Burnstead gave us the opportunity to have a home inspection done when the house construction was finished.
Erik was already familiar with several key points that were unique to us:
1) Brand new homes/construction.
2) Familiarization with Burnstead specific homes.
3) Was very easy to work with and listened to certain items of concern for needed extra attention.
(btw, if you've never had a home inspection done PRIOR to moving in, I would highly recommend it, as it could potentially save you a lot of money and time, down the line)
This wasn't our first home buying experience. And therefore was not our first experience with home inspections, either. That being said, of the 3-4 home inspections that I've had in my past, Erik was by far and away the most thorough and patient inspector. And that's saying quite a lot; because I know the past other two were pretty darned good too.
Erik checked the roof for broken shingles, and he found approx. 8-10 of them. The inspection and finding of the broken shingles alone paid for his inspection fee. Should I have had to fix these shingles myself, would have cost me a full day's work, or hiring someone for around $1000+ to have them redone. Luckily Burnstead willingly fixed them for me, prior to us moving into the house.
He found two support pillars in the crawl space that needed to be shored up with concrete as one side of the footer was not properly done, and one that needed to have it shimmied as it didn't even reach the underlay of the floor board. Checked every single outlet in the house (there's probably more than 80+ in the whole house). Checked the water pressure, and even found cosmetic items that needed attention.
Now yes, most if not all home inspectors would find these items, but there were a lot more stuff that he found that I felt had to mean he spent a great deal in time and attention to his work. Some other items he found was one of the wires in the electrical panel not being properly secured which could've been a fire hazard. One of the cedar boards on our backyard deck needed to be replaced. Found a small dent in the microwave door. Air conditioner unit outside was not perfectly level (which would've down the road potentially caused premature wearing).
At any rate, he found all kinds of items that needed attention. The report that he gave me was also very detailed with pictures and summaries in plain language on what needed attention to the home owner, and the builder. He spent a good 3.5-4 hours on our home. The home is brand new. 4 bedrooms, an office, a media room, and three bathrooms. The house is 3100+sf, with a 4 car garage. There were plenty of things he needed to check.
His price:
I feel he should've charged us approx. $100 more than his normal fee. Again, this home was new and probably a bit bigger than some homes he does. I was charged I think $500, but I made sure I gave him a fair tip, for the extra care in attention that he gave us.
His character:
He arrived early. And in fact, was already on the rooftop checking it out when I arrived on the site. He has a firm hand-shake and is incredibly friendly and patient. Home owners will always have plenty of questions during this kind of process, and he was very patient in answering all of my questions. He also seems to have a very good grasp of knowledge to things that pertain to building codes, electrical knowledge, water issues, potential bug issues, proper ventilation checking, etc. He arrives in a clean company utility van/truck that is clearly marked with his company's logo's etc. His tools all seem to be orderly and clean. He also takes his shoes off at the request of the homeowners (which we did since we're Japanese and do NOT wear shoes in the house). He himself is clean cut, clean shaven, clothes are clean, and seem to generally articulate himself well and clearly.
I am extremely hard to please. I know this. I'm super picky and anal about stuff. It's very rare that I will write such great things about a serviceman unless I feel it was truly, truly merited. Erik, thank you very much. With your business practices, no wonder you are successful at what you do. Thank you for your services!
Erik comes HIGHLY recommended. -james akagi read more
