Quality First Real Estate Inspection

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The inspector was thorough and helpful finding small problems that could have become large ones in the future. I was impressed with the things he found that we would never have even considered as a flaw in the construction and future maintenance problems of our new property. After his inspection and resulting repairs the deal went smoothly and quickly.

The inspection went really well. Norman came out to do the inspection. He was thorough and found quite a few little things that needed to be fixed, nothing major. Also I liked that he told me everything like it was and to the point. The report was very well detailed. Way more than I needed it to be but I did like the pictures he took and put on the report. It made easier for me to remember and figure our what and where needed to be repaired.

Norm showed up on time and gave me a full briefing on his services. He was very thorough with his inspection and paid a lot of attention to all aspects of the house. He then sat down with me and gave me a complete analysis of what he found. Each item was assigned a value to its importance for correcting purposes. One or two days later I received a complete print out of the results of his inspection report.

Norm arrived on time, and as I was late he already had completed the exterior inspection. Norm allowed me to shadow him the entire time and took all my concerns and questions up front. He was very thorough and responsive to all my questions. He did an exceptional job explaining the minor and potentially major issues of the house, and offered helpful ways to correct them on my own. I was very pleased with his service and knowledge. It made the home buying process feel much more 'solid' and gave me security in making the decision to proceed with my purchase. Thank you!

Norm did a great job. Very professional and proficient! He was great! I would recommend this company to everyone!!!

We hired Norm to do our home inspection of our old home that had been rehabbed by the sellers. He was approachable and likeable. He also seemed to work hard crawling into every nook and cranny to inspect the home. But, unfortunately, I can't recommend him. I initially had issues with him regarding insulation. There was an upstairs room listed as a bedroom by the sellers but it wasn't insulated at all, thus in my mind making it a three season porch, not a bedroom. Norm's inspector's report didn't catch the lack of insulation. I noticed this after we had purchased the house and reached out to Norm to voice my dismay. Norm was very responsive. He made a point to come over as soon as possible to talk about it. I appreciated his customer service. He showed me a vague line in his report that he felt covered the fact that that insulation was overlooked. He also felt that when it comes to old homes they were built when energy was cheap and insulation wasn't used. But he listened to my concern that even though it's an old home it's not wrong to expect it to be updated with proper insulation when you're paying a top tier price for the home. He seemed to really listen and consider it for future inspections. I was satisfied with that treatment. However, this rest is why I'm rating him unfavorably. Within months of moving in the hot water heater had to be replaced. Norm had mentioned to us that we'll have to deal with the water heater down the road, but he did not specify when. I had two separate plumbing folks come in just two months after we moved hired for work separate from the water heater who told me as soon as they saw the hot water heater, and quot;that thing needs to be replaced asap. It's about to burstand quot; Sure enough it started to leak within weeks of both parties saying so. If those two independent plumbers could have been so specific with a sense of urgency, why couldn't Norm? It cost me over $400 to replace. Also, the home ended up having frayed loose asbestos that cost us a significant amount to remove. When I asked Norm about whether not the home had asbestos he told me it was out his scope. I've learned that it is common place for home inspectors to not inspect for asbestos. I don't agree with that but even with that stance amongst home inspectors, at the very least I would have appreciated a, and quot;It's out of my scope, but if it concerns you, here's who you should reach out to for a more definitive answer,and quot; before we closed on the house. Another thing Norm overlooked was the fact that the sellers installed sewer air admittance valves to some sewer drains in the basement. By the time of our home inspection those were illegal in my state. So now when I resell the home down the road I'll have to invest in plumbing work to reroute the vents to go up and out of the roof of the house. I do believe Norm is good a guy and he means well. However, enough oversights had happened that cost us money and time that we could have dealt with during closing, thus we feel dissatisfied in hiring him.

Norm was very professional, really friendly and always on time (even early!). He actually let me go around with him on the inspection and pointed out what he was checking for and if it was okay or in need of repair and why. Since I know nothing about construction, he was especially excellent at explaining the various terms used in the report and the causes that created some of the problems. The first inspection of the 818 sq ft house took around three hours; he was very, very thorough! He even gave me a "how to work the stuff in your house" book that I have referred to frequently, and suggested I call him if I have any questions in the future. I can't say enough good things about him!

He did not use a moisture meter to check bathrooms, under kitchen sink, and in the basement. I asked him if he used one BEFORE he started the inspection. He told me he doesn't routinely a use moisture meter unless there are visible signs of moisture. On our previous home purchases, we have always seen inspectors use moisture meters in high risk areas as a routine part of the inspection. Our agent asked him to come out again, and he was reluctant- adamant that he had performed industry standards. He also omitted a large deck area from his inspection report. We called him, and he told us that he did check the deck- it looked fine and had been painted recently. There were no comments on the flashing to house or the wood to soil contact. We do not think he actually checked the deck, since there is no mention of the deck at all in the report. Inspectors should comment on a large structure, such as a deck, even if it was in good condition. He has lost all credibility.