In my 25 years in real estate - I have never seen a home inspection done so poorly... nor have I ever gone online to post a review about the inspector. If I could give them ZERO STARS - I would. Here's a little back story:
I'm a referral broker... so I don't work directly with buyers and sellers. When my nephew wanted to purchase a vacation home - I stepped back in to personally assist with his transaction.
When we found a suitable home (a total rehab that was gutted to the studs) I reached out to some inspectors that I had used in the past - only to discovered that they were no longer in the business.... so I reached out to others in an online Georgia real estate group for a referral for an inspector in that area. Kyle Phillips from Alpha Inspections came in highly recommended by many in the group - so we accepted that recommendation and set up an inspection.
This house is over 4000 sf with four bedrooms; four full baths; and also has a guest house with full bath. All the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC was new.
On the day of the inspection, Kyle was there for less than two hours when he called and told me that everything looked great, there. I told him I would be at the house in a few minutes - so he should stay put until after I arrive.
I won't give you every detail about this as it would be too lengthy... but here are the highlights:
Kyle assured the buyer by FaceTime that the home was in really good condition with some minor issues that he would document in the form of a "punch list" of items to correct. He did find several items to list... but unfortunately he missed a lot of the major items.
For example he totally missed an improperly installed (and sized) HVAC system which resulted in water damage two days after the inspection. If he had actually looked at the system - he would have realized that the filter access panels had been taped up with mastic or similar... and that the drain pan and drain lines for the attic unit were installed improperly. Once the pan filled up - the improperly installed float switch did not shut off the unit - and the water flooded the main and lower levels.
The system had been run with no filters for a long time which resulted in the coils being clogged with drywall dust. The buyer ended paying for a cleaning of both systems - in addition to paying for the remediation to get the system operating properly. Kyle also failed to note that there was a missing register in one of the bathrooms as well as a missing exhaust vent.
The HVAC system was oversized... which was a big problem as the humidity could not be kept under 50%. Kyle DID note the mold growing on the lower level... but he didn't take the time to investigate as to WHY there was mold. As a result, the buyer had to install TWO whole-house dehumidification units to deal with that particular issue as that was less expensive than the $10,000 he was quoted to install a properly sized and ducted unit.
When I asked Kyle if he had checked all of the electrical receptacles he said that he did. I knew right then that he was lying to me, as the one in the master bathroom was obstructed by a mirror. I should have had him do all of them in front of me, as we discovered later that he missed an entire circuit of them that had not been attached in the breaker panel.
When I looked at the dishwasher, it was dry... so I asked him how he was able to inspect it without running it. His reply? He didn't run it because it's his policy that they don't run appliances unless the buyer is there. Hmm... I've never heard that excuse before... anyway we couldn't run it because - drum roll please - IT WASN'T HOOKED UP. Just another thing that would have gone unnoticed had I not been there.
There are other things that were missed... like an uninsulated water line outside that had no shutoff inside... but I think you get the idea here. If you read this review and still use Kyle and Alpha Inspections - you can't say that you weren't warned. read more
