Home Core Inc

Home Inspection
Toronto ON M5H 2N2
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Reviews for Home Core Inc

Average customer rating:
8.9 10 (16 reviews)

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Frank
Frank
18 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Leak Inspection Success!

After having our roof done by Alpine Roofing we had a leak in our bathroom ceiling. On the advice of Alpine Roofing after a quick inspection we replaced our chimney. The leak persisted and Alpine Roofing performed a quick inspection again claiming it wasn't their fault. We hired HomeCore Inc. to perform a spot inspection and Rob did so quickly and very thoroughly. He climbed onto the roof and into the attic multiple times and performed a very useful sprinkler test on the roof. In the end he provided us with a detailed report and both video and picture proof for Alpine Roofing that the installation of a faulty bathroom vent was to blame. Thank you Rob for your outstanding work!

Approximate cost of services:
$350.00
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Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Rob's insight helped to save on quite a bit with our first home

Working with Rob from HomeCore was a real pleasure and I found him to be extremely thorough, knowledgeable, and brutally honest (in a good way!) with his inspection. We promptly received the report the same day of the inspection and it was incredibly detailed, and came with a number of photos as well.

It was also a great crash course for us as first time house buyers because he really educated us about the potential issues and regular maintenance required to keep a house in good shape. He showed us the importance of grading one's lot, pointed out the potential fire hazards with the venting, mold in the attic, insulation that needed replacing and a central air conditioning unit that was well past its prime.

Based on the results of his inspection we successfully got the sellers to lower their price by $10K. I'd absolutely work with him again and would highly recommend him to anyone purchasing a property.

Approximate cost of services:
$560.00
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Shawn and Amy from Toronto
Shawn and Amy from Toronto
7 reviews Toronto, ON
8/10

Home Inspection

We hired HomeCore to do 3 inspections on properties we bid on. Rob was the one that did each inspection. In terms of knowledge and competency, Rob is great. His inspections are thorough and he identifies many things to be noted and followed up on. For one home we considered bidding on, Rob identified a pipe that terminated in the basement which he suspected led to an old oil tank buried in the backyard that could have been previously used for an oil burning furnace. A buried oil tank would have been an expensive procedure to re-mediate if so and we opted out of bidding, possibly saving us thousands of dollars and lots of headaches.
The one criticism against HomeCore was some of the follow up after we successfully purchased a home. We asked some questions regarding the age and other topics and the response from the office was that we "need to take some time to read your report". I double checked the report and the information we were asking was not there. Rob eventually circled back and answered all my questions very well but the customer service from the office could be a bit less snippy.

Approximate cost of services:
$400.00
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Company Response

Hi guys. I’m thrilled that you were happy with my inspections for you. I’m even happier that you didn’t buy the second house with the probable buried oil tank (I was very upset to learn that the house sold over asking on the offer date to unsuspecting buyers after the vendor and listing agent failed to acknowledge/disclose this very serious problem). And thank you for letting us know your concerns regarding the response from Zoe in our office to your follow-up questions. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for Zoe to provide any date information to clients unless it’s specifically noted in my report. Since many clients don’t actually read the report, Zoe always encourages them to spend some time with it when they call since it’s the best way for them to better understand their new house. She may also not have access to the report when your call comes in and because it’s usually difficult to reach me directly (I always return calls and emails), reviewing your report is frequently the fastest way to get the information you need. That said, there are many items and upgrades that are not possible to date visually and therefore won’t be in the report. If possible, I provide a best estimate when I’m next available. Ultimately, that’s what we were able to do in your case. We will, however, try to be more careful in future so clients can better understand the limitations of providing this kind of follow-up information – especially for Zoe, our office manager.

Kani from Toronto
Kani from Toronto
1 review Scarborough, ON
10/10

Home Inspection

In my opinion Rob was the most professional and experienced Home inspector you could find in toronto and he is really thorough in how he conducts his inspection. Apart from that he is really polite (soft spoken) and listens to the concerns of his clients answers their question, provides his expert advice on what can / cant be done to fix certain issues. I wouldnt have any doubt of recommending him to any of my collegues, Friends or Family for home inspection

Approximate cost of services:
$370,000.00
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Company Response

Hi, Kani,
Thank you for your kind words. We are always grateful when clients take the time to write a review. You also emailed us which we will add to our testimonial page on our website, homecore.ca.
We wish you much happiness in your new home.
Zoe

Patrick from Oakville
Patrick from Oakville
3 reviews Oakville, ON
2/10

Home Inspection

We were referred to homecore by our realtor who we trusted as he used homecore for his own homes. I met Chuck and he was very professional explained what he was doing and did a tour of the home showing me what needed to be done. None of this was major. He provided a binder with lots of information and was very professional. These were the good things, but this was not the end.
The selling agent was there and advised us that the previous owners had mould in the attic and it was remediated, and the cause was soffit suffocation which he reported to me was common and he looked and the mould was removed properly and this won't be a problem. Well he was very wrong. Less than a year later the mould was back and we just spent close to 10 k having the mould removed and insulation redone properly. Chuck really missed some basic and tell tail signs of a problem with the remediation. 1. If it is day time and you don't see any light the attic is probably not breathing, 2. if you use baffles there should be one every other rafter. 3. Further when using the paint covering method of remediating mould it can only be done for small areas. Every contractor I had look told the same story. This was a major miss. I know we all make mistakes but this was a big one.
Nice guy but this can't be overlooked. I would not recommend this company.

