We called JMC Building Inspection Service based on a friend's recommendation. We were a bit disappointed to hear that the person they recommended within the company (John) had retired. We decided to go ahead with Lee Parsons, as we were on a tight deadline as buyers for a physical home inspection. We could not have been more pleased with the inspection! Lee spent three plus hours going through every conceivable space and surface in the house. He encouraged us to tag along as much as we wanted to. My husband followed him the entire way, and learned so much about the property. Since it was essentially a "new" home that had been taken down to the studs, my husband had predicted that Lee would find very little wrong with the home. Much to his surprise and mine, Lee unveiled some important issues that ultimately helped us make our decision about purchasing the home. We are forever grateful of his depth of knowledge on construction, different home systems, and finishes! Thank you, JMC & Lee! read more

Lee Parsons performed a thorough and professional inspection of a single-family house. He was knowledgeable about current standards and answered all of our questions while everyone was on site. He's also great at explaining the issues in an understandable way for first-time buyers. The report he provided stepped through each system of the house (plumbing, electrical, heating, roofing, substructure, etc), noting what needed immediate work, what could be improved or didn't meet current standards, and what was acceptable. The report itself was cleanly organized and easy to read, and included resources so that we could learn more when necessary. We would recommend using Lee's services. read more

In the process of househunting, I read several inspection reports by JMC and was always impressed by their thoroughness and the detailed information they included to give context to their findings. So, when we had a house under contract to purchase, I contacted JMC to perform an inspection. Paul Barraza did an excellent job of examining every aspect of the property, going to great lengths to inspect the roof and foundation carefully in particular. He called me after the inspection to answer questions I had and provided his written report the next day. Based on his findings (many of which were not discovered by the seller's inspection), we were able to renegotiate the purchase price of the house, so it was money well spent. We highly recommend JMC. read more

Lee Parsons is a very professional inspector. Great work ethics, very detailed oriented. I strongly recommend him for commercial inspection!

We have worked with Paul and JMC on a variety of projects over the years. These included a pre-sale inspection, examination of a muddy space under the house, and an inspection after an abatement company dried out our home after an ice maker leak. In every instance we were impressed not only with the thoroughness of Paul's examinations but also his recommendations for what needed to be done to remedy problems he found. In one instance he found a defect that was not within the scope of the original inspection. He provided us with a well documented report - with photos - for each inspection and problems found. As to the few negative reviews, I couldn't disagree more. read more

This is a very good company to use if one is serious about getting their home inspected. Lee Parsons was recommended by our Realtor and so glad she did. Mr. Parsons showed up on time wearing a mask and spent more than three hours inspecting our place from attic to crawlspace! Upon completion he promised us a detailed report and believe me it was very detailed which validated his thoroughness and knowledge. The report was also turned over in just a couple of days which given its completeness I wouldn't have expected it for at least a week! Yes we learned of many things that need work on our house but I do appreciate the fact that he did such a comprehensive job that I feel nothing was overlooked and thus we are happy to know what we need to know to make this house safer and more comfortable to live in. I am recommending this company to anyone wanting to sell, buy or simply maintain their home in good condition! read more

Lee was our inspector. Inspection was very thorough. We got a very detailed report which was exactly what we looking for. We highly recommend them to anyone! read more

Lee was extremely professional and very detailed. He explained everything to us and answered all our questions. Very knowledgeable and professional! read more

Paul is very thorough and detail oriented, while being efficient and honest. A genuine professional; his inspections were done in a timely manner and the reports were able to see quickly. He is knowledgeable and a great resource for my real estate clients. read more

Everything went smoothly with my house inspection. Lee was very knowledgable and professional. He arrived and finished on time. Afterwards, he talked with me about his findings, which was very helpful. His comprehensive report arrived a few days later. read more

Highly recommend Paul if you're in need of a home inspection. Very thorough inspection and available to answer questions after the inspection. Paul even offered to go over any bids I recieve for work. The report he provides is very detailed and clean. Thanks again Paul for your service! read more

We recently were preparing our home for sale, and JMC came in and performed a thorough and detailed inspection of our property. They were professional, courteous, and extremely thorough. Thanks JMC! read more

If you want an inspection that reveals all the worts but guarantees that a buyer can never say they didn't know this is the one. Full disclosure at its best. read more

If you want to sell your house do not hire them! If you are not born and raised in America, do not hire them! If you have not been living in Berkeley hills area for a couple of generations do not hire them! We had hired them based on our agent's recommendation; they have prepared us a report that was inflammatory, editorial and purely speculative and not grounded in fact! Their job is to report what they find and to make further recommendations to licensed professionals not to speculate on what might happen in an unlikely event, but they felt for whatever reason to make scary and un-necessary comments about every little thing that they found. We requested to meet with the owner to review the report and he refused to meet with us, long story short we couldn't sell our house as their report scared off all interested parties. read more

John McComas sets the gold standard in our area for home inspections. He's the best. That's really all someone needs to know. He is extraordinarily knowledgeable, and also has the ability to share the knowledge with scared first-time buyers, and defensive sellers, all in a way that allows them to take in the information. He's honest. The reports are detailed statements about the property--not his ego (which you sometimes see with other inspectors). And he's fun to work with. It really doesn't get better than this! read more

Wow, Paul Barraza did a fantastic job inspecting a home we are in contract to purchase. Thorough, careful, and ready to answer all my newbie questions while he worked. And turned the report around in 48 hours! read more

