Classic Home Inspections Inc.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Classic Home Inspections Inc. reviews (710)

  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 3 Mar 2011

    Home Inspections

    Brent was fantastic!! He is so professional and reliable. My sister first contacted him for me when she was afraid I was considering putting in an offer on a house that had structural walls removed with no permit. He steered me away from that one with sound advice over the phone. When I later found a good house to buy, he went over my prospective home with such diligence and care. He informed me precisely of the good and the bad. Everything was written down in a binder which he gave me to keep at the end of the inspection. Now I know exactly what to expect from my 'new' 90 year old home!! I give Brent my highest recommendation. He made the process interesting and fun instead of scary. He is a real pleasure to deal with!!! A++++++++++

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the review and kind words Jeanne! A super nice home for a super nice person !!! What a match! I am sure that you will love your new place. I really liked that place, as I know you did too. With all homes (yes new ones too) it had it's issues, but nothing that can't be fixed. Enjoy your new home, your new chapter in life, and all the best to you! Thanks again Jeanne, and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 14 Mar 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 1 Mar 2011

    10 years old

    Our appointment is at 9 am. Brent got there 8:30 to look around the exterior of the house!! Brent has been such a professional, knowledgeable and helpful inspector during the whole process. It is our first time getting the house, and we have lots of questions (include some dumb questions). Brent answered very single one in details.Even the sell agent asked for his number as he had done a wonderful job!! Why get a expensive inspection company to do this as Brent did a much much better work!!! I highly recommend to everyone who is reading this review.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you sooo much for the review Candy!!! It was great meeting with you today! There are no dumb questions!!! Not even the "tiny little questions" you had for me! I need for you to understand everything about your home. It was great to see how enthusiastic you were!! Wow, I wasn't holding you back; you are truly game to get your "hands dirty". Banker turned home inspector...Love it! Seriously though, it is great when a person such as yourself has such an interest in the home they are about to purchase. It makes the whole inspection process easier for me and you. I'm certainly not going to tell people who they should hire for inspecting their home, but they should definitely shop around. Anyway, thank you so much again Candy and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!!!

    Reply created 1 Mar 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 28 Feb 2011

    Home inspection

    Thank you Brent! We had purchased a brand new house and were worried about the quality. Brent had explained us everything and now we feel calmer. He is very knowledgeable and extremely professional. Would highly recommend this company to anyone needing a home inspection

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Stan! It was great meeting with you guys! New homes are definitely a different breed, as there are so many things to look out for! I would swear the site super ignored your home and the city inspector just did a drive by on your place. I mean really, to miss fire code and electrical code violations? This is serious stuff they missed. I find it totally insane the fact that so many people have to hire me for their new home. Home inspectors shouldn't be required for new home inspections, yet 40% of my business is brand new homes like yours! It is simply amazing the things that I see with the new homes. The funny thing is, your home was nothing compared to others!!! Now, granted many new home inspections I do have minimal wrong with them, so I do have to make that point as well. Again, thank you so much for the review and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 1 Mar 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 25 Feb 2011

    Home inspection

    Very thorough, very laid back. Not an alarmist, yet he points out all the faults and all the goods of a home. I have a lot of faith in Brents capabilities. I would gladly recommend his services

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Barbara!!! I truly appreciate you taking the time and leaving feedback. You know, some inspectors/ contractors like to take something and exaggerate to a point as if it is the worst thing they have ever seen! There is no question that an inspector cannot downplay an issue, but it is simply amazing some of the stuff that I hear from other inspectors. Contractors I understand, hey, some are trying to make as much money as they can, but the inspectors should be looking out for the person who hires them, trying to be reasonable as possible. I try to be as reasonable as possible. Thanks again Barbara, and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 1 Mar 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 4 out of 5
    Review left on 15 Feb 2011

    Home inspection

    Brent was a true professional with a quiet & collected demeanor. It was a rainy weekend morning back in Nov 2010... and I followed Brent up on the roof - right away we found some drainage issues with the eaves-trough. Going in I knew some of the issues with the house since it was older bungalow and needed some major/ cosmetic work to be done - it already had a foundation patch/cracks on the side; this was just one. Brent found some other issues with the fittings, gradation, electrical outlets, and provided some tips on maintenance which would not have been discovered had I chosen to fore go the inspection. For my ease of mind, I contacted Brent not once; or twice... but over 3 times via email after the deal was done just to be clear on how to go about some of the issues with insurance and the home owner. Despite his busy schedule Brent took the time to answer my questions as best he could. He was open to answering any other doubts should I have had them. Why use a professional company like Carson Dunlop or Mike Holmes (no doubt they come with premium testing) when you could use the services of Classic...

