As a first time home buyer, I was recommended to Ed by my realtor. Ed was scheduled for my inspection and was there on time, polite, pleasant and overall very helpful in answering my questions. However, it was about 1 month after moving in to my new place that I realized Ed's inspection had been less than thorough.
There were two pretty big oversights that, after speaking with plenty of others in the industry, I feel Ed should have taken more care in uncovering. First, there was a burst pipe in one of the walls that was not uncovered due to Ed not turning on a hose bib with a stripped on/off handle. Simply turning the water on with a screwdriver would have uncovered the issue and saved over $500. Ed cited language in his contract saying he's not required to turn on something that doesn't have a fully operational handle. Had this been the only oversight, I probably would have given Ed a pass.
However, the second issue came after beginning the process to have new flooring installed it was discovered that the tile flooring underneath certain areas of the home contained asbestos. During Ed's inspection, there were two separate areas that this tile was visible, one of which Ed would have stared straight at, as it covered the latch to the crawl space that he entered during the inspection. The second was in a closet. I could understand this not being discovered if it was covered completely throughout the home, but that was not the case.
After notifying Ed of these two oversights, he cited the terms of his inspection that I had signed. It did have sufficient language saying that he is not required to identify asbestos containing materials (which is pretty standard language throughout any inspectors contract from what I understand). However, given that the tile was visible without pulling back any carpeting or flooring, I feel it is something that should have at least been mentioned as a courtesy.
The combination of these two oversights leads me to question the quality of Ed's work. If you're comfortable with someone who will adhere to the minimum standards set forth by the inspection agreement, Ed will certainly do that. If you're looking for someone who will be thorough and inspect every last detail to its fullest, I would not recommend Integrity Home Inspectors. read more