Thanks for posting your comments on my service Paul. I take constructive criticism seriously but in your write up, there are numerous inaccurate statements regarding the new home inspection I performed for you about 7 months ago:
1. We hired Vahn for a new home (prior to Tarion's one year reporting).
Vahn is a very nice and knowledgeable guy! His home inspection was relatively thorough and his feedback and report was done well and quickly.
>> Vahn: Thank you for the positive feedback Paul.
2. I was a little disappointed in a couple of things during the inspection and while I understand that Vahn says that his home inspections are based on the 'time and condition that is seen at this moment', I will say that my comments are based on what I witnessed at the time and condition of the moment during the inspection of Solex Group.
3. Upon arrival, he seemed rushed (I later found out through a comment he made that he had booked himself 3 home inspections on that day)
>> Vahn: The inspection took almost 3 hours to complete on a Saturday (as scheduled), nothing was rushed. I told you on the rare occasion I do schedule 3 inspections but only when I'm free the following morning to work on the reports (as was the case on this day). Nothing wrong with this as I had Sunday morning available to complete reports.
4. While I followed him around during his inspection, I felt like some of my questions I asked were not answered as well as I would of liked (I would have liked to had known if any were valid as per Tarion's Construction Performance Guidelines), but Vahn just gave general answers (it felt like I was just being appeased).
>> Vahn: The Tarion Construction Performance Guidelines (CPG) is approximately a 300 page document. It's unrealistic to expect anyone to have memorized such a huge document. I remember telling you at least a couple times that I didn't have a conclusive answer for you, but would research your concerns with the CPG at my home office and highlight it in the report if I determined it was a warranty item – this was done as stated.
5. While we were outside, Vahn went up to the roof to inspect. When I asked to go up with him I was told that I couldn't go up to my own roof because of insurance regulations (even though it was my house on my property). When he returned down, he said everything looked good and he would ensure I had pictures on the report (no roofing pictures were provided on the report).
>> Vahn: Paul, you wanted to use my ladder to go up to the roof of your 2-story house. This is a huge liability issue and no professional would/should allow a client/non-employee to do this. If you have your own ladder, no problem. What I actually said (as I have done for many years) was “sorry you can't come up with me, but I'm going to take various photos of the roof for you. When I come back down, we'll review them together.” Which we did. I never told you (or any client in the past) that photos of the roof will be provided in the report when no issues exist. This is all straight-forward and standard practice. Heck, the majority of home inspectors these days don't even physically get on a 2-story roof.
6. Once inside, he went up to the attic. Well, didn't really go up into the attic because he said he didn't want to disturb the insulation. I wasn't too pleased with this because on the phone he said he would go up 'as long as he could get in', but it seemed like he changed his mind on site. Knowing some of my neighbours had issues with insulation at the front of the house, I wasn't particularly happy, but didn't say anything.
>> Vahn: This was stated very clearly on the phone, that I won't be entering your attic due to the high levels of insulation typically found in new homes. There was about 18 inches (46 cm) of insulation in your attic! Inspectors do not enter/walk around in an attic with that much insulation and compromise/disturb it. This is common sense and stated in the Standards of Practice as well. If you had an area missing or greatly lacking insulation, either I would have observed it using my 2000 lumen flashlight from the hatch opening or the thermal scan may have helped locate it (no warranty issues found). I would have preferred you said something so I could have reminded you of such standard and simple procedures.
7. While inspecting the electrical panel, I found it a bit presumptuous for Vahn to feel that he can put a company sticker to advertise Solex Group on the panel without asking if he could.
>> Vahn: Sorry, I didn't think this would upset anyone. It's a business card size sticker (with company name and contact info on it). One can easily remove it, and I'll take this into consideration going forward. My apologies for placing the sticker on your electrical panel.
8. Finally, right at the end of the inspection, he remembered that we had paid for the "Extended Inspection" which is basically a thermal camera inspection. While Vahn was going around the house with the thermal camera, it felt to be done in a quick, rushed manner.
>> Vahn: I always perform the thermal scan at the end with my extended package. This is the best time to do it, after all the plumbing fixtures have been tested. All the walls/ceilings/floors and your electrical panel were scanned properly with sufficient time allotted. I'm baffled where such terms as “he remembered” or “quick, rushed manner” are coming from...I've never ever heard such statements regarding my inspections. In fact, people like the fact that I take longer than most to perform my inspections.
9. Overall, I feel like if I was a first time homebuyer and didn't know anything about home construction the inspection with Solex Group would have been worth my money. Vahn is a nice guy that knows his stuff, but I feel like I wasted money on this one.
>> Vahn: Thank you for the positive aspects of your review Paul but wow, I'm speechless on the rest. I've been in this business for many years and know how my service compares to others out there. I'm not claiming to be the best or “know everything”, but I can assure you your home was inspected professionally and properly without corners being cut nor was it rushed.
I don't always expect a top rating, but a 6/10 when almost all of your complaints are based on incorrect/misleading statements, unrealistic expectations, nonsense, or things outside the scope of a home inspection is a bit disappointing. In the end, I know in my heart that a high quality professional home inspection was performed for you that met or exceeded the Standards of Practice. I wish you all the best Paul.