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Michael ! I really appreciate it! I always encourage people to contact me after the inspection. I always want people to feel that they can contact me if they ever have questions or concerns (esp. if there is a discrepancy with what I have said and what the contractor is saying! (just read the previous review)) It doesn’t matter if it’s one time, two times, three or three hundred times. As long as people understand the issue, that’s all I care. Well Michael I certainly don’t want to bash my competition, but I think you mean “(no doubt they come with premium PRICING!)” However, I always tell people to go with an inspector that they feel comfortable with. Thanks again Michael, and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 17 Feb 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 9 Feb 2011

    Home Inspection

    My partner wants to do some renovations to her house, and we thought it might be a good idea to get a home inspector to inspect the house, point out the main problem areas that need addressing, give us rough estimates of what the likely costs would be, and to give his opinion on some of our plans. This way we would get an unbiased opinion from an independent expert (i.e. not from a contractor who might stand to gain from recommending some improvement) We found Brent through Homestars and hiring him was probably the best investment we could have made. He took his time to walk with me through and around the house, explaining what he saw, what the problems, possibilities and likely costs are. Because of the snow on the roof he couldn`t inspect the roof as well as he wanted to, but he said to give him a call in the Spring and he would come back, free of charge, once the snow is gone. Then after the inspection he sat down with me to go over things once more in great detail, but in a very accessible manner. He also basically described the market for home renovations, what to expect from contractors, how to best deal with them, and so on. (it`s also worth pointing out that I now have a much better sense of how the market works, what some possible renovations should costs, and so on. This knowledge may end up saving us (tens of) thousands of dollars. Brent gave us a very detailed written report, and later e-mailed the many photos he had made in and around the house. Given the things we learned from Brent about our house, about home renovation, and about the market for it, and given how generous Brent was with his time, I don`t think we could have made a better investment than this home inspection from Brent. We are also thinking about hiring him to review the quotes we get from contractors, to supervise the renovation (so as to solve the problem that the contractor knows much more about these things than we as clients do), etc.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the review Koen! You are too kind! You also certainly raise an interesting issue. As we had discussed at the inspection, yes, I also agree with what you had suggested however not many people would agree with you and me. As I told you, people believe every word their contractor has to say. What people must understand is that the home inspector should be looking out for your best interest and as well keeping your bank book in mind! Are all contractors going to have the same mentality? I would doubt it. You just simply wouldn’t believe what I hear. Many contractors just make stuff up to either make themselves look good or to make extra money. In many cases, both. You mentioned that I could save you thousands of dollars. I could save a lot of people a lot of money! Simply because I have nothing to sell them. I told you the time a person called me up, came down on me hard because I had inspected the home telling them they have copper wiring within the home when I inspected the electrical, everything was fine. The contractor or “friend” (as they referred them to) told them that they have aluminum wiring in the home and it all must be changed to copper and that they will also require a new panel box. The bill was about $15K. I don’t blame them for being mad. However, I proved the contractor wrong by showing the people and proving that it was copper and everything was fine. I just saved them $15K!!! The last thing I want to do is to get into a battle of wits with people. However, I just saved them $15K! Did they even bother to thank me? Nope. Not even a “thanks”. That’s how much people put faith into their contractor. That’s one of a thousand stories I could tell you. Thank you so much for the great review Koen! Thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!!!

    Reply created 17 Feb 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 6 Feb 2011

