The Home Inspection Co

Hi,
Yes even though we didn’t discover anything major, there were nevertheless a handful of small maintenance and repair issues, fairly typical to the age of your unit. The fact that they used deodorizers throughout, after we requested all deodorizers be removed 24 hours prior to the inspection. Yeah that gets me a little nervous. Deodorizers not only block odors, the insidious part is they block your odor receptors preventing or drastically reducing your ability to detect any odors other than the nauseating artificial flowery/fruity signatures.
Public notice: at the risk of offending some people; if you use these scented devices in your home, that's about all you will smell. All your meals will taste like a combination of food and artificially scented deodorizer A good house does not have any scent at all. 85% of the flavor we experience is due to our sense of smell. http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/how-we-taste-food/
Agents are salespeople they shouldn't “noticeably” get upset and make a fuss, unfortunately this inspector was not going to follow the agents direction or time constraints. The agent was forewarned that we would be there till 2 or 3 PM, as it turned out, we were there from 8:30 till 1:00. Unfortunately that's what some less experienced agents think their job is: to create a distraction and maybe even crank up the stress levels. Duh!! Agents are simply unaccustomed to inspectors who do not obediently kowtow to their directions, wishes and constraints. Most inspectors have been well trained (by agents), if they don't follow the agents direction they simply won't survive.
I don't know why sales agents make a big fuss when they have already been told ahead of time, the parameters of my inspection. When agents create these distractions, I believe they think they are serving the seller’s best interest, when in fact I get the uneasy feeling they're hiding something. This tactic generally causes me to look more closely, slowing me down rather than speeding me up.
Happy trails...
Ted

Hi Jazz,
Thank you for your testimonial.
Your 65-year-old completely renovated house reportedly done by a very experienced and well-known and respected builder had some awesome features but typical to any construction project the builder took a few shortcuts. Some of the shortcuts involved work done without permits. I like the way we were assured that everything was done with the best materials, craftsmanship and with all the requisite building permits- “so we really didn't have to waste too much time looking at everything”. As I recall they did have building permits but they were not for the same degree of renovation. A common practice in construction and renovation is to take out building permits for everything, do the work, have them inspected and get an occupancy permit. After that's all done and safely out of the way, the builder will continue with the real renovation: installing new electrical circuits and even elec. subpanels, basement kitchen, bathrooms, decks and even additions, etc. I'm very happy to hear that you had your entire electrical system inspected and repaired. The electrical hazards that we were able to uncover were indications of possible concealed anomalies, potentially dangerous anomalies. It makes me nervous when I discover electrical work that is noncompliant, but especially when I see that contractor didn’t care enough to even try to conceal their dangerous handiwork. That reckless/dangerous regard for human life tends to cast suspicion on all the work. In those situations I consider the entire house may have concealed sizzling or potential sizzling electrical connections which can only be detected by a licensed journeyman or master electrician with specialized circuit testing tools. Another disappointment: it's typical that builders do not replace all the copper piping prior to doing all the finish work. The thing with replacing copper piping with PEX pipe is that the PEX pipe will last the life of the building. This old piping will require replacing in the near future, why didn't the builder do it while he had everything opened up. The simple Answer is: he didn't want to waste any money on a home he was not going to live in. Let someone else deal with it.
I'm very pleased to hear that you are working through some of our discoveries. As you have discovered, every home is a starter kit with alterations and decorations but also there will be a list of necessary repairs and improvements to solidify the home and its function.

Happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi Kim,
Thanks for the detailed overview of my service.
Getting to the inspection an hour prior to everyone else showing up, allows me time to analyze what’s going on with the exterior. When you arrived I was able to show you my discoveries and have some level of intelligent discussion instead of just pointing out bad, bad, bad.
You touched on a differential in my style of doing an inspection and an agent’s expectations of how long and detailed a home inspection “should” be. Agent interference used to be a common occurrence in my beginning yrs but most real estate agents pretty much leave us to our inspection now. I don't doubt that agents take every opportunity when I’m out of earshot to express their displeasure. They just don't realize when they say I'm taking too long, my clients are filled with glee that they are getting more than the average home inspection. Yeah everything negative agents say about me only positively reinforces my clients choice.
Yes you are right; composing a comprehensive and photo detailed custom report takes a great deal of time, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it actually takes me 10 to 12 hours to compose. It takes time to assemble all the observations into a compelling user-friendly manual of your home. But that's not all: the following day after 6 o'clock we sat down and reviewed the report to your satisfaction. The review process usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 1/2hrs. after which I believe my clients are fully informed and comfortable with the information. The review process is an option, I haven't had many people differ this opportunity. So when you compare the average 3 to 5 hour turnaround industry standard inspection to mine which takes around 20 hours, my fee starts looking like a real bargain. More importantly you were fully involved in the inspection and in the report review. Most other inspectors are running off to their next inspection.

Happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi Joe,
Thanks for the comprehensive account of your inspection experience.
With all the excellent looking inspection services available, and at half my inspection fee. I'm surprised I get any cold calls at all. Most of my work comes from satisfied client referrals. In fact when people do contact me they simply book me, no discussion about my fee because they know from their friend or family experience that I work very hard for my clients and it’s more than a fair price which is; as you mention, one half the average going rate per hour with 4 times the amount of work. Before I book them, I do give them a hard quote, just to make sure we're on the same page. They want an excellent inspection and a few hundred extra dollars does not factor in their decision.
Real estate agents control their homebuyers by suggesting a home inspection only cost $3-$500. When a professional in the industry tells you what a service costs you are mighty reluctant to go with anything outside of that. So a $1000 inspection looks outrageous but that's only because their repulsion at paying that exceeds their curiosity to discover why. Yup your real estate agent has planted a bomb in your head that will go off if you entertain paying more than $500 for a measly home inspection. Oh the shame of even entertaining such a choice.
Nonbelievers cannot understand the difference between what I call a professional home inspection and the average 3 to 5 hour home inspection turnaround- that's the industry standard. That standard is designed to get a superficial exposure of the house while providing what appears to be discoveries of the true condition of the home. Now the homebuyer can proceed with the purchase, with “confidence”. That's what real estate agents have trained inspectors to offer: cheap, quick turnarounds so the agent can tidy up the loose ends faster and remove subjects.
When real estate agents are not my primary concern, I inform all players, I will be there for the best part of the day so I'm not being pushed out the door after 3 hours. The more time spent in the discovery process will uncover a considerable volume of deficiencies and suspicions, I will use the time to verify or hunt down a cause for the discovered anomalies. If you don't spend the time in the discovery process you have very little information in which to formulate cause, generally an inspection detects effects. I don't believe showing or telling people the discovered defects is what an inspection is all about. If you don't demonstrate what caused a defect then the client will have very little understanding of what to do with it; what would be involved to make repair and how to prevent it from happening again. Yes, I would say inspectors believe their job is to point out bad things, I believe an inspector's job is to involve the client in the discovery and to discuss solutions. Some homebuyers might think they don't want to know anything except whether they should buy the house are not, there are plenty of inspectors who will do just that and mostly to the affirmative.
Being involved in the inspection can actually be fun, the time just flies by.

Happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi Tas,
I'm very gratified by your testimonial. You described my inspection process with user-friendly terms, which I take great pride in hearing.
As far as getting your money's worth, for seasoned home-buyers and especially new home-buyers you should know that I work 4 times longer for only twice the price per inspection compared to other home inspectors. So although I look more expensive I'm actually the cheapest inspector in the industry. Popular home inspectors make anywhere from $100 an hour to $150 an hour for 4 to 5 hours work. I make approx. $40-$45 an hour for 18 to 24 hours work per inspection, that's why my inspections take 2 full days. The reason it takes me 2 days to do an inspection is because houses are more complicated than a three-hour run through of the house while taking pictures and entering observations in an iPad. These types of inspection are supported by generic boilerplate, an inspection should be- observe every square inch of the house, take lots of photographs, take the information and photographs back to an office and try to make sense of all that information. Prepare a comprehensive report with observations and possible connections of deficiencies to other causes and consequences. In my opinion a 3-5 hour inspection turnaround will mostly uncover the obvious. I often make discoveries while reviewing all my photographs, that just isn't possible with a quick inspection turnaround.
Apart form an inspector’s fee, the most important considerations are how long the inspector spends on the inspection and report writing, a sample of an inspection report is also critical for your selection. (Spoiler alert!) I would say most inspection companies do not want to show their product because your report will be almost identical except for a few specific variations. If you think the inspection report is unique then you will be thrilled with all the boilerplate; thinking that the inspector is brilliant to be able to compose all that information in such a short period.
Sadly, if your son had not insisted on your hiring me as your inspector I suspect you would remain ignorant to half of the discoveries we uncovered.