Our HOA hired Paul Barraza to look over a major roofing project that was our first repair in 15 years. We were all tremendously happy with the work he did. Here's why: 1. Paul found numerous problem areas that would have caused us major problems down the road. We were able to work with Paul and the roofer to successfully complete the vast majority of Paul's recommendations. 2. He was always reachable, easy to work with, and always clearly explained what was needed and how to go about it. It was never difficult for me to understand what needed to be done; I was able to then turn around and give the roofer Paul's exact directives on how to proceed. 3. He never sat around and blamed the roofer; rather, he focused on ways that we could work with the roofer to improve the finished project, which turned out to be as close to perfect as we could get it. 4. One of our owners who was extremely skeptical about hiring Paul completely changed his mind after reading Paul's first report. It was clear that Paul had found so many problem areas that it was worth every penny that we spent to have him on board with us. 5. Because this was my first time overseeing a major building project, it was crucial that I have someone on board assisting me who knew exactly what he was doing. It was a wise decision on my part and we highly recommend Paul to anyone needing his expertise! We are grateful that we had the chance to work with him. read more

John was extremely thorough and knowledgeable about all the local building codes. The flipped house we were buying looked fantastic on the surface, but thanks to John's extensive inspection, we discovered it had a lot of poor work done that was not up to code. This was not caught in previous inspections that other potential buyers had done. It really helped us as we negotiated with the seller. Even after we closed, John continued to assist us as we prioritized the large amount of work to be redone on the house. He is a fantastic resource and a really nice guy in general. read more

Paul Barraza at JMC was terrific. He was very thorough and took time to answer all of our questions and explain his findings. His report was prompt and detailed. It's clear he works very hard and doesn't cut corners--he finished our report late at night because we needed it quickly. He was very patient and went above and beyond. He even answered some additional questions after the report (emails back and forth) on a Saturday night. Of course, getting a thorough and accurate inspection is the most important thing, but it didn't hurt that Paul is such a nice guy--made me feel good about writing him a check. read more

Paul Barrazza did inspection for our new house. He extremely professional, diligent, and detailed-oriented. Even after two months since our inspection he still answers all our question about the report. Highly recommended. read more

Paul did a thorough and diligent job inspecting the decks of our condominium association. His report was timely and easy to understand. He is also a wealth of information and answered many questions which didn't particularly pertain to our decks. He is also very personable, and I highly recommend him. read more

John McComas helped us out when we needed a home inspection asap for a house that we were interested in purchasing. He is very knowledgable, personable, and was incredibly helpful during and after the inspection. He explained everything in detail and pain english, seemed to enjoy my questions that the average home inspector would have probably been annoyed by, and delivered our detailed inspection report to us within days. The next time that I purchase or sell a home, I will definitely be reaching out to John again! read more

Our real estate agent Eric Wong recommended JMC Building Inspection's John McComas to us to check out a home we were interested in buying. The home was a flip with a new addition, and had some damage done to it while it was on the market. Getting in touch with JMC was very easy and either John or his assistant were quick to respond to our inquiries to schedule a home inspection and review a sample report. John came out and was prepared to get dirty. He observed the roof, he crawled the entire crawl space from corner to corner, and attempted to get into the attic. He was very thorough with the inspection - foundation, plumbing, HVAC, appliances. He even tested the GFCI outlets and turned on all the lights - each one! - and went into the electrical panels, not just to look at the breakers, but unscrewed the panels to check it out. He asks that you follow him throughout the inspection and you want to do this! He will describe his concerns and explain to you what you need or don't need to do to address them. He is patient and a great teacher. You can ask questions and get answers without feeling like you are getting in the way. When he is concerned, he really means it so take heed of his advice. He took the extra step of re-inspecting the home and dropping by the City Inspector's office to try to figure out something that was bothering him about the home. The report he provided was excellent and written in a way that a lay person can understand what the problems are and the professionals know exactly where to look. We really appreciate his offer for us to continue to ask him questions about his inspection. All the professionals who have come by to review the problems identified, have commented about how spot on John's observations are. He is really looking out for your safety and comfort! read more

We used them on the sale of our house based on our realtor's recommendation. Their report was erroneous and unprofessional which resulted in significant delays in the sale of our house. I do not trust their work and would not recommend them. read more

Reading these reviews prompts me to write my negative experience with JMC. I was in the market to purchase a home and out of the recommendation by my agent, John McComas performed a home inspection and grossly understated flooding and drainage issues on the property. John presented well in person, however, as a first time home buyer, I relied on his knowledge and expertise. He did not properly or clearly inform many signs of drainage problems nor suggest the need to obtain the opinion of a drainage expert in his report. His report understated serious problems with drainage and structural issues. John McComas relied heavily on legal protective wording to avoid liability in his written report. I caution anyone who considers using this company to perform a thorough home inspection. John McComas may be recommended by agents because he serves the interests of sellers to understate larger repair issues, thus agents are motivated to use his services to push the sale. First time home buyers please beware. read more

Paul Barraza was fantastic. He was everything we wanted in a home inspector and, funny, gregarious, and so helpful, too, to boot. I admit that I went into the inspection begrudgingly (I rarely have good experiences with contractor-types, especially those who charge flat fees for things), but this was actually one of the most pleasant home-related experiences I've had. My husband agrees. He walked us through each and every square inch of that lot, yard, house, garage, basement--you name it. He went into the dark parts himself, allowed us to come with where we wanted, answered so many questions (and honestly, too -- which I think is not easy to come by!). He differentiated between codes, rules and regulations, and supremely antiquated codes, rules and regulations--not in a shady way, but in a way that allowed us to evaluate what kinds of things in our home would need immediate attention, versus what things could go on the to-do list. In the end, we didn't end up with any major no-nos or red flags, and Paul was just such a pleasure to do business with. He also turned around an inspection report in less than 48 hrs, which I just thought was incredible. Highly, highly recommend this shop (and, ask for Paul!). read more