First off: AJ E's review sounds like a pissed off realtor doing a hitjob review. Why? The seller's…read moreagent to a home I'm purchasing had very similar feedback and was on her toes. For the review: That's what we want. My wife and I set out to find an inspector that would give agents the Sunday Scaries, and that was accomplished because Tim does not play around. No corner is left unexplored and no door is left unopen. Tim meticulously looked through everything he could while explaining what he was doing to us as if we were students in an elementary class, making sure things were in layman's terms and understandable. Well appreciated. He has his tools, but what got us was when he busted out his thermal imager. There's a wall in front of him? Who cares, he'll just look past it anyway. Couldn't believe it when he was doing that, and thank goodness he did. Speaking of tools, they utilize a whole DRONE. Like the ones you fly in the air. They leverage it to inspect the roof and get into some areas that may be a bit harder to access. Talk about working smart. All in all, Tim was quick to follow-up and generate his report. 500 pictures. 500. That's not an extra 0 I added at the end. Thanks to Tim, we were able to find black mold and cracked Abstesos 9 x 9s in the basement. He even dismissed the nosy agent of the seller's who was there for some reason, and told her to leave so we could assess things with privacy. The seller's agent was still in the house and concerned about the work Tim was doing. THAT'S THE KIND OF INSPECTOR YOU WANT. Stacy, the owner, was quick to get us scheduled and super responsive with fast turnaround times. Thank you and job well done to the Pinnacle team!

Pinnacle missed some major issues with my home. I probably would have walked away from the deal or…read moreseriously revised my offer had I known them. It cost me around $13K to fix all the items that they missed. When my dad visited, he found all these problems within 5-10 minutes of going around the house (he's not even any type of tradesman or inspector!) Stacey seemed pretty dismissive about it on the phone. I would not recommend their services to anyone. Update: I was fine leaving this a little vague as a professional courtesy, but since Stacey think's it's acceptable to fabricate information, I'll spill the tea. This time, I'll attach the proof for good measure! First issue Pinnacle failed to identify was a crack in the foundation. Imagine buying a new home only to have your basement flood a few days later. At first I thought it was a broken sump pump, but when an expert came out to the property, he quickly identified a vertical crack in the foundation. Total cost $1,735 for the repair. Plus a few hundred for the shop vac and fans to dry out the place to prevent further damage. Second issue Pinnacle failed to identify was dangerous wiring in the kitchen. Multiple lights and appliances were on a single circuit. When you ran them simultaneously, the lights would flicker, and sometimes the circuit would trip. There were no more spots left in the panel, so an upgrade was needed to put each appliance on it's own circuit and bring it up to code. Total cost $4,250 and countless hours of sleep lost wondering if an electrical fire would start in the house. Third issue Pinnacle failed to identify was the removal of a load bearing wall. The home when originally built had a division between the dining room and the kitchen. A few weeks after moving in, I noticed that the ceiling started to crack in the kitchen area. The cracks continued to grow and I went into the attic to figure out what was happening. Up there, my dad and I found no additional support for the joists. They were thin and spanned the entire kitchen/dining room area. I had a structural engineer come out to evaluate, and he confirmed additional support was required. Total cost $5,900, and not being able to use 1/3 of the house for 4 days. The engineer's report was about $1,290, but I guess we can leave that off. the contract language is confusing as to whether they are required to inspect and identify this type of issue. In all honesty, if I knew my inspector wouldn't check for things like this, I would have picked another inspector. I don't care is an outlet is broken, or some paint is chipping. I want to know major defects or damage to the property. Fourth issue (new!) that Pinnacle failed to identify was a leak in the water line to my house. I signed up for a city service that warns you when your home uses excess water (sing of a leak). I got a few of those notices, and then called a plumber. The plumber found a gushing leak in the line on my side of the meter. Meanwhile, Pinnacle's inspection report claimed that I didn't even have a meter! Had the inspector found the meter, which was in the parkway and not hidden, and looked at it, he would have found that leak. After that gushing leak was repaired, the meter was still running when the water was off. This mean I have a leak somewhere between the meter and the house that I'm the process of fixing. Total costs so far is $1,058.55. This doesn't include services for leak detection and repair coming in the next few weeks. Stacey falsely claims that my damages are inflated, but you can add all of that up. At the time I wrote the original review, it was about $13K. It's definitely going to get pushed higher once the leak is located and repaired. So not only did Pinnacle royally screwed up my inspection, they also felt the need to disparage me online. Consider that if you want to give them your business.

It's my 5th time using Decker Home Inspection and it definitely won't be my last! By far the best…read morehome inspector in Chicago - his knowledge and advice is top notch. I wouldn't buy a home without him!!

I saw Mr Decker on August 15 to inspect my condo unit in River Forest for water intrusion? He used…read morea thermographic imaging to detect that no water but condensation melting off the windows cause my drywall damage. He is a former professor at the University of Chicago. He conducts himself rather impressively? He has all the credentials an inspector should have and I would use him again if necessary

Home Inspection - Experts - Professional - Timely…read more We were extremely please with the detailed report, timely delivery of the report, and taking the time to answer all of our questions regarding our home inspection for a purchase. If we could, we would add another Five Stars to this review. Thanks Kevin!

