Farnum Inspection Service

Perry is very knowledgable and is fantastic at what he does. We, as first home buyers, were cautious about several issues in the home but Perry took time to walk us through the entire home, explained in detail what the issues were and what/​how much it would take to fix them. I think knowing we were first home buyers, he took extra effort to make sure our fears were alleviated. Even though it was a Sunday, he understood the situation we were in and promptly sent us the complete report within an hour ! We couldn’t recommend him highly enough.
— Aishu and Harsha.

First Unilocal review because Perry was absolutely amazing! We spent 2.5 hours walking through my place (first time home buyer) — he pointed out things that weren’t done properly and explained in great details how to get them fixed (so I would stay informed and not get overcharged by other services). He was extremely detailed but also helped me understand urgent vs. things that can be taken care of over next n years.

Best home inspector I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
We were in a bind to schedule a home inspection to verify repairs from seller before closing escrow as our scheduled inspector was a no show for the day. I called Perry after looking at recommended inspectors from Unilocal and was greeted by courteous staff that immediately checked with Perry to see if he could help and luckily he was available on such short notice.
Perry was on point and picked up many items our first round of inspectors missed while inspecting the entire property for safety issues including the usual items like electrical/​plumbing/​structure/​roof but went further to look at the retaining walls. He crawled under the foundation and inspected the crawl space and soil conditions where only termite inspectors would typically volunteer in the past.
As others have noted he is very detail oriented and takes the time to explain everything in detail with excellent knowledge of best practices for work to be completed and building code.
All of this and an excellent attitude from someone that actually seems to enjoy what they do inspecting your home and empowering the customer with information.
I would recommend Perry to anyone without reservation.

Wow. Perry was fantastic. This review is a bit overdue but we had him out to have a look at our house before we made a big investment in the kitchen. We wanted to ensure that nothing else major needed to be fixed. We had some areas of concern and Perry paid extra careful attention to them, even coming back a second day to reassure us. We have had some not so great experiences with contractors and such but man, if Perry were able to be our contractor we’d have him in a heart beat. Very nice, very genuine, and very honest.

I believe there are many good home inspectors out there (Ironically, that’s what Perry told me), but if you are at a loss of who to go to, I would wholeheartedly recommend Perry.
As a first time home buyer and a total layman to the real estate market, I was really stressed out on every choice I made, and that included trying to find the right home inspector. I read online that it is best to find someone who had experience in building or contracting, and that holding an inspection certificate of some sort would be preferred.
Using these guidelines, I found Perry on Unilocal.Perry is certified by the California Real Estate Home Inspection Association and he has building experiences. He turned out to be very knowledgeable and informative. And like another review had mentioned, he was all rounded.
I hired him to inspect a new construction, and he had to work under the supervision of the builder’s representative. I personally thought it was kind of stressful, but he handled the situation well and did a great job identifying potential issues, while simultaneously trying to explain everything to me and to negotiate with the builder’s representative. I believe that even the builder’s representative was impressed by Perry as he told me that he thought Perry was a good inspector after Perry left.
Perry was super fast in sending out the inspection report. I got it within three hours after we finished the inspection. It was neat and easy to read. Oh, and a final note, I got multi quotes from different inspectors, and Perry’s price was on the competitive side.

I was buying a property in san jose and I had to close the escrow in few days when I called Perry and asked for an inspection on the Saturday. He usually doesn’t work on weekends.
When he knew it’s kind of emergency, he said no problem.
I was very happy to hire Perry .He sent me a detailed report on the same day after he
spent three hours on inspecting everything.
Thank you again.

I highly recommend Perry Farnum and his team. Perry not only inspects houses, he has built them, so he has far more experience and insider knowledge than an average inspector. As a long-​time real estate broker, Perry has earned my trust and is my «go to» inspector for all transactions, large and small. He is also patient, thorough and professional — very important when working with my clients.

Perry was hired for inspection of a brand new home. He is detailed and his report brings out everything you must know about the house, from small things to huge/​out-​of-​code ones. Thanks to him, we were able to go back to the builder with requests and everything was fixed before the closing. Money really well spent! I recommend him especially if you are a buyer and wants to know everything about the property you are about to get. Thanks Perry!

The level of detail and attention that Perry demonstrates defies imagination. I think he must read manufacturer recommendations in his spare time. He found so many things that were not installed within the manufacturer’s guidelines in the home we were looking to purchase. He was so thorough! He found several things the previous home inspector missed (we had a bad sense from the first one, like he just didn’t do a good job, so we called Perry). Perry is well worth your time and money. I will NEVER use another inspector.

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing our first home, and recently went through an inspection with Perry. Given we are buying a home that’s 7 months old, I questioned why an inspection was even needed. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Perry was awesome. He walked me through much of the process, explaining his findings and providing possible solutions to those problems. He crawled through every corner of the home — looking at things that I wouldn’t even think had to be inspected. He was very detailed and took the time to answer my questions without hesitation.
The following day, I had a extremely nice inspection report in my inbox that recapped everything inspected at the home. The report was extremely well done — I’m surprised to have received it so fast.
If it wasn’t for Perry, I would have thought I was moving into a brand new home with no problems at all, and I would have been mistaken. Thank you Perry!

