Pinnacle Property Inspection Services

Jim delivers every time. He is so thorough and methodical on his approach to inspecting homes. I know I can count on him to make sure I am making a sound investment. I couldn’t recommend Pinnacle enough.

Jim came highly recommended from our realtor on Redfin. We are buying our first single family home in Logan Square in Jan 2016.
Our offer got accepted on the house on a Friday and we were able to call and get an appointment for Sunday morning.
Although, I was not present at the inspection. My husband and parents were and raved about how detailed Jim was. The inspection took about 3 hours and the cost was about what we expected.
He promptly emailed us a detailed report (100+ pages) with pictures and comments the SAME day.
The house was built in the 1920’s so we knew there would be problems. But Jim was able to reassure us as first time home buyers with his detailed and extensive report.

As my husband says, Jim is THE MAN! He came recommended by our agent, Ryan Wells who is also a superstar, so it came as no surprise he would refer only the best. We’re in the process of buying out first single family home, and know nothing about the potential issues that come with a 100-​year old house. Jim was incredibly thorough, arriving an hour before us to do a complete exterior inspection so we wouldn’t have to stand out in the cold. He spent nearly four hours, all told, and delivered a 143-​page inspection report just hours post inspection! He called out several issues, but in the end, helped us digest it in context, which was very helpful since were generally clueless about this :) Jim put our minds at ease while still altering us of what we need to address prior to/​as soon as we move in. We’ll never use anyone else!

Jim was great. I was told I’d be getting the best, and he delivered. Jim is extremely knowledgeable, very thorough, professional, friendly, and responsive. I received my inspection report the same day. It’s laid out in a very easy to understand manner. I would recommend Jim to anybody looking for an inspector.

As a real estate professional, I have worked with many inspectors. Jim and his team are BY FAR the best. Prompt, courteous, and – most importantly – thorough. Jim has a way of contextualizing information, helping clients understand what are major issues, what are minor issues, and how to deal with both. I used Jim on my own home, and routinely call him when I have questions about things I’m hearing from others in the industry. It’s unusual for me to be able to say this, but I’ve never had a negative interaction with Jim, nor anything but glowing feedback from the clients to whom I’ve recommended him. Truly, Pinnacle is as good as it gets.

This is my first Unilocal review and Jim was just great enough to get me to do it.
We are first time home buyers in the process of purchasing a condo in Chicago and when it came time to get an inspection Jim and Pinnacle came highly recommended. He has previously saved a friend of mine from purchasing not one but two homes that had major issues unknown until his inspection.
We arrived for the inspection and he had already been there an hour inspecting the entire exterior of the property and gave us the run down on that as soon as we arrived. We then entered the unit and run into a big hiccup. The seller had the night before broken the thermostat which made completing major parts of the inspection impossible. Jim was great and didn’t get upset or aggravated that we had wasted his time but quickly helped us contact his office to reschedule. Just a heads up he is so good that slots book up fast so he gave us the only one available for the next week.
When we arrived the second time he again beat us to the property and jumped right back in where he had left off. He is very detailed and knows his stuff but broke it down for us in an easy to understand manner. He helped us sort out what is a big deal and what is not so we knew what to focus on going forward. He would even say «if you were my family this is what I would tell you,» and genuinely meant it. He even impressed our realtor enough that he plans on recommending him to his future clients.
He’s great to deal with and no nonsense so look no further for a home inspector!

A friend of mine recommended Jim for a real estate purchase I made several years ago, and was so impressed that I used him again for a home purchase this year. As always, he showed up early to get a head start on things, performed a very thorough inspection, and did a great job of explaining what the key issues before closing are, what you’ll need to keep an eye on and maintain in the long term, and offered to be of any assistance down the road again if necessary. Would definitely recommend him, and will certainly be using him again on any future purchases.

Amazing. Jim inspected our home in October or November of 2014 and was unbelievably thorough. He explained everything that he noticed and pointed out many items that helped us make an informed decision on our home. He arrived early and was inspecting the roof of the home early on a Saturday morning. Aside from his 100+ page report, he has a true passion for his profession. The home seller reached out to him to try to extract information from his report before we even received a copy and he hungup on the guy. Jim made us feel protected as we made the largest purchase of our life and we’re very grateful for his services. Been in our home for 7 months now and all has been good

Jim is the best inspector I have ever seen in the trade. He arrived 1 hour before our 8am appointment in Lincoln Park and begin taking pictures of the property for his report. Was extremely personable, professional, and knowledgeable and I will be using Jim for all future inspections in the Chicago area. He is very detailed oriented and is able to pick out things that are not visible to the naked eye due to his intuition and experience in home building.
Jim is also a license plumber and provided a plethora of recommendations in regards to our master bath.
His rates are extremely reasonable and he uses very high end equipment during his inspection. In addition, very courteous to the home I had a contract on. He took his shoes off and used his indoor shoes in the home. These little attention to detail items makes Jim’s service exceptional and worthy of a perfect rating.

