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
- 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.