Ken Bates of Ace Inspect is an experienced, highly skilled, and honest home inspector. I have recommended him to 2 of my friends who were looking to purchase a condo. I found Ken's contact information online when buying my condo in July 2010. Ken performed an extremely thorough inspection, classifying issues as natural to the age of the building or cause for worry. It was clear from interacting with Ken that his knowledge extended beyond cursory surface level understanding that only comes with years of experience. 1 year after the purchase, I noticed a cigarette smoke smell in my unit and asked Ken to inspect. He was unable to identify the issue. Instead of taking full payment, he insisted on me paying him only half. A few months later, I called Ken up again for another small problem, this time, he identified the source of the cigarette smoke and suggested a resolution. I was able to implement and our house is now smoke smell free! In conclusion, Ken is intelligent, experienced, and easy to work with. Ken will provide peace of mind especially for a first time home buyer like I was. read more

I agree with the positive reviews!! What a pleasant, friendly and helpful guide to homebuying. I hired Ken short notice on a Sunday evening for a Monday full home inspection and he was courteous, thorough and smart. My only constructive feedback- which perhaps helps explain the negative comments you see below- is Ken is so thorough that he likes to give homebuyers the complete sense of a situation, beyond an inspector's advice (which feels more like a wise family member's advice) on every feature of the home, and that can come across as irrelevant to the professional obligations of a home inspector. At times, I felt like I was being "schooled" which is not necessary. He was up front with me that if a customer wants to keep it to just the essential inspection only, instead of the more thorough advice on every page of the report, to let him know this when you start the job and he'll trim his inspection back in depth without compromising his professional work. I think setting expectations on the time the appointment is the responsibility of the client. Ken's naturally curious and fully interested in your success at home buying so I felt he was genuinely doing his best to mitigate any disappointment or surprise after purchasing the home. His communication, attention to detail and responsiveness to my and my agent's questions were all excellent. Thanks, Ken! read more

Reply to the business owner -- 1) I was living in Belmont during this inspection and the address has not been updated in Yelp -- that does not change any of the comments . The check which I paid him has a Belmont address and if it is anonymous I wonder how he identified me and the house ! 2) If he indeed found "a number of cracks" and concerned that the "settling was ongoing in this house" , he should have recommended a structural engineer . The interior cracks need not be shown by anybody , those were very visible but when I asked he mentioned not a concern . 3) I am glad he agrees that he mentioned to ask the owner about the dampness -- which I, a layman, was able to figure out and fix by caulking the stand up shower 4) The statement that the inspection report mentions "some of the wiring is original and was not installed with grounding" is completely False. I have the report in front of me.. May I mention, all the outlets are 3 prong (not 2 prong as mentioned by him) BUT do not have the grounding connected. But I stand corrected -- the kitchen outlets are newer and grounded but NOT the bathroom ones. 5) I am still confused what is false -- Yes, I mentioned all electrical outlets are not grounded while not mentioning that Kitchen outlets are grounded -- the only incorrect statement in my post. There is no reason to defame him but of course help other yelpers to make an informed choice read more

This guy is so slow and annoying. Our inspection lasted 5 HOURS to do a 2 bed condo. In addition he was rude and discourteous. He slammed the door in my pregnant wife's face. With no apology when we pointed it out. Look at the review he wrote himself. All it does is throw hate at realtors. Why? Don't they need to work together. Do yourself a favor and do not go with this guy. He has two yelp pages and left a review for himself...here is what he had to say... Ace Home Inspection IS NOT CLOSED. There are quite a few sleazy Real estate sales people who are disgruntled because my thoroughness and expertise has made them work a bit harder and may have even compromised their sales and the tens of thousands of dollars in commissions they lust for. I will provide a free inspection to anyone who reports someone slandering me and my reputation just to further their aims to get their hands on the hefty commisions they get. read more

Ken takes his time to do a thoughtful and thorough inspection. Very professional and knowledgeable, tremendous value. I highly recommend you select Ken to look at the property you are interested in. read more

