As a first time homebuyer, finding an inspector I could trust and identify all the issues of the house was critical. We found glowing five star reviews for Travis. The price was competitively on the lower end ($250 for 1500+ sq ft) and included thermal imaging, which was an add-on fee for some other inspectors or simply not an option.
Travis came out and looked at my townhouse in February 2017. We had talked several times beforehand, and he is friendly and flexible with scheduling changes. He is easily reachable and responsive by call/text. The contract was sent via email and easy to sign off on. While he does not currently have a pest inspection license, he called around for me and managed to secure an appointment.
Day of, my family followed him around as he scouted out the house. He takes photos on his iPhone on a nifty app that will generate a PDF report of findings. The pictures turned out clear, and Travis marked it up later in the report to point out the issues. Travis had a lot of nifty gadgets. The roof was high up for a two story townhouse with 10' floors, so his ladder was not high enough. While most inspectors would simply not inspect the roof, he instead whipped out a drone and flew it up. The camera on the GoPro is HD, so he took a few aerial shots, which can be zoomed in on the computer to look for issues.
He also has a moisture meter and thermal imaging camera. The thermal imaging camera was integral to identifying a leak in the plumbing. I like that Travis does an all inclusive package with all his available tools to do a comprehensive inspection instead of nickel and diming. The thermal inspection I think is crucial as it would be very unlikely to discover the leak unless there was some visible leak damage.
Travis identified key things that needed to be fixed, and also went on a very detailed nit-picky levels of things that are not a big issue but does not meet the standards. Throughout he was excellent to my zealous dad in explaining his finding and a potential diagnosis. He communicated the issues effectively and in layman terms. I really liked that he admitted when he did not know something and deferred to hiring a specialist in roofing, HVAC, etc for a professional opinion. He brought an extensive knowledge base with diverse perspectives - having worked as a home construction manager and seeing the complete lifecycle of building a new home from scratch, rehabbing old homes, and even a property insurance adjuster.
Our conversations and persistent question-asking kept Travis perhaps four hours for a 1500 sq foot home, and he was incredibly patient and supportive of our learning. He gave us tips on how to fix the minor ones. He also would mention some maintenance items that would need to be done.
I was jotting notes as we went, but really the inspection report is so thorough that you will be more than fine without. Travis promised to get it out by the next day. We received the home inspection report that night at 10 pm. The report itself is a treasure trove with lots of pictures and captions detailing the issues and findings.
Even after the inspection, Travis has been very helpful in referring contacts and giving his thoughts on the proposed repairs. Travis has extremely patient and helpful; he has become a trusted source of judgment throughout my home-fixing process. I understand that finding the right guy to inspect your house is essential, and Travis has more than exceeded expectations in every way. read more