    Home Inspection

    I am someone who researches everything to death. When we decided to buy a house, we needed to get it inspected as it was an older home. I called several companies. Right away Brent was someone who sounded extremely knowledgeable about his trade. I spoke with at least 6 other inspectors personally (not just their secretaries) and Brent was the only one who seemed open to discussing many things/issues we already noticed over the phone. We had several conversations previous to the inspection. He was the only one who said he'd try his best to get up on the roof in the winter and the only one who would actually walk around the attic, not just poke his head up. If it wasn't for him walking around, we wouldn't have known about several issues. While conducting his inspection we followed him around and asked many questions, and he was more than happy to answer all of them and address any concerns. He was very honest and didn't sugar coat anything, which for my husband and I was great as we don't know much about home repairs. He not only told us what was wrong, but WHY it was happening and what we'd need to do to fix it AND gave use guest-timates of potential repair costs. He took tons of pictures and sent them to us the next day so that we wouldn't forget anything he showed us. I've heard nothing but nightmare stories of inspectors not being thorough and misses many things, but this was definitely not the case. Our realtor was amazed by his good, thorough work as well. Brent was fantastic and I HIGHLY recommend him if you're getting a home inspection. I will continue to recommend him to anyone I know that needs an inspection.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Alexia! I am glad that you were happy with the inspection! Researching something to death is not a problem; not researching something is a problem. That is why you hear of these nightmare home inspection stories. Most of which are true! As I stated in an earlier post, people actually hire me to re-inspect a property because they just do not feel comfortable with the first inspector! Some of the stuff these inspectors are missing is ridiculous and inexcusable! I even had a home inspector call me up and tell me he could not believe I found a leak in an attic space. He had used an infrared camera and it DID NOT indicate that there was a leak! The realtor he was with had told him that there was a leak in the attic space (I had inspected the home prior to him) and to go up and check it out. He could see where I had been and followed my footprints to the leak. When he was speaking to me, he told me that he does not even open the attic access door and that he relies on the camera. I asked him why he doesn’t look up into an attic (as there is a lot of information up there!), he said that he doesn’t need to because of his camera. Alexia, could you imagine if I did not go into the attic space and the home we inspected??? Hmm, I may be a little old school, but at least I get an answer! Thank you so much again Alexia, and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 9 Feb 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 5 Feb 2011

    home inspection

    Brent inspected the home we wanted to buy. We got his contact from our friend, who was pleased with the service she received. Brent did a great job; even going up the snowy roof. He inspected and explained everything in detail, and since this will be our first house, he explained how to maintain it. He answered all our questions. Our real estate agent commented that Brent went above and beyond other inspectors. Brent was friendly, knowledgeable, detail-oriented and we definitely recommend him.

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Tundee! What an Ajax gem! I'm sure you both will be happy with your purchase! It was great that you were so involved with the inspection. You were so enthusiastic and eager to learn about everything! That was great and I think we even had fun! All the best to you both and please always feel free to contact me in the future. Thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 7 Feb 2011
  • Review from HomeOwner
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 3 Feb 2011

    Home inspection

    Brent came out on a last minute call and provided us with badly-needed insights, expertise and advice. Far more thorough and valuable than other inspectors we've used. Great guy, too. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

    Answer from pro:

    Thank you so much for the kind words and review Matt! I truly appreciate it! I am glad that you were happy with the inspection. Even though I know you weren't too happy with the end result. Thanks bud, and all the best for you both! Thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!

    Reply created 7 Feb 2011
  • Review from Michael Faranda
    Rating: 5 out of 5
    Review left on 1 Feb 2011

    Home Inspection

    I am not even sure where to start with explaining the amount of time, effort and professionalism that Brent shows in his work. HE is 1 in million when it comes to Home inspectors. For my last home I hired another company, which was rated very good, but had no one to compare them to and I thought they were amazing, well after Brent went through our second purchase, he made the first look like a joke, not to mention a waste of money. Brent will explain EVERY detail to you, answer all your questions and will take his time to make sure everything is covered. Brent found a few issues with our new purchase, which he even offered to come back and take a quick look to make sure everything is ok, that in itself is worth every penny Brent charges. I wish you all the luck in the world Brent, you make everyone else look bad. thanks, Michael

    Answer from pro:

    Awe Mike; thank so much for the kind words and review! You're too kind! I am glad that you were happy with the inspection. I am glad that you also had something to compare me too as well. That's too bad about the first home inspector, but you’re not the first to say that unfortunately. In the past, I've had people hire me for one house, use another inspection company for the next (they couldn't get me in), then call me in to do another home inspection on the home to come do a proper job! Nope, not all home inspectors are the same! We all have different approaches to the inspection. My approach is to completely understand that people are spending a ton of money on a home and want to know everything about it! Seems to me not all inspectors bear that in mind. Anyway, I am glad you were happy with me. Thanks again Mike, and yes please contact me if you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, and thank you for choosing Classic Home Inspections!!!

    Reply created 7 Feb 2011