question. Can not recommend him highly enough.

I called to see if perhaps there was a mis communication. No response.

From start to finish, everything went great. Ashburn Inspection has the tools and resources to get the job done.

We have used him before and were no less than thrilled, so we used his services again. He was early-again and very professional. He alerted me to a number of safety concerns and then helped me prioritize each job because the list was daunting. He answered each of my questions honestly and thoroughly. Again, he gave me the name of contractors who are well-rated for the repairs. One of the concerns was over a gas meter which I was able to have shut off that day because of his attention to detail. He also let me know that the water should be shut off until a leak could be fixed. However, the best thing he did was give me really good advice to mitigate liability with buying a home. The safety of the house could have been compromised had I used anyone else. His services saved us thousands. Michael is smart and honest and really knows his stuff. I would never use another home inspector. This guy is the best!

Michael was great. Provided a detailed walk through with us and pointed out things that we would have never thought to look at. He provided a detailed report with photos and comment 12 hours after we were done allowing for a quick renegotiation with the sellers! I would use him again and would recommend him for pre-inspection as well.

We would happily recommend Michal Ashburn to anyone who is looking for an inspector. We had Michael inspect two houses for us this year. We cannot thank him enough for his services. The first house we had inspected looked like an amazing deal. Michael spent several hours looking at the house and pointed out some HUGE problems with them home that we would have otherwise missed. He had no problem climbing on the roof and crawling in the attic. If it was not for this thoroughness, we would have purchased an absolute disaster. Michael was just as professional with the second home that we had him inspect. He arrived on time and went through every detail of the home with us. This is our first home purchase, so there are a lot of ins and outs of a home that we did not fully understand. Michael spent a lot of time explaining why certain things are problems and gave us pointers on how we could fix them ourselves and make the home more efficient. The inspection report that Michael crafted for us was incredibly detailed and impressive. When we had to reply to the sellers, Michael’s pictures and descriptions made it easy for us to explain the items that we wanted the sellers to fix. We would recommend Michael to anyone who needs their home inspected, especially first time home buyers.

Michael is awesome. He did a very thorough job and pointed/explained a lot of stuff to me that I would have completely missed. Thanks to him I was made aware of many issues in the home and able to have the seller remedy them prior to close. His price is higher than most, but you pay for what you get. The issues he found saved me more money in the long run. He was also able to turn the report around at lighting speed (6 hours or so).

Michael arrived promptly - we had set up an appointment for 10:30 AM on a Sunday (pretty early if you ask me). He told us he would arrive around 10 AM, so we told him we could get there a little earlier if that was more convenient. We arrived at 9:55 AM, and he had already obviously set up shop, and been there for a while! Talk about great, prompt service! He then talked us through the whole process of inspection, which, in this and quot;very smalland quot; row house, could have probably been a 30 minute process with a less thorough, patient, helpful person. Instead, he let us roam the whole house with him, going blow by blow through every minute detail, and letting us ask any question that occurred to us. He was very amiable and capable, working well with our exacting parents and inlaws, who happened to be in town for the day, and who asked many questions. Michael was professional at all times, and clearly stated what he could and could not recommend to us based on his experience and training. He was willing to give his own personal opinion as well, when we asked him for honest feedback. As first-time homebuyers, this was incredibly valuable. I would recommend Michael Ashburn and his associates in a heartbeat. This guy has been working in contracting for years. He was able to recommend a variety of services and products to us when we asked what we would need to personally fix some of the issues, with options at every price range. He included ideas on ways to and quot;bandaidand quot; problems, versus fully fixing issues that came up, and was able to prioritize the problems that were identified.

We could not have asked for more in a home inspector. He was on time, prompt, polite, very detailed, and the price was right.

He was on time, thorough, friendly, and helpful. The final report was well done, and he provided good advice. I wouldn't think twice about recommending him to anyone.

Michael covered every square inch of my house and walked me through the entire process prior to the start of the inspection. It was a remarkable experience for which I am truly grateful. Prior to the inspection, I had some concerns about possible mold growth in the basement due to a previous water leak. Michael not only eased my mind upon inspecting the area but also refused to charge me for a test he felt was going to deliver negative results. He is as honest as they come and a true breath of fresh air!

