Engineered Real Estate Inspection

Tim is by far the most thorough and knowledgeable inspector I have ever dealt with, and I have dealt with a lot of them.

Tim is the absolute best home inspector in central Texas. He showed up at 8am, took his time and was extremely thorough, and checked the small things that most home inspectors overlook. Tim is an engineer so he understands details matter and provides better insight then your average home inspector. We were instantly impressed during the walk through and that was even before we made it to the second floor. The report was even more impressive, it’s twice as long and more detailed then any other inspection I’ve read. Tim you saved us a ton of money and we appreciate everything, keep up the good work and you have a return customer for life…

Tim was excellent and I would recommend him to anyone.
He immediately returned my call, he was as fast as promised with all communication, he was able to squeeze me in with a few days notice.
He was extremely professional. He arrived at the house earlier than planned to get to work on the outside before some forecasted rain hit. He was done a little ahead of schedule and asked if I could meet him to walk through the house then, and if not (since he was early) he would wait. So helpful since I have kids and needed the flexibility. I felt like I had Tim’s undivided attention and he wasn’t rushing me.
He gave a great walk-​through and helped me out understanding which things were safety issues and which were cosmetic and which were going to be more pressing in the future. I bought without a realtor, so Tim’s suggestions of which things were the more immediate issues (a water heater with external scorch marks, dead rodents in the attic, broken roof shingles) and which were less immediate/​serious were very helpful. I used most of his suggestions in negotiating with the seller. He even helped me — because I asked — understand how some of the issues I could easily take care of myself.
I would say I have almost zero DIY knowledge around the house, and Tim was so kind to explain things to me that I didn’t understand. He told me which kinds of professionals fixed certain things, he explain what I could get from Home Depot to try and fix things myself, he told me which things I’d need to ask an electrician/​roofer/​plumber to fix. It was so helpful and he did it all in a very respectful way.
The report he provided was thorough and easy to read.
If I need another home inspection I will definitely call Tim again.

Tim was fantastic! Much like what was said below he was able to squeeze us in quickly with only a few days notice. He came recommend by our realtor.
Tim was extremely professional. This being my first home buying experience, I felt like I was really ignorant to what I was walking into. Tim did a great job of setting our expectations with the fact that there is no «perfect home.» I really appreciated that reminder as he went over with us what he found, but also in his detailed report that came within 48-​hrs afterwards.
He was very thorough and provided insight that even someone new to the home buying experience can appreciate. I also was really thankful that as he was communicating everything he did it in an appropriate even keel tone. Not knowing much in this process, I could have been easily swayed by an inspector rolling his eyes or using his tone or mannerisms to communicate this is a bad house to purchase. Tim did none of that, and I’m extremely thankful for it.
As I said, great guy, extremely thorough, and his follow up report with pictures is even more detailed. We’ll definitely be recommending him to friends!

We were referred to Tim by our realtor and we needed an inspection performed on very short notice of a rather extensive property. Tim responded quickly and efficiently while providing us with a thorough inspection report delivered in a very professional manner. The items requiring attention were prioritized to allow us to make an informed decision and feel confident in avoiding any «surprises» in purchasing the property.

Tim Kallmer at Engineered Real Estate Inspection is a premier example of the best in the business. Not only was his inspection thorough and detailed, he took the time to educate me about home maintenance and problem prevention. Because Tim is also a Professional Engineer, he was able to provide expert advice regarding remediation of any issues needing attention. I would recommend Tim’s services without hesitation. He is also a pleasure to work with.

Tim was punctual, detailed, thorough, comprehensive, and polite.
He not only explained all his noteworthy observations during a very helpful post-​inspection walk-​through, he also then quickly provided a lengthy yet easy-​to-​read report with photos. After the report, I had several follow-​up questions, which he readily answered with yet more helpful insights.
Very useful to have his perspective on which issues were the most important points that we as buyers should consider in deciding whether to proceed.
Hope to not buy another home any time soon, but will definitely contact him if we do.
Highly recommended.

Tim is AMAZING. With the Austin housing market moving so fast, it was very difficult finding a home inspector. My realtor tried all of her contacts, but they were all busy. I wanted to find someone independent of our realtor, so I asked a friend for advice. I heard about Tim through a referral of a referral and I called him. Since we are first time homeowners, I wanted a solid «current reality» on our home when doing the home inspection. I was really impressed, but felt even better when our realtor said she was impressed as well! He produced an very easy to read and understand report that even included pictures — something we plan on printing out and using as a guide toward fixing future projects Tim found while performing the house inspection. He took a good chunk of time to walk us through the house and show us what he found. Amazingly AWESOME. Thanks so much Tim.

Moderate negligence + a dodgy buyer at best, fraud at worst
I recently sold my house with this person as the buyer’s inspector (the buyer, by the way, did end up buying my house). I will give him credit for the thorough job he did inspecting my home, but he appears to have made false claims on the report and yet missed key items, as follows.
Roof issue #1 — he claimed the roof of my house, built in 2001, only had a «couple of years» life left in the roof. I called in a professional roofer, the roofer found very minor hail damage but shingles that were in otherwise in overall good condition, and felt confident that the roof easily had another 8 – 10 years of life. (I do not rule out the possibility that the buyer outright lied to me, of course)
Roof issue #2 — the same roofer DID find an issue where the metal stripping that fastens/​seals the base of where the chimney meets the angled roof had slightly corroded and needed refastening, which I had fixed at my expense. The inspector COMPLETELY missed this. Based on this plus the previous item, I believe that he completely fabricated an assessment of the roof condition and didn’t even bother to get on a ladder to check it out firsthand. This is pure fraud (again, it’s possible that the buyer was dodgy) .
Lack of competence in termite risk assessment — the inspector correctly pointed out that in certain areas the siding of the house was less than 4″ from the ground, indicating potential termite risk. Yet, he failed to note the fact that I had done exactly the prescribed step for deterring termites for low-​hanging siding, which is to surround the foundation by at least 6″ wide parcels of rock/​gravel.
Additionally, there were a number of extremely trivial items that showed up on his assessment (per information the buyer passed along). I shared this with a realtor friend, she even agreed that this was extreme nitpicking rather than findings of actual value. An inspector should be able to identify and explain key shortcomings and problems and summarize this in a way the prospective buyer can make a good judgment on whether to proceed with the purchase. Filling the report full of CYA items adds very little value to the report and distracts from the key issues.
One last thing — being an engineer doesn’t make you any more qualified to be a home inspector, other than probably being smarter and/​or more meticulous than the average person. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering and knew many people in Civil Engineering, and I don’t see how this makes you innately more qualified as a home inspector vs. somebody with a great deal of hands-​on experience.

Prompt, speed and thorough. He delivered his report on time as promised. The report it self was accurate and complete. I would definitively use him again.

Tim has recently inspected two homes for us. Based on his incredibly thorough work, we walked away from the first house. Tim prevented us from making a big purchasing mistake! It was well-​worth the price of his inspection. We liked his work so much we asked him to inspect a second house, which we purchased after another thorough and much more positive inspection.