Home Buyers Inspection Service ~ Comparison Reports

Effective March 15, 2012, I am no longer taking on any new clients. Between friends, relatives, the existing HBIS client base I have, and computer work I am performing under the name "Puter-Tutor" I am able to maintain a comfortable level of business and do not wish to expand past this client base.

If you want an inspector who will look out for your interests, make sure you hire one who is not a favorite with the real estate agents. If the agents have a list of inspectors, it might be wise to look beyond their list.

"Certification" of inspectors many times serves to limit just what the inspector can and cannot 'report'. When the inspector sees obvious signs of hidden problems, many certification companies require that the 'certified-inspector' not report on anything they cannot actually see. For example, when an inspector sees numerous problems in a basement involving the way branch circuit wiring has been installed and the way certain plumbing pipes have been installed, the inspector is limited in that they cannot draw a conclusion by applying the rules of logic to a premise that these visible problems most likely extend above the basement, hidden into wall cavities and even higher - hidden between upper floors and ceilings.

For most construction and buildings that have been completely renovated, we have observed that the different components and systems have either been properly installed, or they have not been properly installed. In the case of shabby workmanship, it is typically safe to assume that the entire dwelling is substandard once there are sufficient visible problems shown to the prospective buyer to substantiate that claim!

Here are two inspection reports - both for the same house. Both inspections were conducted within one week of each other. The first report is a result of an inspection by others. The referral was made to client by a real estate agent.

The second report is the result of our inspection. Home Buyers Inspection Service was contacted to perform this inspection to give a "second opinion" as the first inspection and associated report were questionable with respect to thoroughness by the prospective buyer. The client obtained our name through an attorney.

We DID NOT receive a copy of this report until several months after the inspection, so we went in not knowing at all what was written in the original inspection report by others.

All identifiable information has been removed from both reports.

Report by others:

Under Remarks (above) note "Unable to view all of crawlspace. Dark. No lighting."
This is precisely why we take TWO Five-Cell Maglights to each inspection -- one for the inspector and one for the client, so they can look around with us!

Incidentally, as you will see in the HBIS report below, a lot of major problems
were observed by our crawling to the end of the crawl space with our Maglights!

Notice how the last page states: "Major Defects Observed: No"
Read the following eleven typed page report by HBIS
to see the major defects we found.

Same building, same week -
Report by Home Buyers Inspection Service

For purposes of orientation, the Front of the dwelling is considered that portion facing the road.

The above report illustrates why we do not use a standard checklist. Instead, we transcribe our notes onto a tape recorder to type the report when we get back to the office.
There would not be enough space to write everything in the above typed report, nor would there be time to write it all while, at the same time, performing the inspection. Simply put: Call us if you want someone who looks out for you, the buyer.

Please check our Inspect Photos Page which illustrates how we communicate to you problem areas revealed by our inspection.

Call Richard Guest 802-748-5505

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Richard W. Guest
Home Buyers Inspection Service, LLC
Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, USA
(802) 748-5505
email: r.guest@vermontinspector.com

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