Private I. Home Inspections

The inspector was very responsive to emails and requests but unfortunately missed a few key things. I did not know to ask at the time being a first time buyer. During the inspection he had a moisture meter but did not use it– turns out there is water damage in my unit under the floors from a few months ago or longer. My inspector visually inspected instead of using the meter during the process. I had emailed about him coming back to check the roof and other areas and be said it would be a $ 125 charge to return because he didn’t see anything visually wrong. I opted out because at the time trusted it was fine. Once moved in I have been calling a few places to get price quotes on removing carpet to install hardwood floors in some parts of the unit. One contractor was helpful and looked at the whole unit and pointed out areas where floors are already installed and clearly warped, as a result of water damage. He used a moisture meter and showed me spots that had water and spots that were dry. He quickly was able to spot a potential leak from the outside that could be the cause of the damage. I did not previously know to look for that or notice that. I take responsibility as a consumer to ask for these things, but disappointed that it wasn’t pointed out by the inspector. I would have asked for credit during negotiations.

About 75% of my clients have used Private I. for their home inspections and have had nothing but positive things to say about their interactions and professionalism. Ryan typically does most of my inspections and he is great about explaining everything he’s doing to the client and making sure they understand any defects and risks.

Tony could not have been more professional, or helpful, or knowledgeable. He and Ryan are both AWESOME!!! They arrived 45 min before my appointment time to be as thorough as possible with me. They covered every inch of the house, climbing on the roof, going through the attic and the crawlspace, behind walls, etc. They gave me a 36 page report; which they took the time to walk me through and show me the issues in person. They also made sure I knew how to operate all of the safety features of the house (shut off valves, emergency exits, etc). They sent the report to me, my realtor, and my attorney before they left the property. Tony has over 17 years experience and he’s done thousands of inspections. He knows what he’s doing, and he seems to take pride in his work. He is also very personable and approachable. I would absolutely recommend Private I Home Inspections to anyone looking to buy a house in the area.

As you can tell by the rating, mine is a cautionary tale, ladies and gents. I bought a house in may of 2012. The inspector i had used in the past wasn’t available the week i needed the inspection done and i didn’t want to delay the closing, so my agent game me Tony’s number and i scheduled an inspection with him. Tony himself didn’t make it, but sent a guy named Larry instead. As the other reviews mentioned, Larry showed up with a tablet that had an online checklist. Unfortunately that was Larry’s only claim on professionalism. I chatted with my agent as Larry walked around the house with his tablet for 45 minutes.
Fast forward to closing. Within the first 10 minutes of walking through my new home i notice a large area of discoloration of wooden siding cladding a small balcony. When i touched it my finger went right trough — it was completely rotten. The roofing membrane covering the floor of the balcony was protruding in one giant bubble about a foot wide and three or four feet long. The wooden trusses underneath it were completely rotten as well. I’ll see if i can post a few pics. The balcony is on the third level. The walls in the same spot on the two floors below it had water streaks, so it was pretty obvious there was prolonged water damage present. I called Tony and told him about the issue. He sent Larry over who said to me «so what is it worth to ya? 200?» I said it’s worth to me whatever it costs to fix it. He talked to Tony and said that clearly i’m not happy with the inspection and they would be willing to refund the $ 500 fee i paid for it if i sign something saying that would absolve them from any further responsibility. I said no and had my contractor fix the damage, which was very extensive and cost around 10 grand. I showed the bill to Tony, and he tried to argue first that Larry covered the damage in his report (he didn’t, the report literally said the balcony was in satisfactory condition), and then that the damage wasn’t readily observable and therefore it wasn’t reasonable to expect Larry to discover it (it was, Larry walked around on the balcony with a flashlight and told me the roofing membrane on its floor is protruding from sun exposure). The fact that these two arguments are mutually exclusive escaped him completely. Since neither make any sense, his ultimate defense was the ryder in the inspection contract that limits any claims against them for any reason whatsoever to the $ 500 fee i paid for it. I did sign it at the end of the inspection.
So here’s Tony’s business model. Book as many appointments as possible. Hire an incompetent hack like Larry to walk around the house with a tablet for about an hour. Collect $ 500 per appointment. In most cases nothing major is wrong with the property and he gets to keep the money. When something is wrong, he simply refunds $ 500, Larry looses an hour of his life (hardly a big loss), and the homeowner is stuck with thousands of dollars worth of damages to fix.
The story doesn’t end there. I understand that mistakes happen. Truth is, i would have settled for an apology and an offer to help cover the damages. not even the entire thing, half would do. Instead i basically got an F U from Tony. That didn’t sit well with me, so i sued him. I did it for two reasons. One, i wanted to teach him a lesson and make sure this behavior costs him money one way or another, since looking in the mirror every morning apparently is not a sufficient deterrent for him. Secondly and more importantly, i think his business practices should not be legal and are clearly against public policy because unscrupulous and incompetent home inspectors can simply hide behind fine print with impunity.
In the end i lost the original court case and the appeal because the judges couldn’t get over the fact that i signed a contract that limited Tony’s responsibility to $ 500 no matter how negligent the inspection may have been. The litigation cost me another 10 grand, but i’m fine with it as i know Tony’s legal defense didn’t come free either. He’d rather pay his lawyer than do right by his customer, which would have likely cost him a lot less money, incidentally. The only thing i regret is that we didn’t win and establish a legal precedent that over time would put people like Tony out of business.
as a side note, this is the only review a have ever written for anything. i signed up for Unilocal specifically to post it, because 5 stars from two reviews is a rather inaccurate rating for Tony’s enterprise.

I have used Private I home inspections for my second time and each time I was extremely impressed. I got a 35 page report instantly with every single detail outlined so that anyone can understand what was found. Tony, doesn’t miss a thing. From electrical wiring to water pressure. A quality inspection is a MUST in today’s «investment group, FLIPPING» of properties. He literally saved me 10’s of THOUSANDS of dollars in home prices. I would never use anyone else!

Tony was referred to us by an agent, and he was very helpful to us first-​time home buyers. He was very thorough and even took his time to explain to us how to properly take care of certain appliances (water heater, etc.) to maximize their life. He did his work on a convertible notebook with a stylus — so the report was sent to us the minute he finished his inspection. Very professional.