In January 2015 Ken inspected a condo. I was looking at in South Boston that I ultimately bought. He was such a critical person in my home buying process and A HUGE HELP! I can't say enough great things about my experience using his services as an inspector. He was thorough, professional, and put myself as well as my parents at ease. He was organized, knowledgeable, and gave me great piece of mind. As a result of using him, he noticed my windows were broken and I was able to get the money to repair them from the seller. He also told me what would be problem some in the future, nothing major but it allowed me to put money aside and fix at a later date (my hot water heater was leaking a little bit). After his home inspection I was so familiar with the home I ultimately bought, I knew what to expect in my first year of home ownership. Over a year later, and everything he mentioned has seen to be true. I called Ken up with urgency, as the seller was going to have an open house if I couldn't coordinate this home inspection and put in my offer before the date of the open house. Ken was able to meet my parents and I at a convenient time for us and did not rush the process at all. Without Ken's services I don't know if I would have been able to buy my condo. as there was urgency on the entire process and knowing what I was getting into was crucial and as a result I got a great deal and knew everything about what I was buying. -Elizabeth read more

Ken inspected my condo in Belmont in July 2012. A friend of mine recommended Ken to me and I was very satisfied with his inspection of my house. Ken noticed a crack in a beam in my basement and he recommended a very knowledgeable structural engineer to further inspect the problem, which turned out to be minor but it was very reassuring to get a second opinion from the structural engineer. Ken did the inspection of my condo quite thoroughly. It took some time but was totally worth it. Ken talks a lot and offers tons of information, which is extremely helpful for a first-time home owner like me. When I have questions regarding my property, I still call Ken. Last year my downstairs neighbour noticed a tiny wet spot on her kitchen ceiling. She suspected my (upstairs) kitchen might be leaking water. I called Ken for his opinions. He patiently offered multiple possible explanations for me to trace the problem. It didn't cause me a penny, and we figured it was probably caused by heavy rain two days before. The issue never progressed and we are all happy with the explanation by now. Ken is very honest, knowledgeable, and friendly. I highly recommend Ken to anyone who wants their property inspected, especially first-time home owners who need thorough explanations of almost everything. read more

Ken inspected my townhouse in Waltham. It took about 2-2.5 hrs due to how methodical he is. He likes to talk through what he's seeing, so if you're remotely interested in the actual understanding of the various elements he's inspecting, he's a great source of information. He seems very knowledgeable of the brands and quality of materials, and covered everything I would expected and gave plenty of advice on maintenance. He provides a binder with the written report at the end, so don't expect photos or a digital copy of the results. As usual, don't expect estimated repair costs from a inspector (by law), so have your agent or handy friend nearby to give some guidance. I believe he only takes check. Even though I had three amenities according to his fees page on his website, he only charged me $320 for a 2br. read more

Ken's attention to detail was very helpful. He is extremely thorough, informative and fairly priced. He only schedules 1 inspection per day enabling him to spend adequate time to 'find problems' which is the reason you hire an inspector in the first place. He not only identified current problems like main-beam rottage and in-ept electrical work but also recommended future issues like the aging boiler and a roof that would need to be patched in the near future. He can be nit-picky about small things such as the garbage disposal and cabinet doors but you can hold this against him he is just that thorough. Overall, Ken's work is of high quality and he is very-well seasoned and respectable. The $300 he charged for a 3 hour 'educational' inspection of our 2bdrm left me feeling confident and competent as to the condition of the condo we were planning to buy. I would recommend him to any of my friends and family without hesitation. read more

Ken inspected our home before we bought it. 3 years later, no issues and he was helpful in several follow up questions. He's thorough. As another reviewer mentioned, the inspection process took several hours but I'd much rather have a thorough inspection than a cursory one. I felt confident in his assessment and it has been accurate after several years. Appreciate his work! read more

Ken was very thorough and knowledgeable. He took his time and made sure to take a detailed look at everything in my new condo, both inside the unit, as well as in the basement and around the exterior. He also identified a potential problem with the floors, and followed up the following day with additional advice and information regarding the proper way to address the issue. read more

I absolutely suggest using Ace to inspect any house or apartment. They inspected a single family home I was interested in purchasing and I was completely satisfied with the service. The inspection was thorough and straight to the point. In the end it was clear to me what was wrong with the home. The inspector spent allot of time explaining the report so I learned allot about houses for the future. Most places charge an arm and a leg just to have a potential place inspected but NOT ACE. They where reasonable I found the price to be $100 less then most places in the Boston area. Overall go with ACE Home Inspection people to inspect your homes. read more