Covered Bridge Professional Home Inspections LLC

Steve was very friendly, courteous, methodical and thorough. He went room by room, top to bottom, corner to corner, even behind the breaker box! He explained the findings each step of the way, with recommendations for improvement or modifications that could be helpful. He took pictures and the report he sent back was extremely detailed, and quick! The inspection was on Saturday and the report came to me that Monday! Very happy with their performance and service.

This was my second shot at a purchase of “older” real estate in rural Vermont. This time the house was about 100 years younger (1935), clearly in better shape than the first and priced much more favorably with more land. I also had my own real estate broker who had earned my trust. That meant I felt comfortable with a home inspection provider whom he recommended and who was local. My previous attempt was through the seller’s agent so I got an inspection from an inspector of my choice who was not local. Another critical difference to keep in mind is whether the inspector is also a contractor. If a contractor (as was the case the first time around), it means that you may get more detail about findings needing a fix, and suggestions for more expensive investigation than someone who only does inspections. That was the case with inspection #1 but the added expense was most educational and the property clearly had several more serious defects including an improperly mitigated asbestos problem that made the added expense of testing worth the peace of mind. I did not make an offer on that property. Also factor in that I was now more realistic and knowledgeable about what to look for and what it meant to purchase an older home having been educated to some extent by inspector #1, further educated by my realtor, and had done some homework on retrofits and upgrades myself. The inspection done by Steve Dukette of Covered Bridge Professional Home Inspections, LLC suited my need and level of understanding perfectly. Mr. Dukette took about three hours and provided me with a detailed 56-page report containing 127 annotated pictures within 2 days of the inspection. The radon test required 48 hrs of monitoring but came a day or two later. Throughout the inspection Mr. Dukette explained his findings and answered all my questions appropriately and as completely as possible given what he could see and what he could not. Two very useful unexpected benefits: 1) In the PDF copy there were numerous links to a variety of online sites should I wish further information on almost any issue raised by the inspection. 2) A free one-year subscription to Homeowner’s Network, an invaluable resource for numerous issues related to owning your own house. ($199 value). The report was thorough, comprehensive and most professional. Mr. Dukette was very specific in writing about what a non-invasive property inspection could discover and what it could not (e.g. septic, land, more than visual inspection for mold, asbestos, etc.) It was recommended (by the realtor and the inspector) that I consider adding a radon test for an additional $150, which I did. This proved quite valuable as the test came in at 6.6. The EPA recommends mitigation if over 4 and I promptly got a quote from a licensed and certified radon mitigation vendor of $1700 to get it under 2. After smoking Radon is #2 cause of lung cancer according to EPA. As I did in the report on inspector #1, I am adding a comment on Mr. Dukette’s professionalism since that has always been what makes me, as a retired physician, feel comfortable or uncomfortable with a vendor. My definition of professionalism is premised on having the expertise to do the right thing in the right way at the right time. Professionals demonstrate a qualified skill-set and knowledge base, exhibit an enthusiasm for doing the best job possible, and in this case, are locally reputable. Professionals are polite and are able to create an atmosphere that gives the client a sense of the professional responsibility to “partner” in a complete and thorough discussion of the work. Mr. Dukette fully met and exceeded my expectations. In this case I was able to feel most comfortable making an offer and purchasing the property.

Steve Dukette performed our home inspection and was very thorough! Within a few days he had created a full report for us detailing needed repairs and future recommended maintenance! It was full of pictures and descriptions that were very helpful when it came time to execute a list of needed repairs for the seller. He took the time to inspect every nook and cranny of our new home! We were very pleased! 20

This was and continues to be one of the worst experiences of our lives. Structural repairs that were required on each floor of the house have been completed -- at our own expense -- our lawsuit is just beginning. This company just doesn't know what they are doing. The major structural defect was not hidden and there were several other signs that a knowledgeable inspector would have flagged as potential problems.