Anthony was very friendly and made me feel at ease when he inspected a house I was hesitant to buy because it was old. When he was here, he told me not to worry about the concerns I had.
Minutes after he left I received a report showing far more issues than what he had said in person, but they seemed manageable.
I bought the house only to discover countless major issues that any inspector should have caught. Did Anthony cut corners, go too fast, or knowingly chose not to mention issues that would for sure make me back out of the deal? I will never know.
I chose him because he didn't have a relationship with my realtor and I was hoping he would protect me instead of making sure the house would sell.
Three months later I've already spent over 20K in unexpected repairs (not including what was in the report or what is expected like needing a new water heater or HVAC in the near future). Neither the home warranty nor the home insurance covers expenses caused by the previous owners not maintaining their house and the inspector not paying attention (obviously!). Anthony knows what I'm referring to because I sent him texts and photos but he chose not to respond.
My point is, Anthony was either unethical or incompetent. So don't be fooled. His goal is to make sure the houses sell. His report is full of disclaimers and terms to avoid liability. In person he said "you don't need more inspections, it's a good house" but the report says: get a safety check with the gas company, consult with a plumber, get an HVAC inspection, get a contractor to look at the broken tiles, have a roofer do an inspection, have landscapers check sprinklers and the list goes on and on and on. I recall him saying he had 6 inspections scheduled that day. That's too many. He can't possibly be thorough at that pace.
He had told me he would come at 2 pm but might be late because he would be coming directly from another inspection. Then the automated system sent a confirmation for 2:30 pm. I came at 2:25 pm and he was there and half way done.
Oh, and I paid him $1,300 because in addition to the normal inspection I also paid for the sewer line and indoor air quality testing. At that price I expected him to have my back.
If you buy a good house, you will love him because of his personality and speed. But if you need someone to protect you from over-paying for a house full of problems, then keep browsing because he won't have your best interest at heart.
Don't be fooled by his "Master Inspector" title, like I was. And keep your 17 days investigation period (my realtor talked me into reducing it to 10 days to make my offer more enticing to the sellers and close escrow quickly, and I was naive/stupid enough to agree).
I take responsibility for the choices I've made. It's unfortunate that things unfolded as they did. I am writing this, hoping to spare others from having a similar experience.
Apparently it happens a lot (I'm hearing all kinds of horror stories from repair people and contractors I've used here). Get everything looked at by experts instead of trusting just one person.
I keep hearing "everything is fixable" and I believe it's true but the enormous unexpected expenses and endless disruptions and noise in the house is not something I would have knowingly agreed to.
Good luck to you. I hope you love your new home and there won't be surprises. read more