I have been a licensed real estate agent/​broker in Chicago for the past 10 years. Pinnacle is by FAR one of the most comprehensive inspection companies I have come across. I have been referring them out for years, ever since they were recommended to me by another real estate agent. In fact, when I purchased an 1880 single family home in Bucktown, Jim was the one I hired for our inspection.

Jim & his crew were flat out exceptional.
They arrived early to inspect the exterior prior to the scheduled appointment. Once we got inside his explanations and suggested remedies to a myriad of issues were extremely thorough and helpful. I felt like I was on the HGTV show «Holmes on Homes» and couldn’t be happier about it. I look forward to having Jim inspect my next property and will undoubtedly refer him to friends and family in need of inspection services.

Couldn’t be happier with Jim’s service. He is extremely thorough and isn’t afraid to give you an honest assessment. He is truly a master of his profession. The inspection reports provide a lot of pictures and are easy to understand.
I highly recommend Jim for doing your home inspection. I’ve used him a couple times and he is very passionate about his work. Jim is very intense and a straight shooter. You need someone who isn’t afraid to give you an honest assessment of the property you are going to buy — even if it’s information you don’t want to hear. USE HIM!

Jim was fantastic during our last home inspection. He was referred to us by a friend and did not fail. He responded to our phone calls and emails immediately. We were interested in a house that had structural work done a few years back and he immediately pointed out significant issues with the work.
He was great to work with and we will definitely use him for our next inspection. Highly recommend Jim!

I’ve heard good things about this whole company but I can only speak about Rick Cavins since he inspected our home.
Rick is professional, incredibly detailed in his inspection, and it’s obvious he’s looking out for his clients best interests.
Our report was 167 pages which is a bit overwhelming at first, but it would be foolish to complain about getting too much information about a home purchase.
Rick gladly took my phone calls afterwards when I had a few questions, explained things in layman’s terms (which is what I needed) and offered his professional opinion .
They aren’t the cheapest guys in town but they are definitely the most thorough. It’s probably worth a few extra dollars when purchasing such a large investment and these guys are definitely worth those few extra dollars.

Jim is an amazing home inspector and absolutely the right person for us to have at our first home inspection. He talked us through every part of the process and made sure we understood everything as we went along. I don’t think there’s anyone who could be more thorough than he was. We actually decided to not purchase the home on the basis of his inspection, but in that experience we learned a lot about what to look for as we continue our search. Moreover, we’ll be calling him up again when we do find the right place for us. HIGHLY recommend.
Also, I’d like to agree with other reviewers that he should have his own TV show. He’s great!

I had a great experience with Jim and Pinnacle Property Inspection. This guy is the american Mike Holmes, and l’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a thorough and honest home inspector.
Jim and his team went into full-​on beast-​mode during the inspection. He went through every detail of the home systematically and efficiently. He talked me through every issue he encountered. This guy is passionate about what he does. Loves it. Like lives, breathes home inspections and improving his customer’s experience, I left the inspection thinking it was best money I’ve ever spent in my life.
Then, 3 hours later I got the full report, and I was blown away. It was 200 pages, very descriptive, filled with pictures, most of which had arrows pointing to specific things in the pictures. Top notch.
Use these guys.

Was referred to call Jim on his phone for a quick estimate on some water damage repair. He asked me to call his office to schedule as he was very busy. Called office, and was told they only do full property inspections. Kind of got the run-​around.
However, the office did call me back within 2 hours, which was great.

If you are in need of a home inspection, you can stop searching. Jim is the only one you will need. He is extremely diligent, going above and beyond what most inspectors would do, he went up on the roof! He is very knowledgable and walks you through the process, explaining issues and how they are to be fixed.
When making the biggest purchase of your lifetime, why skimp on the inspection?

Jim is about the nicest guy I’ve met. He has such passion for what he does and it shows. He’s extremely knowledge and is the example of how all other inspectors should be. He’s not the cheapest guy on the block, but there’s value in his services so he’s worth it.
I’d use him again in a second for another inspection.
Stop your search, Jim is your guy!

Jim Kolke is the best of what he does!!! Very skilled and professional. He does the inspection in a very organize and detailed manner with proofs, pictures and recommendation in the report. He is very honest about everything. He exceeds my expectation, he’s like Mike Holmes.
I HIGHLY recommend Jim to do your home inspection!!! Above and beyond type of guy!!!