In my opinion (as a buyer who was referred to Steven Volkert by our *former* realtor, to handle a VERY simple pre-purchase inspection) has absolutely no idea what he is doing in his capacity as a home inspector.
Frankly, I will never understand how he even met the licensing requirements in order to become one.
Steven seems to operate on a system that enables him to only detect just one of the most catastrophic structural defects in a home, which any layperson with a grain of sense would have no trouble identifying themselves. In my case, the fact that the boiler was at risk of exploding was the "thing of the day" during his visit.
I should mention all the things that were not, so much, Steven's "thing":
* The active subsidence of the structure which caused the upper levels of my home to slope to such a degree that you may second-guess your alcohol intake while walking our halls. His negligence in this area has cost us roughly $20,000 in remediation work.
* The very clearly ~not okay~ sagging of the dining room ceiling, which he definitely ignored and brushed off as being an "old house thing". However, his comment could not have been further from the truth; the source of the sagging ceiling plasterwork was actually a very dangerous DIY mistake by the former owner, who decided not to secure a modern staircase to the home's existing Victorian-era ceiling joists. The ceiling collapsed, and the bill comes to $5,500 to repair it.
* The significant amount of black mold and damp in the basement, caused by years of hydrostatic pressure and water infiltration -- something denied by the sellers in the disclosure, but later admitted to have been a long-standing issue for the previous owner. Abatement and restoration of this little oversight was approx. $12,000.
* His assurance that the "3 year-old roof" was in fine shape. It was an interesting observation for Steven to make, as it turned out to be over 20 years old and in dire need of replacement. What's another $10,000 at this point, after all?
* The downspout extensions that were so blocked with compacted silt that the gutters were backing up at ROOF LEVEL within a month of our family's ownership. Another $4,000 to fix (thanks Steve)!
* The sinking brick terrace, which he simply missed altogether. There goes another $10,000.
* The incredibly visible, equally dangerous knob-and-tube wiring that ran though every accessible part of the attic and basement. He either completely missed this because he doesn't know what he's doing, or he chose to omit it for reasons known only by him. Either way, we were on the hook for the $6,000 required to remove this lethal hazard from the home.
* The enormous (10ft high x 45ft wide) retaining wall to the rear of the property, which sported a crack that even unnerved my structural engineer. We haven't fixed this yet, as doing so will set me back over $50,000.
* While there are many more examples, I'll leave you with just one more: Steven didn't pick up on the extensive termite damage in the basement ceiling -- something I now know was more than simply a one-off. We are hoping to have the joists replaced when the retaining wall is paid for. The estimate for this job is around $4-6,000.
In all, my $97,000 purchase was for nothing but a building full of $123,000 worth of Steven Volkert's incompetent oversights.
After contacting Steven to discuss the situation, he refused to engage.
We recently found that the statute of limitations has yet to expire for seeking recourse, so my husband and I intend to hold this man accountable for the job he failed to do when we hired him to do it, in the hope that he will be unable to cause so much financial and emotional distress to other families.
That said, I recommend that you Google his name -- it may be enough to dissuade you from ever considering him for any role where the best interests of your family are paramount. read more
