Berkeley Parents Network: Home Inspectors

Berkeley Parents Network

Home Inspectors

Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Home Inspectors

House Inspector

May 2005

The PG&E guy was here and told me, if he were me, he'd have a certain tree removed before it hurt the foundation. Reading all the different situations that can develop in a house, from mold to roof rats, I'm wondering if anyone ever has the whole house inspected, as if for a sale, just to make sure that everything is OK? And who would you recommend? The latest listing in the website is from 2002. And if not a whole house inspection, who could tell me about the tree and the foundation? Ann

We just hired Star Inspection Group in Oakland to inspect a house that we put an offer on with a 7 day inspection contingency. Because of the short contingency period we were forced to get the shorter "on-site" inspection report instead of the more expensive narrative report (which takes over a week to generate). I was not impressed with the short report and I was shocked at the cost. We were charged $650. for a 1500 square foot home. The report consists of a form, where the inspector checked boxes and provided a few written words here and there. It is hard to believe we paid $162./hour for this service. My advice to anyone going through this process - make sure you are with the inspector during the inspection and take lots of notes because your actual report will be meaningless to anyone other than you. Disappointed

I saw two messages last week about home inspection. One was looking for a home inspector, and the other was panning a lousy one. That said, I'd like to recommend an inspector who looked at a house on which we close today. Jay Marlette (jaymarlette@sbcglobal.net) was thorough, friendly, answered all our questions, called it straight on what was important vs. what was merely inoptimal, and was great about suggesting multiple solutions to problems, as our budget is limited. His report came in that afternoon, and was quite extensive. (Though the "cures" suggested were less extensive than in person; be sure to do the walkthrough with him.) While it is true that this is the first inspector I've dealt with, so I haven't much to contrast to, the experience was a positive and informative one. For me, as someone who used to do construction, to be impressed with someone like this is no small feat! I feel I can recommend Jay in good conscience. Give him a call. -Betsy

Jan 2004

Hi-- We are looking at purchasing a home For Sale By Owner without a realtor, and need to hire a home inspector for a general inspection. Any recommendations for well priced and thorough inspectors are greatly appreciated. Thanks! Jen

We were very pleased with the Star Inspection Group of Oakland. The inspector was David Venable. In 1998 it was about $450, but it is money well-spent. If the seller has not provided one, be sure to get a termite (structural pest) inspection as well. David in Berkeley

For a housing inspector, I highly recommend Jim Koeppel, with Friendly Building Inspections. He spent over four hours thoroughly inspecting our 1200 square foot home, clearly explaining any issues we needed to address and why. He also gave us a 30 page inspection report that we refer to frequently which highlighted items which were significant. Furthermore, he was happy to take a call from us over a year later to answer a question we had, and said to call anytime with questions. Very nice guy and extremely thorough. His web site is: http://www.friendlybuildinginspections.com/ and his phone number is: 925-687-9087. Heather

Star Inspections in Oakland is really wonderful - the inspector sent out to my house was thorough, friendly, and patient. I knew nothing at all about almost everything he inspected, but I know a lot more now! The price is reasonable, and the report is easy to understand. Kathleen

June 2002

We are looking for a house inspector who is familiar with the LaMorinda or Albany geology as well as being meticulous in looking for structural problems, etc... Has anyone had a great experience with a house inspector who is very thorough? On the other hand, could you warn us of inexperienced or somehow dissapointing inspectors we should avoid? We made the error in using an inspector recommended by our real estate agent in purchasing our first home. He was brief and it showed... it cost us since we had to make all the repairs later ourselves. Thanks in advance! Susan junfish

I highly recommend Star Inspectors in Oakland. They do a very thorough job, and will issue one of two kinds of reports -- a verbal/checklist type report if you are willing to spend the 4 hours to go through the house as with them as they inspect, and a more narative type report (essay form). We pulled out of one house based on their findings, they inspected the next house we eventually purchased, and have not been unpleasantly surprised as yet (4 years later), and they have inspected a house for us in the Lamorinda area, and found some startling things that prompted us to get structural and roofing experts to delve deeper. The inspection takes 3-4 hours or so. They also often take pictures (digital) so that you can call them after the fact and ask them what they meant by certain things. We paid ~ $450 for the checklist report recently. Contact info: Star Inspection Group - 800-698- 0292, www.stargroup.com. The pictures of ''the worst roof'' etc are kind of fun to see. Shahana

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