Hiring Michael was the best decision we could have made! He looks like a member of Weezer but would put Mike Holmes to shame. He is super smart, pragmatic, honest, funny and went over the house with a fine-tooth comb. What else would you want in an inspector? He was great because he gave us the inside scoop and never tried to sell us services that we didn't need. He answered dozens of my annoying questions and gave us the names of workers he trusts(that is all we need-this guy is the real deal.) He has an amazing wealth of information on building science and conveys it in an understandable manner. We instantly liked Michael and he was about 20 minutes early in terrible traffic. He even took cool photos of the view of the house with thermal imaging. We would hire him again in second. This may have been the best experience we have ever had with any service person-ever. It was a perfect experience.

I dealt with Michael as the seller of a house he inspected. Subsequent to Michael’s inspection, our buyers decided to back out of the deal believing there were many thousands of dollars worth of repairs required to my house. This is a house built in 2004 that has been maintained very well and is in excellent condition. Upon reviewing Michael’s report I found there were several areas that appeared to be either misstated or absolutely incorrect that would easily lead a potential buyer to believe the condition of the house was much worse than it actually is. Michael’s review of the roof included details of the damage many Pittsburgh homes experienced during the hail storms in March of 2011. “Due to the hails [sic] storms of 3/2011, the owner should be consulted to determine if the roof was evaluated. If not, it should be so to ensure no hail damages [sic] are present.” Michael was made well aware of the fact that the roof was replaced in March of 2012. During the inspection my wife provided Michael with the documentation to support this fact. When I asked Michael why he had included details regarding a hail storm that occurred one year prior to the roof being replaced and what relevancy those details may have, his response was “I had no idea you had your roof rpelced.” [sic] Obviously honesty is not a strong point with Michael. Not only did he have an “idea”, he had access to, and was presented with the paperwork to demonstrate the roof was indeed replaced. He even asked my wife who the manufacturer was of the new shingles at which point she called me. I told her that there was an unopened bundle of shingles in the garage which she showed to Michael. No idea Michael? Really? Michael continued with a comment about the roof wear. “Further Evaluation / Monitor: The roofing is serviceable condition, with different areas wearing at different rates. The sides of the roof exposed to most sunlight wear more quickly than more shaded areas.” Why is this statement part of the inspection? The roof is new so there is no wear at this point. Nor does this general statement make any kind of observation regarding the actual roof on my house. Since it is labeled for further evaluation, the uneducated reader may think the roof needs to be evaluated for wear. I suspect he was just using a boiler-plate statement he found in the inspector’s handbook. Michael then made a statement regarding the roofing technique used in the roof valleys. ”The design of the roofing system at its valleys is such that several vulnerable areas exist. There is a higher potential for leaks.” When asked to specify what data or experience Michael had to support this claim, he had nothing. He had no personal experience with a valley installation like mine leaking, nor did he have any industry data supporting his statement. He said that he made this statement because the installation was “unusual”. I asked if it necessarily followed that because an installation was in his opinion “unusual”, it would have a higher risk of failure? He would not respond. I also told him that our insurance company mandated that the roof be inspected upon its completion to ensure the installation was correct. I told him I had documentation from the insurance inspector indicating the installation was satisfactory. So while an expert in roofing and roofing installations from the insurance company paying for the job gave the roof a clean bill of health, Michael’s opinion was that the roof had a higher likelihood of failure. I followed up with a roofing expert to discuss Michael’s findings. It was explained to me that the valley construction that Michael indicated was “typical” is called a and quot;half woven valleyand quot;, while the construction he indicated as “unusual” is called a and quot;Long Island cutand quot;. Comment from the roofing expert: “The Long Island Cut valley on your home has Ice and Water shield, then felt, then a layer of shingles laid diagonally across the valley, then shingles overlapping the diagonal shingles. It should provide extra protection in the valleys.” Extra protection? But Michael said this installation had a “higher potential to leak”. In my opinion making an unfounded statement like this is irresponsible, unprofessional and unethical. The prospective buyers were now of