Austin Structural Inspections

Ken Larson is amazing. We are first time home buyers are were very afraid of the whole process. We had put in previous offers and found out there was foundation issues and didn’t want to go through that again. Ken Larson is the only home inspector we could find that actually measures the foundation (instead of just walking around and doing a visual inspection). He was booked solid for two weeks when we first called, but he took the time to find an open spot for us with one of his canceled appointments. His report was really detailed and he spent time with us explaining the costs of repairs for everything. You could tell that he takes a lot of pride in his work. If we move again in the future we are definitely going to use him again.

Ken Larson’s home inspection was professional, thorough, and saved me thousands of dollars. I would definitely use his services again, and I highly recommend him to anyone buying a home or condo in Austin.
I was buying a new construction condo in Austin, and wanted a good home inspector to walk through the unit with me prior to my official walkthrough with the builder. After reading reviews on Unilocal,I decided to call Ken. His appointment system was very simple– I scheduled online at least 48 hours in advance.
Ken helped me find over 50 (yes, fifty) problems with my condo, from small things like (unsealed exterior junction boxes which can collect moisture if not sealed), scratches, non-​working electrical outlets, defects around some lights… to large things like a safety hazard with the stairway railings and 2 windows were too hard to open. Ken explained everything to me on-​site, wrote everything in his report, and provided me with photos that I provided to my builder for the official punch list.
The builder was reluctant to fix any of the major issues at first. «They are big windows, they should not be easy to open,» said my builder. I argued, «they are ‘windows.’ By definition, they should be easy to open. I also have a report from a licensed inspector telling me if the windows are not fixed, the stress could cause major damage to the frames.»
I was able to back up my statements by showing Ken’s report, and finally, the builder agreed to fix the windows and all the issues.
Two tips to help everyone:
1) Ken’s work is very thorough, but I do recommend that you show up BEFORE Ken arrives, and make your own list of issues that you found. That way when you walk through the unit with Ken, you can combine your efforts to find as many problems as possible which will all go into the report.
2) If you are buying a NEW home, schedule Ken at least a day BEFORE doing your official walkthrough with the builder. It will take Ken about a day to email you his report, and you want to provide that report to the builder during your walkthrough to ensure they have a complete list of everything you want them to fix. Many builders may schedule a walkthrough the same day as your inspection hoping you will ignore or not have an inspector’s list of defects, but I suggest you insist they move the walkthrough AFTER Ken can inspect your unit.
I had a LOT of issues that would have gone unnoticed if it were not for Ken. I would guess it would cost me $ 2−3K to fix everything myself after closing, and if some of the major issues continued to have gone unfixed, eventually could have lead to structural damage that could easily lead to over $ 10K in repairs.
Thank you Ken. I have been living in a beautiful new condo for 4 weeks now, with no issues whatsoever.

I’m a REALTOR and I’ve worked with many inspectors over the years and Ken is one of THE BEST I’ve ever seen. He is thorough, easy to work with and will explain things to you so that you understand what you’re getting.
I love his online scheduling system and the fact that he also checks your foundation. These are extras I don’t typically see with other inspectors. He will also climb onto the roof (even on two stories) and get into the attic and crawl spaces to check out the house.
It’s really been a pleasure working with Ken every time I see him and I am confident when one of my clients use him that they will have excellent service and valuable insight regarding their home purchase.

Kenneth is the best inspector you can find. I’ve used him for two home purchases now. He’s the only one I know of that measures your foundation with a special device to see if it might be shifted too much and therefore the home might not be a good purchase.
After buying three homes over the years, I’ve learned not to go real cheap on inspectors. They can save you years of high electric bills, costly repairs or from even buying a lemon-​of-​a-​home.
The first inspector we used didn’t tell us that only one of two heating coils was turned on in our home. After several years living there, we paid consistently $ 180 per month to heat a 1300-​sq. foot home.
That’s why I turned to Kenneth. He’s the man to go to!

Kenneth Larson was fantastic. I’ve been a real estate investor, part time, for about 10 years and this was one of the best home inspections I’ve gotten. He said he would show up at 1:00, he was there at 1:02 (this is rare– so many inspectors are constantly LATE.)
You can book him online, I was able to get him to come to my property the next day, which was great because he was booked solid for a week, and we needed an inspection immediately. That I could see when he was available and schedule him while I was at work, without a dozen back and fourth calls, was a complete win.
His inspection was very thorough, and when I asked him questions, he was incredibly knowledgeable about everything. Between being in the industry for 10 years, and being a fourth generation contractor, I know when people really know their stuff or can just talk the talk, and Ken really knows his stuff.
As a side note, and something I very much enjoyed, Ken was great at explaining things at my level. I’m ass-​ignorant about electrical (it’s the only system in a house I can’t completely tear down and rebuild by myself), and he was able to answer my questions so I knew exactly what was wrong. On the things where I know a lot, he adjusted the level of his explanation. He also assumed I was competent and didn’t do any of the «you’re just a little lady» crap that you can get from men in the trades, especially of a certain generation, when you’re female. I know most of them don’t even realize they’re being patronizing and perhaps decades of exposure has made me oversensitive, but I didn’t get a whiff of that from Ken.
He said he would have the report up on his website within 24 hours, it was (even though it was Saturday– I didn’t have to wait all weekend, although 24 business hours would have been reasonable).
Yes, you can get a cheaper inspection elsewhere, but I don’t think you can get one this good at this price elsewhere, and I don’t think you can get the kind of service that Ken gave for this price elsewhere. I will be using him again.