Precision Home Inspection of America, Inc.

Review: Precision advertises that you'll be getting “two highly experienced and trained engineers/inspectors, who have completed 1000s of inspections, who look at the property as if it were their own... and finding all the pros and cons of the property so that you can make an intelligent decision on its purchase.” All over their website it refers to the "family owned and operated" business of two brothers, [redacted] and [redacted]. They say to call to speak to the owners, so I did. I spoke with [redacted] and scheduled my inspection, explaining that I'm a single mom and am relying on him to tell me if the house will need any major repairs because I am stretching my budget to afford it.

He did not show up on the day of the inspection, instead sending [redacted] and a woman named [redacted] who was newly licensed and had not done inspections before. I complained about this, but was not offered any other solution.

The inspection lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes, and [redacted] acted as an apprentice, merely writing things down for [redacted]. When I complained, [redacted] offered to come inspect it himself, but when I later wrote and called to ask him to do the final walk-through with me, he ignored my email and phone message. I have records of both.

The house has been a disaster from one end to another, filled with problems the inspection didn't catch (starting with a lack of heat and hot water, a malfunctioning washer, moldy cabinets, etc.). Contractors have repeatedly told me I should sue my inspector. I just want a refund.Desired Settlement: $550 refund.

Business

Response:

My name is [redacted] and I am President of Precision Home Inspection of America. I am a licensed NY State home inspector and home inspector instructor. I am

responding to the complaint registered by [redacted] for

an inspection we completed for her in May [redacted] 2013 in Stony Brook.

I first spoke to [redacted] approximately one week before

her inspection and scheduled her inspection. She unfortunately concluded that I

would be one of the inspectors which I was not. She refers in her complaint

that I ([redacted]) was at the inspection, again I was not at the inspection. [redacted] sent me an email (May [redacted])

after the inspection was completed telling me she assumed I would be there and

why was I not there? Here is a copy of the email I received:

“Hi [redacted],

Actually, I'm really disappointed. I hired Precision because of *you*--

everywhere on your website, every testimonial is about [redacted] and [redacted], [redacted] and

[redacted]. I took the time to read about your qualifications. I spoke with you on the

phone. Then when I got there, [redacted] was there with a woman who is not even mentioned

on your website, who is apparently a newly licensed contractor. I know nothing

about her and wouldn't have trusted her to inspect my new home if I'd been

told. She acted more as an apprentice, though, writing things down for [redacted]. The

inspection was done in under 2 hours, which would have been fine if it had been

the two of you and you'd split up to check different things, but that's not how

it was. I said to [redacted] that I wasn't feeling good about the fact that [redacted] was

newly licensed, and he said, "Why?" I said, "I want to hear that

she has 10 years' experience." He said, "Well, you're not getting

that with me, either!" That was supposed to make me feel better?

I left very unsure about what to think and believe, given these vague

explanations about a possible major problem... never did he break out a tape

measure, ladder, or even a level until I mentioned it... and even things like

the termite inspection-- [redacted] ended up advising me to get the house checked for

termites every year, and then said, "I get mine inspected every year and

it costs me about $100." Wait... the guy who's inspecting my house for

termites needs to hire a termite inspector?!

In short, I felt like I got a "bait and switch," and was very

disappointed that you didn't tell me you wouldn't be there.”

My response on the same day (May [redacted]) was:

“Jennifer we advertise

that one of us either myself or my brother [redacted] would be one of the inspectors

I talked to my brother about the item about his having his house

inspected for termites every year, the reason why he said that was because he

has a policy for termites and that is why they come every year. [redacted] is a

former student of mine who was at the top of the class and that is why she was

hired. If you were under the impression I would be there I apologize for that.

If you would like I would be more than happy to come by the house and inspect

it myself. Let me know, thanks [redacted]”

As you can see from my

email response I offered to come back

myself, even though my brother [redacted] was one of the inspectors. I received no

response from this email as [redacted] states in her correspondence that she

was reluctant to have another inspection done. My brother [redacted] is the other

[redacted] of the company and he is has been a licensed engineer for almost 40

years. He also has a home inspector’s license which he obtained aprox 6 years

ago. [redacted] points out that she wanted the inspectors to have 10 years

experience at the time of the inspection and she says my brother responded, “Well you’re not getting that with me

either”, which is true, he has only been a licensed inspector for aprox 6

years. [redacted] went through the home inspection class and testing even though he

wasn’t required to in order to inspect properties in NY State because he was

already a licensed engineer. If [redacted] wanted inspectors with 10 years experience

she either should have asked me or gone through the website. All our inspector

bios are on the website at [redacted]

My brother suggested to

[redacted] that she have a termite warranty and inspection every year similar

to his own house for 2 reasons:

1) Normally if you have

this type of warranty they will treat any issues that they may find as part of

the service (which is the only reason my brother uses it)

2) The house we

inspected for [redacted] was slab on grade which termites can invade very

easily without much evidence that they are there. This type of house needs a

once a year inspection.

[redacted] suggests that

the other inspector was not qualified which is not the case at all. [redacted] is a NY State licensed home inspector and was a student of mine in one of

my home inspection classes. Her bio is also on our website at the address

above.

The issue with the

garage roof is a mystery to us. On the report on page 11 under roof structure

it says under observation:

“Únable to evaluate.

Based on owner’s roof repairs existing roof sheathing was 3/8 inch thick. Some

garage roof sheathing is showing sagging, change sheathing, as required, when

shingles need replacement””

No active leaks were

evident at the time.

I would like to comment on the items [redacted] says we should

have made her aware of. First I would like to show an excerpt of 2 emails we

automatically send to all our clients prior to closing where we state the

importance of a thorough final walk through inspection.

“If you

decide to buy this property we cannot impress on you enough to make sure you

complete a final walk through prior to closing. Do not take anything for

granted! Test all appliances, electrical outlets, heating/cooling, check

windows and doors for operation, etc etc. Go into attic because there is always

a possibility animals may now be making permanent residence. Remember when we

did our inspection items may have been working or were in a certain condition

that no longer are working or in the same condition, so be thorough. Take a

copy of our report to your final walk through to compare what you find. If you

would like we also offer this service to all our clients, normally the cost is

roughly half of the original cost of the inspection.”

We inspected the house on May [redacted] and we

receive an email complaining about the items she listed in this complaint on

Nov. [redacted]. A period of aprox. 6 months has elapsed since we did our

inspection. A thorough complete final walk through inspection should have been

completed and obviously could not have been or some of the items [redacted]

complains about would have been detected. [redacted] never

contacted me or anyone else about a final walk through inspection.

Items mentioned in

complaint:

Review: My home address is listed on the Precision Home Inspection of America website as the site of a completed home inspection. The website maintains this list as evidence of business activity in my town. I am the owner of the home and did not consent to have my address published on the company website. I contacted Precision Home Inspection of American on 7/**/14 with a request to have my information removed from the site and the company has not complied.Desired Settlement: I would like my home address removed from the Precision Home Inspection of America website.

Business

Response:

Address taken down off site

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,