Anyone buying a home in Toronto right now knows that the market is crazy. Three different times, I asked Tom if he could hold a home inspection time slot for us and each time we lost out on the offer, he was supportive of us personally and was gracious. When we finally found Our House, we were glad we'd finally get to meet Tom in person.
He's charming, which is a nice perk... but we loved him as a home inspector for lots of other reasons:
He was on time (early, actually) - 100% reliable.
He was thorough. Before we could ask a question, he was already answering it, seeing everything we were seeing - and, obviously, so much more.
He was helpful. Never did we feel like our questions were a hindrance. He encouraged them and really helped us understand not just the issues with the house but also how to maintain it going forward. Hugely helpful!
His report was detailed, a perfect summary of our inspection together, and very easy to read and make sense of. In house-hunting, we'd seen other inspectors' reports - lots of check-boxes and standard comments (that really weren't very meaningful). Tom's had photos of the relevant areas in our home for every issue or repair recommendation we'd discussed. The explanations were short and understandable with reference links to more information, should we need it. Once we move in, this will be our home maintenance plan.
He offers thermal imaging, and knows how to use it. I know that a lot of experienced home inspectors will say that a great inspector doesn't need this extra tool (and they may be right) but the additional $150 was worth it to us for peace of mind alone. Because of the thermal imaging work Tom did, we will also know what areas to troubleshoot should heating be an issue in winter (since he "saw" a duct that was improperly connected behind a wall during our inspection). Had it not been for that, we might have opted to re-insulate the attic or open up all sorts of walls, looking for the problem.
It was a pleasure to meet Tom and to spend a few hours with him. He made the home inspection the least stressful aspect of our home-buying experience. Highly, highly recommend!