Approximate cost of services:
$500.00
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Company Response

Hi Patrick,

I'm very disappointed in your review of Chuck and our services. Our policy at HomeCore has always been to provide our customers with the best inspection possible and, having carefully reviewed your inspection report and photos, Chuck and I are both of the opinion he did just that. While many of your comments were actually quite positive, including that Chuck was "very professional", you then go on to suggest that Chuck missed some tell-tale signs of a problem with a recently done mould remediation in the attic.

At the time of the inspection (February 9/13), The Listing Agent made everyone aware that there had been a previous mould problem in the attic and that the vendor had hired Healthy Environmental to undertake the remediation. Chuck confirmed remediation had taken place and that, at the time of inspection, there were no obvious signs of remaining mould. Had you contacted the company before signing a new remediation contract you would have learned that the white powdery product you see in the attic is actually an anti-microbial filler called RX Remedy and not a "paint covering" as you were told by a contractor interested in getting your business.

Contrary to your comment about the attic ventilation, Chuck did inform you (see the Structure page of your written report) that the soffit vents were blocked and must be cleared. He also recommended additional attic insulation and to seal around the hatches. Failure to follow these recommendations means that the root cause of the original problem was likely not addressed resulting in the problem redeveloping.

We strongly encourage all our clients to call us when something unusual or potentially costly occurs. It has, unfortunately, become quite common for many contractors with a vested interest to know just what to say to get a homeowner to part with their hard-earned dollars. We have no such vested interest and are genuinely happy to provide our clients with ongoing guidance and support after their inspection. Had you responded to our inspection follow-up email, you would have received additional information alerting you to be extremely cautious of and how to best proceed with any company you will undoubtedly need in future. Had you contacted us before proceeding, we may have been able to give you some valuable guidance that could have saved you a lot of money.

We sincerely hope that the work you undertook to deal with this recurring problem has accounted for and dealt with all the possible causes of mould in your attics. These include ventilation, insulation, and air sealing of all penetrations from the house to the attics. Missing any one of these steps means you could find yourself in a similar position again next year.
Rob

Dan in Toronto
Dan in Toronto
4 reviews Toronto, ON
10/10

Home Inspection

Rob was very thorough, patient, honest and helpful. He was willing to sit down with us and discuss all client-specific concerns. Excellent follow up and post-service assistance as well (above and beyond the call of duty).

Approximate cost of services:
$670.00
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Frank
Frank
18 reviews North York, ON
10/10

Home Inspection

We bought a home that seemed to us to be in fairly good condition. The inspection with HomeCore (recommended by our realtor) confirmed this and their incredibly thorough review put our minds at ease. We were impressed with the materials left with us after the inspection and the video taken by the inspector and shown to us. We're definitely happy.

Approximate cost of services:
$500.00
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Jessica from Toronto
Jessica from Toronto
4 reviews Toronto, ON
5/10

Home inspection

We were referred to Homecore by our realtor, and we were really happy with the thorough inspection Rob gave us. He seemed to know his stuff and found some troubled areas of our prospective new home that we now know to take care of . He gave us a detailed binder full of information on home maintenance and the estimates for the repairs we would need in the future. However, when we called the office to ask a question regarding our attic a couple months post-inspection, we weren't treated very kindly and were almost laughed at by the receptionist. When we got the inspection, we were told we could follow up with the company by phone/e-mail and were not happy with the service we received after handing over the cheque. While we liked the original service we got, the rudeness of our follow-up phone call has steered our minds into not liking this company. We no longer recommend Homecore!

Approximate cost of services:
$500.00
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Company Response

Hello Jessica. I'm very surprised by your negative experience with your post-inspection inquiry. We take our customer service very seriously. Obviously the home inspection is paramount in our business but we've always felt that our follow-up service is just one more element that separates us from everyone else, as told by the hundreds of testimonials on our website - many of which refer specifically and appreciatively to our follow-up service. I regret and apologize that we failed to satisfactorily resolve your issue. Rob

Bryan from Whitchurch-stouffville
Bryan from Whitchurch-stouffville
1 review Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON
10/10

Warranty Inspection

We had HomeCore do our 1 year warranty inspection around the end of July. We found Rob to be professional and good guy over all. He took his time and was very thorough with his inspection. Rob did a great job walking us through his inspection and pointed out the important things to watch out for. He even responded to my email questions days and weeks after in a very timely manner. I would definitely recommend HomeCore to anyone who needs a home inspection.

Approximate cost of services:
$531.00
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Company Response

Hi Brian. Thank you very much for the kind words. I very much enjoy doing warranty inspections even though they take longer than resale inspections. It's been my experience that builders generally don't do a very good job educating new home buyers on homes in general or the systems that operate them successfully. Helping my clients navigate the often complex warranty process along with what's worth fighting over and what's not is very rewarding for me personally. Thanks again. Rob

CJ in Richmond Hill
CJ in Richmond Hill
7 reviews RICHMOND HILL, ON
10/10

Home Inspection

Rob was recommended by our agent and we're glad we used him. He inspected the house on his own and after we sat down together and he gave us a comprehensive binder and walked us through his inspection, his ratings, recommendations of things to take care of immediately, things to watch out for in future and nice to dos. This info gave us peace of mind in purchasing our house and was also helpful when answering questions about the house for insurance. Homecore also continues to send us seasonal newsletters (we signed up for these by email) with tips for taking care of the house.

Approximate cost of services:
$400.00
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The reviews on this page are the subjective opinion of the Author and not of HomeStars Inc.

More about Home Core Inc

HomeCore inspects the smallest bungalow to carriage trade and everything in between: condos, small commercial, multi-unit buildings, PDI, warranty and maintenance inspections. Rob Hermann is a full-time professional home inspector and owner of HomeCore Inc. He is a Registered Home Inspector (OAHI) and National Certificate Holder (NCA#00055) and member of ...
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