We used Paul for a pre-purchase inspection. It was our first time buying a house and we obviously relied heavily on his assessment.
We ended up not purchasing the house based on Paul’s report – which was entirely our decision based on his information. On the plus side, he did not seem at all interested in sugar-coating anything which I would expect from any inspector.
The cost was $480 for slightly over 2 hours which is definitely on the high end of the scale. This included the time it took Paul to write the report up in front of us. He checked water pressure, electrical, foundation, windows, landscaping, insulation in the attic, etc. and took pictures the whole time which we were not provided with. He did not do a close up inspection of the roof or get on the roof to inspect anything but rather performed a visual inspection from ground level.
While I was fairly comfortable with his ability to honestly assess a home, I was surprised that he wouldn’t offer any sort of discount whatsoever when we came back the next week to see if he was interested in performing an inspection for another place we were considering to purchase.
$480 is a lot of money and pretty expensive for a 2 hour home inspection including watching him write up notes for us. My spouse also called him with follow-up questions on his report and told me afterward that she was not please with his attitude and responses to her questions. Therefore based on a value-for-money and customer service unfortunately I would not be able to recommend this inspector.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $480.00
- Company Response
Hi Matt,
We’re sorry to hear that you feel our services fell short of your expectations.First and foremost, home inspection is unregulated in Ontario and anyone can call themselves a home inspector. For this reason, consumers need to exercise caution in their choice. Saving a few dollars and picking a lower priced inspection service whose inspector may not have extensive inspection experience, may end up costing you more than you bargained for in the long run after you buy the home and things start to unravel.
Yes there are inspectors who will conduct their services for $250 but this is also a profession where you get what you pay for.
Our inspection fee was $425 + HST. Considering the age and size of the home, our fee was well within industry norms. Our pricing policy has always been to be fairly competitive with inspection services in our area, with the price reflecting qualifications, experience, training, services, and credentials. We feel that our fees are competitive and reflect a higher quality of service not found with other inspection firms.Our inspector holds 4 professional designations from respected sources – all recognised and recommended by CMHC. He was a former builder and has been a full time home inspector for 33 years having completed over 22,000 home inspections. Our reputation for service is unsurpassed and we are proud recipients of the BBB “Torch Award” for Exceptional Customer Service and Business Ethics – a first for any home inspection firm in Canada. Our inspector has also won National awards from Canada’s largest Home Inspection Association for his dedicated service to improving the profession. So are we like other inspections firms? We’ve clearly proven we are a cut above on many levels.
You hired us to conduct a comprehensive thorough inspection of a home you were considering purchasing, which you agreed we did. We have performed many thousands of inspections, and the time to complete an inspection is based on following a systematic process that we are very experienced in performing. You express concern with the time spent during your inspection, yet we clearly uncovered a substantial number of issues with the home and had sufficient time to explain them to you in detail while on-site.
You were also informed of our professional practices and procedures prior to your inspection by email and you replied that you were in full agreement with them. Details of our inspection process and limitations were clearly explained and provided to you well in advance. We also offered during our inspection, to share any photos you might need should you wish to bargain with the vendor but none were requested.We remember the house well. It was an older 1960’s brick bungalow on a very large lot.
While the home had definite curb appeal, closer investigation revealed it had a myriad of issues which included major structural concerns with numerous severe foundation cracks/repairs and step cracking of the brick at several locations. The area the home was located in is well known for being on Leda clay which may have explained a lot of the above. However, in addition to the structural issues, the home also needed a new roof, new A/C and we suspected that the furnace was nearing the end of its anticipated lifespan and suggested that you budget for its replacement in the very near future. Many of the deficiencies noted were significant and could prove very costly to remediate properly, which was also explained to you in detail during our inspection.
When your wife called us she was extremely disappointed that the property had not fared well during our inspection. Unfortunately, our findings were not what she expected or wanted to hear. She wanted us to go back free of charge and give the property a second look. We told her that we stood behind our initial findings 100% and that a re-visit was unnecessary. Deciding whether to proceed with a purchase based upon inspection results, is not our decision to make. It is our professional duty however to inform our clients in detail of all of our findings, both good and bad. It is unfortunate that your wife’s Dream Home turned out to be less than anticipated.As for the 2nd inspection request, you called on exceptionally short notice during our busiest season and we offered to re-arrange our already full schedule to accommodate you. It is our practise to offer repeat client loyalty discounts and had the home you were looking at been newer, we would extended one but this was another 1950’s – 1960’s older home that you admitted, had issues as well. We felt our price was fair and justified.
The upside Matt was that you made an informed decision to walk away from a potential money pit based upon our report. We take pride in knowing that our inspection educated you both on our concerns for the future upkeep of this property. It is our regret that you feel that you did not get value for your money. We encourage you to contact us directly to address any concerns you had with the inspection or the quality of our reports and services.