Steve is as very thorough in the inspection and his explanation of what he was doing around the…read morehouse. I HIGHLY recommend BrickKicker! And if you get Steve, you'll definitely be in good hands. Thanks again Steve!

Worked with Home Inspection Star, more precisely with Costel…read more He was very knowledgeable and thorough with his inspection , answered questions and made pertinent recommendations while explaining all the findings. The report was issued very fast , with another invite to contact for discussion and explanation if things in the report were not clear for the client. Will definitely work again with them should the occasion arise.

Costel was complete, found things I never thought about and looked in places I wouldn't have…read morelooked. With a report that same afternoon, I was pleased and impressed.

Regret using All the Way Home Inspections, regret not being present during the inspection, and…read morebaffled that what is clearly mold stains and related moisture was not mentioned in the report despite it including pictures of what is clearly mold. The report only cited "water related moisture stains". It was very evident during walk-through, but my real estate attorney said we had no recourse outside of breaking contract since we had an inspection report with pictures of mold stains. Day after closing I had to call in a mold remediation service who will have to open up 2 large area of drywall to investigate source of water, remove infested drywall & studs, and repair the wall.

George was amazing to work with. He was very detailed, professional, and open to answering any…read morequestions. He took his time inspecting the house and did his best to address all of your main concerns. His report includes many photos and highlights several issues that I didn't notice or think about.

Morgan came out to do or condo inspection. Very thorough…read moreand high quality report! Website technology makes it so easy. Thank you!

Incredibly poor service and lack of accountability. We hired this company for a home inspection,…read moreand they completely missed extensive mold on the basement ceiling caused by a leaking steam shower. This oversight ended up costing us $15,000 to remediate and repair. When we confronted them, they came back out to the property and saw the visible mold themselves, yet they still refused to take full responsibility. Instead, they offered a insulting $1,200 settlement. I highly recommend looking elsewhere if you want a thorough and honest inspection. The pictures below show the mold found on the basement ceiling, as well as the mold discovered after we had to rip apart our shower. It's funny Ross says what the public should know.   First the adjacent steam shower unit he talks about is 14' away from the actual shower that was leaking. And was not leaking during inspection.  This was noted that it was fixed years earlier by the previous owner.  The closing of the house was not 90 days after the inspection it was the normal 45 days that is very common. Also the lack of construction experience by CBI.  When first confronted about the leak I was informed in an email that we were told there was caulk issues around the shower. Anyone that has ever put in or been around a walk in shower knows the shower doesn't leak because of the water proofing membrane.  Not caulk.  What this means is the shower should not leak before tile, grout, and caulk are installed.  Once again not experienced with construction practices. All I have to say is watch what you sign when hiring a building inspector. We were denied by there insurance company due to waivers being signed taking all liability away from CBI before they even stepped foot on the property to perform the inspection.  Oh yeah.  I didn't mention the house down the street that they missed the kitchen sink leaking and the wall of mold behind it. Got our family twice they did.

Very detailed inspection, ranging from significant problems that need to be negotiated with the…read moreseller, to what I should monitor and budget for in future. (Super-helpful!) I already knew a fair amount about repairs et al, and Josh was able to answer my questions in detail, so it was clear that he knew what he was talking about. He didn't go beyond what could be fairly asserted, but did ensure that I knew what I should look out for as possible problems in future. I noted their attention to detail - e.g. there were written checks in place to ensure that lights were off, the thermostat was reset, and the door locked behind us. Things like possibly missing or broken screens, lack of outlets in certain areas, a step that was too high were all noted. The cost was very fair and the results were high-quality. I felt that it gave us the information we needed to negotiate fairly with the sellers. Basically, I walked away with a manual that I will refer to in order to ensure that I am checking potential problems and budgeting for future repairs. I could most definitely see asking for a return inspection in a few years to ensure that I was taking care of this very expensive purchase properly! The one VERY picky thing that I would suggest is a table of contents in the writeup, as I wasn't aware that categories of significant findings and advice for future repairs and maintenance were listed at the end of the report.

Probably the most detailed inspection I've ever received. Excellent inspection report. Greatly…read moreappreciated.

Michael (Mike) Schejbal was fantastic! He spent over five hours inspecting a home we were certain…read morewould be ours. Throughout the process, Mike calmly and objectively explained his findings, clearly distinguishing between major expense items and more cosmetic issues. After his thorough review, we followed up with him for additional perspective on several health and safety concerns. Based on his insights, we ultimately decided to walk away from the home--and we have never regretted that decision. I have complete faith and confidence in Mike's expertise and have since recommended Chicagoland Home Inspectors to family and friends. The best value for the money in our home-buying process so far! Thank you so much, Mike and team!

We totally endorse the team at home inspectors. They did a remarkably thorough job of looking at a…read morehome that from the outside looked perfect. Inside they found foundation cracks, excess radon, and a blocked sewer line, among many other problems...enough expensive problems that we walked away from the deal. We will use them again when we find another house we're interested in. The conference call to review the findings was incredibly helpful.