PILLAR TO POST PROFESSIONAL HOME INSPECTION

We needed to conduct a pre-inspection on a home at the very last minute. We were able to book Devin within less than 24 hours. He showed up right on time and spent 3 hours carefully walking me around the entire house, giving me detailed notes on every system and pointing out everything from small projects to major renovations that we would want to do.. He gave me a ballpark figure for the major repairs (including removing knob & tube wiring and adding additional ventilation to the unfinished attic) and also gave me a sheet with approximate costs for all sorts of home projects and repairs. By the time we finished I felt like I had a great handle on the strengths and weaknesses of the house and was in a great position to make a realistic offer. My father, who has a much better understanding of technical matters than I do, accompanied me and said that Devin was the best he's ever seen and had a great eye for small details. We got the house and have a list of projects, prioritized based on Devin's suggestions. Because we were doing a pre-inspection on a short timeframe, Devin gave me just his verbal notes at first and offered us a $100 credit toward our next inspection if we didn't end up needing the written report. Since we got the house he went ahead and gave us his very detailed written report as well, but I appreciated his flexibility in case we ended up staying in the market.

He was not as thorough as I expect from a home inspector especially when considering the purchase of something as expensive as a home in Seattle. He missed several important issues completely that may have potentially could have changed our decision to purchase the home or request repairs from the sellers. One required repair will cost us around $3,500 . He missed knob and tube wiring in the attic that was clearly visible and powers 75% of the upstairs rooms. The knob and tube wiring starts about 7 foot from the entrance to the attic and is immediately visible upon entry. His report for Attic Electric noted "Have electrician provide apprpriate termination or remove abandoned wiring to reduce associated safety risk". The box "electric" was ticked and the box "knob and tube" was left blank. He made no reference verbally or in writing to knob and tube wiring. This item will cost us $3,500 to correct and is a serious safety hazard if not properly maintained. He missed asbestos tape sealing a return air duct to a wood joist that was clearly visible in unfinished utility room - a $500 remediation cost for us. We had a Birch tree growing through a hole cut in the deck He missed that the trunk was pushing against a deck support beam and consequently, it was pushing the deck away from our house and it was impossible to cut the hole larger to allow for tree growth. This cost us around $600 to have the tree removed. He also missed a 2 foot by 2 foot hole in the finished basement drywall cut to access a sewer cleanout. The hole was located a foot off the floor and had a picture hung in front of it. He also missed that the fire damper did not open and close due to the fact there were approximately 24 bricks lying above it from a previous chimney repair where the contractor had not removed the bricks. This was a minor repair costing about $150.

Devin showed up on time. Was polite, professional.... To professional looking really, not a spec of dirt on him before or after. He was not as thorough as I would have expected. We have two side roofs which are only one story up and they can also be seen by looking down from the top roof, which has access from inside the house. But he still missed a squirrel hole that is larger than a softball and pretty easy to see. My biggest complaint is that he drastically underestimated the cost of repairs to the house. Roofing est around $1000, the lowest bid I got was $4000. Siding about 300% off. Electrical about 500% off. The report is very pretty..., well organized, but really just a cut and paste template. I would not recomend using him. Felt like he just wanted me to be happy with going through with buying the house.

Devin showed up on time, but he showed up looking like he was going to a dance club instead of doing a home inspection (dress shoes, slacks, and a v-neck sweater). He did not get down and dirty in order to inspect the attic and roof properly. I later found water damage that he should have noticed. Devin did not give good answers to ways to address issues that he found when I had questions. Definitely would not recommend hiring Devin to anyone needing a home inspection. Overpriced and not thorough.