Thanks again and happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi Sudhir,
I like the fact that you are a hard-nosed skeptic, most people don't realize how difficult it is to be independent from realtors. If you don't go along to get along in this business, you might as well hang up your flashlight. I've been doing home inspections for 17 yrs full-time and the 1st 5 yrs were extremely difficult with agents interfering with potential client’s choosing me as their inspector. Most home inspections are by realtor referral, to get on an agent, preferred, referral list (“their chosen inspectors”) you have to be part of the team, ... the sales team. Obviously inspectors can't paint the house as perfect but they can point to problems with a kinder eye and a misdirecting vocabulary. If the house sale fails for whatever reason that inspector will not be their 1st choice for subsequent inspector referrals. House sale failures are never associated with failures of the house its failures of the sales team. A home inspector can soon fall out of favor and even be blackballed. So there is a lot riding on every home inspection an inspector does. The trouble with today is that with the Internet that inspector's name is shared throughout the industry. I have seen exceptional inspectors bite the dust simply because they were squeezed out. I'm lucky I survived, I had very little overhead in my lean beginning yrs.
On the 2nd point of not having a real estate agent follow us around during the inspection, it's written in the real state standards and practice that an agent cannot interfere whatsoever with the inspection or inspector. Most inspectors allow the agent to shadow the inspection when the client is there so they can: #1- when the inspector says something is bad; the agent will pipe up and explain why it's not so bad and that all houses have these same problems, inspectors will not stand up to the realtor because that's where their work comes from. #2 just by being there within earshot the home inspector is intimidated and will coach his language so not to raise any alarm bells, wouldn't want to upset the agent. #3 to remind the inspector that the realtor needs the inspector to finish up ASAP. #4 by being there the agent will create a distraction, engage the homebuyer so that the homebuyer is not listening to the inspector and the inspector cannot get a word in to explain what he's looking at. Yes it all looks rather natural but every part of the Home inspection with an agent present has been carefully crafted to support the sale.
I seem to be well known to most real estate agents because now they leave me completely alone and simply ask when they can come back to lock up.
Your comments on your report: the whole idea behind having you with me during the inspection is so that you have had firsthand knowledge of our discoveries, we discussed the issues at the time. The report reviewed the 2nd day further consolidated your understanding so that the volume of information was not overwhelming. The cost of most home inspections have been controlled by real estate agents, you charge too much you don't get referrals. So the home inspection industry has been designed and controlled by real estate agents from the very beginning and through agent referrals, most home inspectors are willing to go along with this arrangement.
So yes I'm glad you carefully scrutinized your choice of home inspector.
Happy Trails....
Ted Gilmour

Hi David,
I suspect you're completely installed in your new place. I do hope you are attending to some of the deficiencies like the plumbing, that one makes me a bit nervous. This being your 2nd inspection we didn't find a perfect house but we did find a workable house, much like your house back in 2013.
You were keen to accompany me during the inspection, had you not my report would've been a little overwhelming. I don't understand how home inspectors ask the clients to show up for the last hour to do a walk-through. There is no time to explain everything and certainly no time for you to digest information and formulate questions. Real estate agents prefer this final walk-through device because it does not allow you to really see your house, essentially it expedites the sale process. House system failures generally do not happen all at once so people move-in are happy with everything and then believe that when something does go wrong down the road, they believe it wasn't something that a home inspector would be able to detect. A professional and seasoned home inspector can often detect and predict failures. The only way to do this is to have been in the business for at least 5 to 10 yrs and spend the best part of the day or longer inspecting and producing a report.
Happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi Dave,
That inspection was one of the more hygiene challenged homes I've been through, we all donned rubber gloves and kept our shoes on. We probably should have worn respirators as well. Thankfully the bottom line for the home is that it just needed a real good cleaning out, scrubbing, some electrical repairs and new piping. I think the strata will be very grateful that you have taken over the home and are in the process of renovation. As a famous home inspector used to say: “every house is a good house for the right price”. I believe we found the house under the litter and garbage, a diamond in the rough maybe not but all the same your enthusiasm and hard work will transform it into a solid home again.
Keep the photos and emails coming as you work through your projects.
Happy trails...
Ted Gilmour

Hi B.Y.
Your inspection was from 8:30 AM till 4 PM on a 3400 ft.² home. Funny how you would mention that I’m punctual, I think you've been reading everybody else's testimonials. By spending that much time inspecting the house we’re able to discuss some of the problems. It does you no good just to say this or that needs repair: “have a licensed professional plumber/roofer/electrician/etc. inspects and make repairs. ” while there's nothing wrong with saying that, it doesn't provide much information on what's required to fix something, when to fix-it and how much. Yes a home inspection is more than a quick walk through saying: bad, bad, bad. You are going to live in this house, you want to be on top of what various contractors may try to sell you. I love having clients like yourself who take a keen interest in the discovery process and the discussions leading to a resolve. This is what I get up in the morning for.
When other inspectors are trying to stay within the $4-$600 inspection range you had no troubles spending twice that because you realize from the 1st inspection that my fee is the most economical in terms of value and utility.
All too often I find homebuyers, and mostly 1st time home buyers are led to less than ideal homes, they hire me and we discovered that their home was just a really good looking pig with lipstick. What I find is that after the 1st inspection my clients are very smart shoppers and choose smartly for their 2nd choice. Of course their 2nd choice will not be perfect but at least I’ve found the repairs will be quite manageable.
Happy trails...
Ted