Would not recommend for first-time homebuyers or those looking for honest guidance on purchasing a home. My husband and I had Stuart inspect our home and asked about specific cracks in our garage and outside wall. Stuart said they were cosmetic and normal and gave us a report saying the house was sound to purchase (with unrelated marginal repairs). With the years of experience Stuart says he has, and the amount of homes he says he inspects, we took him at his word. Within less than six months, we started to see a lot of cracks appear internally that had been painted over before with tape and a door that started to jam. It made us nervous, so we called a foundation company to see if there were any issues. Lo and behold, we're now facing 16-24k in foundation repairs. While it's debatable on whether Stuart should have seen the 20+ painted over cracks (they're easily seen with a flashlight against the wall - something we learned from the foundation specialists), two of the three issues we're facing relate directly back to the cracks Stuart said were cosmetic- according to one structural engineer and four foundation specialists. Since finding out these repairs, we've contacted Melanie and Stuart. They blew us and our realtor off for about two weeks as she tried to schedule a time for Stuart to come look at the house - per his request. Then when Stuart finally did come to the house, his response was "well I'm not a foundation expert". My husband then asked "if you were us, would you have purchased this home based on what you saw?" And Stuart said "I don't know". He couldn't say he'd purchase it, but showed zero hesitation during our inspection. Not once did he ever say, "I'm not a foundation expert, maybe you should have someone come out to be safe." Because my husband and I were waiting for the structural engineer report and had an upcoming trip, the conversation ended with Stuart saying let's continue the conversation after we return and discuss "in a perfect world, what would happen". I reached out to Stuart and Melanie on May 31 with three repair estimates and the findings from the structural engineer report. An hour and 52 minutes later, I received an "auto reply" out of office saying they'd be out of the office and reply to emails on June 10. I followed up on June 11. My husband called June 13 and left a voicemail. My husband called again June 14 and left another voicemail. They refuse to get back in contact with us and are making zero effort to put closure on this situation. I guess in their perfect world, they ignore the customers asking them for some sort of accountability. They say they're committed to the customer, but their actions clearly say otherwise. Additional info based on Spradling's response posted on reviews elsewhere: The issues we're facing were proven to have existed well before our purchase and are directly related to what Stuart marked in his report as cosmetic. Our inspection was in April 2018, and we have proof of contacting foundation specialists in October 2018. We finally had official estimates as of April 2019 and contacted our realtor to let her know. She reached out to Spradling to inform them, not me or my husband. This review is based on the fact that once we told our realtor about the issues, Stuart requested to see our home - not to help us, but to see the issues two other foundation companies said should have been seen in our inspection. Once he saw our home and the issues, he asked for us to send him the estimates and the report findings so he and his wife could discuss how to move forward. Once I sent the estimates and reports, they refused to respond to emails, phone calls and text messages. They responded to this review within an hour. They also responded to my Facebook review later that night, but since I was able to respond and point out the fact that THEY requested all of this, they deleted both their comment and my reply. To be clear: My husband and I have NOT asked for a refund or any sort of compensation and this is the "commitment" we've received. read more

We recently purchased a home in Columbia, Missouri. Our realtor recommended Spradling Home Inspections, LLC. We were assured that the company could perform HVAC and fireplace inspections. This was important because we have 2 fireplaces in our recently purchased home. A few months later, when the temperature cooled down, we attempted to start both fireplaces but were unable to do so. This was surprising since our previous 2 homes had fireplaces that we were able to ignite. We consulted his report which recommended the replacement of a copper linkage which was not up to code and had been replaced by the seller prior to closing. He also recommended a clip be placed on the damper on the one in the living room. His only other statement was recommending that we become familiar with the fireplace operation. Multiple attempts to contact Mr. Spradling by phone were unsuccessful even though a detailed voice mail with contact information was left with each attempt. A phone call was made to Mr. Spradling's business partner and wife, Melanie, who was initially apologetic and pleasant on the phone and stated that she would check on the report and call me back, which she did not do. Our realtor was then contacted who reached out to the Spradlings. Mrs. Spradling did call back and apologized for forgetting to call me back and scheduled for them to come to our home around 5:00 P.M. on November 2nd, 2023. I told her that I was glad someone had finally gotten back to us regarding this matter because I had been about ready to contact ASHI with our complaint. Approximately 5:35 P.M. on this same date Mrs. Spradling called and said that she and her husband had decided not to come since I had threatened to contact ASHI. I tried to explain that was before she had returned my call and offered to come and check out our 2 fireplaces but she continued to be argumentative. I finally asked to speak to Mr. Spradling to explain that I had no intention of issuing a complaint since they had finally responded and offered to come and check the fireplaces out. However. Mrs. Spradling did not allow that conversation to occur and resumed her bluster before her husband could even complete a sentence with me. read more

Very professional, very respectful and saved thousands of dollars with their expert inspection and and their expert reporting. Thanks to their astute inspection and attention to details, a new roof and a new gutter was added without any change to the closing costs. in fact, it is fair to say that had it not been for Spradling, the house would have been purchased at a higher price and the roof etc. would have been additional hidden costs.as part of the closing to my house without an increase in the read more

Spradling inspected my home in January and left the outside water on. He refused to pay for the damage. As a seller you can refuse to let him in your home. Skip this home inspector. You can find one with a better attitude and respect for personal property. read more

Spradling Home Inspections - He left the outside water on in January. - Home Inspectors Near Me - Columbia, Missouri