It’s not a surprise that Perry has all outstanding reviews! Perry’s reports are thorough, user friendly and he’s one of the best professionals I have every worked with.
My husband and I are purchasing a house that has been unoccupied for a couple years so it has not been well maintained, and Perry’s ability to thoroughly point out an exhaustive list of fix-​ups while keeping an eye on the big picture, was really helpful to us.
He also came out over 6 months later to do a complimentary inspection of the crawlspace, since the rains were so heavy the first time he came.
I would highly recommend Perry to friends, family and not hesitate to do business again should the need arise!

Perry does an incredibly exhaustive and thorough job, plus he takes the time to go over each item in detail with you.
Highly recommend!
Oh yea, he’s an all-​around nice guy too.

Perry is a very professional /​patient inspector, he explained in details for us during inspection. Plus I’m not a native speaker, you can image how patient he is .
He even made time for us to to walk through the report with the seller agent after our inspection appointment .
Also, his inspection report is very neat and easy understanding !
We got more than we paid for, the service and the knowledge !

Perry was very detailed and gave us an explanation for everything that he noticed and thought we as house owners should know of. From the beginning, he explained why he was doing something, not doing something, how he would test something, what are the benchmarks, and if the readings he would get are good or bad in comparison to those benchmarks.
He gave a thorough inspection of our condo unit and took notes. These notes were supplied back to us on beautiful report that we will be able to utilize for a long time.
Thanks so much Perry for your hard work!

Wow,… I am quite impressed with time he spend and the detailed inspection. He is extremely knowledgeable and professional. His report report was sent out immediately and it was very easy to read and understand.
I would highly recommend Perry!

Very detailed oriented inspection. Perry went over all different issues, major and minor. He gave very good advice on what needs to be taken care of right away and what can wait. So I can prioritize the work. He was also very patient with me as I kept asking question on basically everything from electrical to vent duct to plumbing etc and etc. He really took his time doing a complete inspection without rushing it. The lady who answered phone calls was a gem. She as very patient on the phone and went over what Perry was going to do and what I should prepare and expect. No unnecessary surprises. Highly recommend.

Perry is above and beyond in home inspections. His past experience as a general contractor and broader expertise in all areas of home construction give him deep domain knowledge on what to look for, what’s important vs. what’s a lesser priority, and correct levels of fixes.
Further, Perry’s strong communication ability and sincerity make him a joy to work with and learn from. He took the time to explain concerns in detail, offered his cell number for any additional followup, and gave me talking points for evaluating contractors. I had the sincere feeling that Perry genuinely cares about his clients and his work and is principled in providing the most thorough guidance possible.
As an example, he took the time unprompted to explain the buckling on the siding of the house, going into detail about methods of flashing installation and weatherproofing specific to the decade of home construction. He noted what kind of exacerbation I could expect to see over the next few years and what the proper fixes would be. Other contractors/​inspectors at various points had simply dismissed the issue as «Oh, that’s probably just from the sun.»
Perry’s timeliness and level of service was also impeccable. He confirmed the appointment over email the day before, arrived on time, and sent a detailed written report within 24 hrs. My report came in immediately handy in calling back an HOA-​selected roofing inspector in unnoticed leaks and improper sealing. Of the numerous home inspection reports I’ve seen in the last few years, Perry’s is by far the most thorough and easiest to understand (icons for types of concerns, priority levels, detailed photos, and item numbers for easy reference).
Perry is THE home inspector you need.

My mom and I work in real estate and perry is the go to guy. My mom has actually been in the industry for over 10 years and he is the only inspector that my mom works with. Buyers are always very happy with his inspections and he takes the time to explain all of his reports. He truly cares about his clients understanding exactly what is going on. Also, he is always very dependable and prompt.

Perry was recommended by our real estate agent, and we couldn’t have been happier with him. It was reassuring to work with someone so personable and experienced.
He’s incredibly knowledgable, detailed, and takes the time to explain things in laymen’s terms. His reports do an excellent job prioritizing issues that need to be addressed. Also of note, Perry was prompt to our appointments and had the report to us within 24 hours.
We would definitely work with him again and recommend him to others.

Home inspectors are meant to be generalists. Perry’s broad knowledge base, experience as not only a home inspector but also a contractor, puts him outside of the box of just any home inspector. When one can build a home from ground up, one invariably has a deeper knowledge base and notices more details when it comes to inspecting a home for items as simple as routine maintainence or something more serious. He did a great job with the home I just purchased — and pointed out specific items that needed to be fixed and/​or watched. Right away, we found safety issues that we asked the seller to fix.
On a personal note, Perry was very detail oriented, prompt, and patient. His closing notes were clear and organized with comments and photos for reference. I asked him for tips on remodeling, and he gave very helpful feedback.
I would feel comfortable recommending Perry to anybody, and wouldn’t hesitate hiring him again for my next home! Highly recommended.