Home Survey Co.

This has been the best home inspection experience I have ever had. Robert not only fit me in to help meet tight deadlines in my home purchase, he spent a considerable amount of time walking through my property, offering tips to reduce my energy bills, suggestions for long term maintenance of the home and made sure I knew what was important to address short term and long term. He had another appointment that day and still managed to make me feel that my property was of paramount importance to him. After a long day, Robert somehow managed to send me a complete and thorough report — the same day!
Robert is very thorough and extremely professional. He is very knowledgeable about his work and clearly passionate about what he does. He came highly recommended and it was obvious why when I first met Robert. He was also familiar about the area I was purchasing in, and had lots of positive comments to make me feel better about my entire home buying experience.
I would most definitely recommend Robert to a friend, family member or another home buyer. Superior service!

A friend suggested I try Home Survey for my condo inspection. The inspection was very professional and thorough. Guy McKinney took the time to explain basic home maintenance which was especially helpful as a first to home buyer. He found a few minor issues and did a great job explaining it to me. The report was delivered via email within a few hours. Thanks to Mr McKinney for such a positive experience.

As a first time home buyer I used their service and thought it was fine. Guy missed several issues in the bathroom that I discovered upon moving in — like a cracked toilet bowl the sellers had ‘fixed’ by filling the tank and shutting off the water. It flushed once but the tank didnt re-​fill; had he even looked at the tank he would have seen that. The sink was dripping which he also ‘didn’t notice’. Within 3 months of moving in the ceiling fell through from the middle floor because of water damage, something an inspector SHOULD have caught (the overflow was not hooked up correctly– something a first time home buyer wouldn’t know but an inspector would be able to spot.). That was an expensive fix.
I wouldn’t have known any better but I came along to my brother’s home inspection. His inspection was done by two gentlemen, their inspection was MUCH more thorough. They took apart the front of the HVAC instead of just looking at it, they checked everything from windows to whether each outlet worked.
I can not re-​state how upset I am at the poor quality of the house inspection. I am confident that had I used a more professional team I would have known about all of the «surprise» problems I have had.

Guy McKinney did my inspection, and he was early, thorough, knowledgeable, pleasant, and all I could have wished for. He noticed an old repair I hadn’t noticed. He advised me about an issue I asked about that was outside the apartment and beyond the scope of the contract. He e-​mailed me the report in the MORNING of the day after the inspection. I can’t imagine a better or more efficient job. Furthermore, Home Survey had the lowest price of all – fully ¹⁄₃ less than the others I called. I highly recommend them. If there’s doubt, you probably can ask for the inspector you want.

Very helpful, thorough inspections. Remembered me despite a drawn out multi-​house process. It’s great that it’s a local small business too. Always on time for appointments.

Great price for a condo inspection. Inspector reviewed what he was going to do and answered my questions. I received a complete report the very next day with photos.

After reading the review from Andrew H. I decided to give Home Survey Company a call to inspect a house I was purchasing in DC. I checked out their website and saw that they charge $ 300.00 for a two story home of the size I was purchasing. When I called, the woman on the phone told me the fee would be $ 400.00. I mentioned the price on the website and was told «that is the old price, we just haven’t taken it off our site yet…» I agreed to the $ 400.00 fee plus an additional fee of $ 35.00 for a termite inspection. The inspector arrived on time and was very friendly. Unfortunately, he forgot his camera.(red flag).I mentioned I brought mine and offered to let him use it. He asked if there was attic access and I said no. He then told me he only brings a 13 foot ladder and therefore could not inspect the roof. (red flag). He then decided to start in the crawl space. When I showed him the access panel in the floor (about 2 foot square) he squirmed… he slowly slid his legs in and got stuck… he told me (after several knee surgeries, it’s hard to get in these tight spaces). He finally got in the crawl space and said there was a lot of rat traps and some rat droppings along with some fallen insulation, because of this he would not be inspecting the entire crawl space… only what he could see from about 4 feet in 3 directions.(red flag). He took a few pics with my camera and came back up. He told me he saw some old termite damage and that I should definately have it treated even he saw no active termites from his brief inspection of the area around the crawl space access. He then crawled under the back room of the house with my camera, this area had a different outside access. After this he came back in the house. I asked for the camera back so I could take a few shots. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me. I turned it on and the lens wouldn’t open. I noticed a deep dent in the lens side and asked if he did this. He said «No, you must have done that…“we tried turning it on and off for a long time. it was now broken and no longer worked. I was upset, but realized it was an accident… ggrrr The inspector then spent a good 30 minutes talking about general maintenance on a property and briefly walked upstairs to look around. He checked the roof leaks showing on the ceilings for moisture and showed me that everything was insulated.
He did nothing else. never checked the appliances (fridge, washer, dryer, stove, dishwasher, garbage disposal).
He took the rest of his photo’s with his cellphone and told me he would email me the report within 24 hours. He also asked me to email him the pictures from my camera.
The next morning I recieved the report with this email
„it was a pleasure meeting you today and i wish you the very best in this endeavor. please find attached a copy of the inspection report. i was able to incorporate some of the pictures from your email (thanks), but i haven’t been able to pull pictures from my phone yet. once i do that, i will probably send you an updated version of the report. if you have any further questions regarding this matter, please call me at
.xxxx
leslie ruffin“
I replied that I was very dissapointed that 1. he broke my camera, 2. he didn’t check the roof, most of the crawlspace nor any appliances, and 3. he still charged me $ 400.00 even After I told him how I review everything on Unilocal.
I recieved this response:
i was able to find my user’s guide and capture the pictures from my phone. please find attached a revised report with additional comments and photos. also, with regard to your email i would like to extend an offer of a $ 100 rebate. this offer is in no way acknowledgement of responsibility for any of the items you mentioned, but rather, in consideration of everything, i believe it to be an appropriate gesture. if this offer is acceptable, please let me know and i will place a check in the mail to the address you gave. again, best wishes to you in this endeavor.»
Overall, I have to say Mr Ruffin was very nice and polite, I realize breaking the camera was a mistake, but still I feel he should have inspected the entire crawlspace, had an appropriate ladder to inspect the roof, and checked all the appliances.
I appreciated the $ 100.00 refund, but spent another $ 235.00 to replace the camera and will hire a roofer when I close on the property.

At the suggestion of our real estate agent, Leslie Ruffin from Home Survey Company inspected the house my girlfriend and I are buying. He was thorough and professional, taking great care to explain the mechanical elements of our new home. In addition, he is very knowledgeable about maximizing energy efficiency in an older home.
Since this our my first time buying a house, he went out of his way to encourage us to pace out and budget our repairs and preventative maintenance over the next several years: this helped keep all the work from getting too daunting while helping make sure we’re thinking ahead.