the opinion the roof was bad based on absolutely no facts. In his inspection of the furnace and AC units, Michael made identical observations. He said that “The heating/AC system requires service..” I asked him what he meant. Did the systems currently need service, or was he just making a general statement for the new owners. He replied that he was recommending “common typical maintenance” to the buyers. I responded that it did not read that way and I believe the buyers thought the furnaces and AC units were not functioning properly and required service now. Next observation: and quot;All attic doors should be weatherstripped [sic] and insulated.and quot; I explained to Michael that there weren’t multiple “doors”, there was only one door and it was already weather stripped. I continued that the door was the type that was hinged to the bedroom ceiling and the door contained an integral ladder which would preclude attaching any insulation to it. His response was “NON negotiable for all homes.” Since he chose to ignore my follow-up question, I still don’t know what that means. Given he thought there were multiple doors, I suspect he was just using another boiler-plate statement he found in the inspector’s handbook. In reference to a gas line running to the furnace in the attic, Michael made this statement: “A person knowledgeable in electrical system design, the local electrical code and tbese [sic] requirements should specify the bonding for commercial applications.” I asked him to clarify this statement. According to Michael this requirement applies to commercial applications and not residential. Michael responded as follows: “GASTITIE manufactrues [sic] rules of bonding started in 2009 to reduce explosions form [sic] lightning strike. See the manufacvturers [sic] website.” So this commercial requirement was put in place 5 years AFTER my house was built. Based on Michael’s report, am I to believe that all changes in code and/or appliance installations for residential as well as commercial applications enacted since 2004 would have to be implemented as part of the sale of my house? Michael went on to note that and quot;Re-caulking of flashing needed.and quot; I responded that all the flashing was re-caulked when the new roof was installed. This was a requirement as the color was changed to match the new roof. Michael responded as follows: “The metal step flashing along the front of the home has gpas [sic] and will leak more water causdign [sic] dmage [sic] to the interiro [sic] of yoru [sic] home. Leak “more” water? Wouldn’t there currently have to be a leak for Michael’s statement to make any sense? There is no mention of any existing water leaks in the report, and in fact there are none in my house. So this represents more misleading information from Michael. Based on this entirely inaccurate statement, the prospective buyers may believe there to be existing water leaks. Michael didn’t even correctly indicate the size of the electrical service. While his report indicates 150 Amps, the actual number is 200 Amps. I continued to attempt to resolve these discrepancies with Michael, but he stopped responding after two e-mails. Instead of choosing to defend his report and his professional reputation, he chose not to answer any of my follow-on questions. In general it’s my opinion that Michael reaches unfounded conclusions based on wild speculation. In his zest to fill every available inspection category with any related or unrelated factoid, he overreaches and makes faulty, baseless and sometimes misleading statements. Michael’s report states that the intent of the inspection is to find the $1,000 problems, not the $100 problems. It would seem in Michael’s case, he should also add that if he can’t find any actual $1,000 problems, he’ll invent some. I would stay well away from this guy. If you’re a buyer, he will present you with a report that is error-laden, sometimes indecipherable, and much worse than reality. If you’re the unfortunate seller, he will likely scare your buyer off. In my case as the seller, his misrepresentations cost me many thousands of dollars.

Michael made time to do the inspection on short notice. He was punctual, professional, and did a thorough inspection inside and out. He gave good advice to my daughter Re: lifetime warranty on the windows, and where to find the number on the window. Overall, he did an excellent job.

Mike was very professional and detailed during the inspection. He offered a ton of quality tips on how to maintain (or upgrade in some cases) my new home. His report was not only done professional, but was done very quickly and I had the report within hours of the inspection.

I did not have services performed but Michael was very responsive and upfront.

Michael Ashburn and the lab he uses are very professional, honest. and helpful. They will not try and sell you unnecessary services or products like some other companies do. I would definitely reccomend them A+++++++++++++++

I hired Ashburn Inspections to inspect my new townhouse. He was prompt, knowledgable and professional throughout the entire experience. I have referred my clients to Michael for years and his reviews are stellar.