Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

Buying a house is stressful in Toronto and you usually don't get very many days to clear the condition of home inspection if you're lucky enough to get an offer accepted with such a condition. We made an appointment the day before we needed an inspection and Carson Dunlop was able to accomodate us. Our inspector gave us serious peace of mind about our purchase. We knew it was a fixer upper, but her knowledge was so in-depth we were able to ask a lot of dumb questions and she gave us very serious answers. We also received this excellent manual on how things work in the house and what kind of maintenance needs to be done, which is essential for first-time homeowners. The manual also gives average costs of particular improvements which is good for getting an idea how much things will cost down the road. Our inspector only spotted a venting issue in the upstairs bathroom, but after moving in we discovered that none of the plumbing in our house is vented so that is the only complaint. Seems to be the norm for a house that's over 100 years old and was last reno'd in the 80s. Overall, we're very happy with the service we got.

Carson Dunlop is a bit on the expensive side when it comes to home inspections. But I have to admit, the service was well worth it.

The engineer (Stephen) who completed the inspection was experienced and knowledgeable, was able to answer all of my questions. He was very thorough with the inspection, and provided cost estimates as well as recommended timelines for any repairs needed.

After the inspection I was provided with a detailed report listing any potential issues that were found, as well as a reference book that provided more background information.

As a first time home buyer I really feel that the home inspection from Carson Dunlop provided me with the information I needed to make an informed decision.

We bought our first home in September after completing a home inspection with Carson Dunlop. We were pleasantly pleased on how accommodating Carson Dunlop was in arranging a timely inspection. The inspector, Scott Thompson, was very knowledgeable. He spent a lot of time explaining each inspection point. We were so pleased to have worked with such a great inspector. Scott was very responsive to our questions and concerns and corrected our invoice for services not performed. I highly recommend Carson Dunlop to any new home buyers.

Was able to book a home inspection within 48 hours. Our inspector Hal was extremely knowledgeable and patient. He educated us on a few items that our new home will have such as how to use the humistat and drains correctly. Also noticed a few things that we will be fixing to ensure we don't have any future issues (bathroom fan exits into attic instead of a vent out of the roof). He was funny, sincere and practical and make it definitely worth the cost. Although you receive an electronic copy (.pdf) of the report, for the cost it would be nice to have a hard copy sent to your home for your records.

Milo from Carson Dunlop took his time to carefully inspect all the major aspects of the home I was interested in purchasing. He climbed to the lower roof, up into the attic and into the dingy knee walls. One neat service that was provided was the referencing of all my appliances' serial numbers against a database of product recalls. Turns out the dishwasher had a problem that the manufacturer wanted to fix up.
The service took about 2 hours (it's a small property), including the time Milo took to walk me through and briefly explain his observations. The ballpark estimates for fixing some of the issues were helpful too.

On the flipside, Carson Dunlop isn't the cheapest option around and I know Homestars has ratings on many other home inspection companies. All in all, I'd say I received pretty good value for the money I spent.

The home inspector was punctual and efficient. He took his time to explain what he saw throughout my house. He was professional but also made things easy to understand. The report was complete and the book he left us about home maintenance was a nice perk. I also get monthly emails that are quite informative.

Really appreciated the flexibility they offered in booking the inspection. Was able to book our inspection before knowing if our offer would be accepted to keep the time for subject removal very short. When the offer wasn't accepted, we were able to easily cancel. We did the same for the next house, so when the offer was accepted, we already had our inspection lined up. Excellent service. Offered options and solutions instead of restrictions and penalties.

I've used Gordon Mathieu from CD on more than one occasion and have been very impressed each time. I found him very personable, extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. As a Toronto Realtor, I will highly recommend him for every inspection every time!