As a former developer/home builder executive and mortgage broker, I'm familiar with construction and home-buying processes, and I'm pretty particular about the companies I hire for any purpose, but especially home-related companies. Jon Stetson was referred by a contractor I know, and that was NPI's first "yes" check box. The second and third were that Jon himself has earned both residential and commercial contractor licenses (inactive, but in good standing) -- not an easy task in Florida. It means he didn't just go to "home inspector school" -- he knows construction from the ground up and the inside out.
Arica Stetson followed up Jon's qualifications with thorough responses to various questions, timely and thoughtfully. I'm pretty sure we weren't her easiest emails the day we inquired, and her composure remained professional and assuring. She has processes in place to ensure there are no miscommunications, asks for additional information when she needs clarification, and is organized and detailed. This was check box four.
In the pricing column, their pricing is a little bit higher than others we were considering, but in the fine print, we found that their inspection included items others' didn't -- items we feel should be standard. Giving that check box five. (That aside, the increased cost is absolutely worth it, in our opinion, to have a *contractor* doing the inspection.)
Boxes six and seven were checked when we found ourselves in a time crunch. We didn't expect it, but we were hopeful to receive information on a Friday evening -- and did -- and an inspection within 3 business days of first contact -- and did.
That was just our experience in the decision-making process, and, yes, we hired NPI and Jon Stetson for our home inspection.
Following that, the buyers, buyers' rep, seller, and others all appeared for the inspection, and Jon, as primary inspector, and Steve, secondary inspector, didn't flinch. ;) They were incredibly thorough and very willing to explain issues and potential issues in layman's terms to our group. Jon walked the home with us and differentiated between those items which 'might have been' a problem in the past, 'may' be a problem in the future, and 'is now' a problem to be rectified prior to closing. He also went over and above with regard to items which weren't technically in our agreement.
We received our report later that same day. It was 39 pages, well written, clear, and detailed. There were no surprises -- everything outlined in the oral presentation at the home were included in the report, and there were photos of all items noted.
As a result of NPI's inspection, we requested additional work be done by the seller. After those items were completed, we hired NPI for a re-inspection, which was handled in the same manner as the original inspection, right down to their attention to detail and quick turn-around on the report.
I've already recommended NPI to others, both in and out of the construction industry, and will absolutely use them again in the future, should the need arise.
Whether you're an industry professional, mortgage broker, Realtor, or simply a home buyer, you can't go wrong here. read more