I am in the process of purchasing a home for mom and hired Derrick Fouts from Cornerstone and what an amazing professional. Derrick showed up promptly and explained the entire process, and began inspecting every component of the property. I watched Derrick, and he was thorough and quite caring while carrying out the inspection as if he was buying the property and moving in. Derrick spent a few hours inspecting all electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and every detail of the entire structure's construction. Derrick is definently the go-to inspector when you need one, and I am a repeat customer. After the inspection, Derrick walked me through the home and pointed out issues that needed attention and also stated that the full inspection report would show his overall inspection, photos, and recommendations. I highly recommend Derrick as I have had over a dozen homes, and by far, he is one of the best in the business. read more

Cornerstone Home Inspections - Home Inspectors Near Me

This inspector blew me away. He spent like three hours at the house and looked at every nook and cranny. It was a really big house. He checked all the flood zones and was super thorough and then gave us the 65 page report the next day. It seems like he can't possibly do that for every client, but he did it for us. He was a great guy and everyone should use Derick Fouts. read more

Derick is Amazing! He is so knowledgeable and professional. He is wonderful with clients and walks them through everything step by step. I have used him time and time again and he has never let me down. He is extremely thorough. He goes up and beyond for his clients. Thank you Derick for awesome customer service and a job well done. read more

Used Derick once to buy a condo and he was great. Emailed him to use him again and no reply... Am baffled why businesses lose customers this way. Oh Wells i used consumer inspection authority for my inspection and they were awesome. Of corner Stone ignores your emails check out this inspector. Only reason I'm giving 3 stars is the first time i used him it was awesome but this time sucks. read more

Derick Fouts is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He's a true professional. His knowledge in the industry is top notch. I've referred many buyers to him and every single one of them have been super happy. I recommend him without hesitation. Thanks for all you do Derick and for going above and beyond. read more

I have used Derrick for 1 condo and 1 home that we purchased over the years. As I had purchased many homes in the past, I was used to inspectors who did quick, cookie cutter inspections that were done in 30 minutes. I was both surprised and impressed that he did a thorough and complete inspection on my beach condo in San Clemente. Because it was built in the 1940s, it had numerous things that he caught that were not to code. The most major thing was a problem with a breaker that could've caused a fire!! On my 4,000 sq foot home, he spent hours going through every room. I was almost like, this is a newer home and it doesn't need that much attention, but he caught an electric problem that neither my realtor caught nor did the selling agent disclose... the seller ended up rewiring a whole outdoor kitchen ... saving me thousands. And pointed out some trip hazards in the outdoor concrete that the sellers fixed. Derrick is awesome and he's a true professional with the clients in mind... not like other inspectors who try to only make the deal go through! I will ONLY use him from now on! read more

Derick Fouts inspected our house and was grossly negligent in missing the slope of the concrete outside the house. He wrote in his report the drainage was adequate to draw the water away from the building but yet when we went to install new carpet, we saw massive water intrusion throughout the house. There were clues to the damaging water intrusion that he did not investigate and we were none the wiser as new home buyers. We had a 2nd home inspector, three independent general contractors, and a carpet installer state the concrete sloped towards the house and pushed the water towards the house. The elevation difference between the outside and inside was evident and there were clues all around the house. Derick denied any culpability, directed us to the Termite report stating it should say something about the concrete outside, and ghosted us when we tried to meet with him discuss. The demolition and repair for the sloping concrete was close to $20,000 and we had to pay out of pocket. Had we had a more competent inspector and one who did not ghost us, we probably would have negotiated a different buying price or not even have bought the house. read more

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We used Derrick for a home inspection while we were in escrow because he was recommended by our agent. We thought everything was as he stated, but turns out at least half the outlets were loose or just didn't work. Several sprinklers didn't work. Light switches crooked and sticking out, chips in flooring throughout, etc. Regret paying him the $400+. Don't use him. read more

Highly recommend Derick and cornerstone. Our appointment was scheduled super fast and he was very helpful and responsive. Not to mention he is an all around nice guy. Our report was thorough and high quality. read more

Had a home inspection done by this company for a house we were buying as the sellers recommended them. Derrick was the inspector. ALOT of things he said that were perfect condition were infact damaged/needed replacing. Told us the air ducts were great condition (we already had to replace the ducts as they were falling apart and partially broken) Said the garbage disposal was perfect (it actually was completely broken and leaked water all over the place, and the electrical wasn't even working going to the area where the garbage disposal was, so not sure how he could claim it was perfect functioning) Pool heater he said was fine, (it does not work, and is completely burned up, which is $5,000 to fix) Told us the electrical is more then adequate for the house, In fact the box is very old and has weird 110v wired into it and has already shorted out the first 2 days after moving in). So major electric work has been needed in almost all the rooms, also the water heater did not work even though he recommended changing in about 5 years. Quite unhappy and unsatisfied since he said so much stuff in the house was just fine has already needed replacing and costing us tens of thousands in repairs that he said didn't need replaced. I'm guessing he works with home sellers and tells people everything is fine so you don't haggle with the seller to fix major things prior to signing the papers to buy. If we knew there was so much stuff wrong with the house prior we could have negotiated with the sellers to fix some stuff as part of the sale. read more

Derick at Cornerstone is excellent! Honest, reliable, and very knowledgeable. He was willing to answer any questions I had, and walked me through all of the issues that he found with the house. I trust his findings and would definitely use him again. read more

One word to describe Derick: AWESOME. He did a great job. Arrived early, went straight to work, very personable, informative and attentive - I was hovering over him and being annoying, but he embraced my curiosity and walked me through what he was doing every step of the way. I can't say enough about him. Highly recommend. Great price for the quality of service we received. read more

Looks like our inspector missed a hole in the structure under the eaves. It was hard to spot in the daytime, so it wasn't too much of a shock. However I would have liked to put it on the fix-listing for my seller to take care of. It was where one roof met another, and there was a slim 18 inch by inch triangle where the stucco was worn through and rats were entering the attic. Yikes. Good news, no rats now, but knowing about the hole could have meant I didn't have to fix it. read more

Derick did an amazing job on our home inspection. As first-time buyers I suppose it's natural to feel intimidated by all aspects of the home buying process, and now as we are about to get the keys, I would say the most pleasant part of our process was the home inspection. Derick made everyone feel at ease and turned his report around very quickly. We made a last minute appointment with him and he was able to turn around and inspect our house within 2 days. He spotted things that even surprised the sellers and their agent and I cannot recommend him enough. read more

We hired Derrick for our home inspection. He was Awesome! He is very knowledgeable and takes his time with the property. We had questions every step of the way and he was never bothered always took the time to show us how something worked or why it was a certain way. My dad was there as well and asked a ton of questions. He was very respectful and never made us feel like we were wasting his time. He gives a very detailed report with items ranging from major to minor. I was very happy with his service and would recommend him for sure! read more

Derick recently did a home inspection for us and he was awesome! He was on time, very polite, knowledgeable, and informative. He went through the whole house, pointed out any issues or safety concerns, and happily answered all of my stupid questions. I would highly recommend. read more

I wish I could give him negative stars. I got a reference for home inspections from my agent - Derick at Cornerstone Home Inspections .We paid $350 for our home inspection and thought he would catch the repairs that needed to be made. He emphasized that the piping is brand new and said there is no problem.We trusted him and bought the house . after we moved in ,after couple of weeks I felt a bad smell from my sink, I called the warranty company their plumber came mentioned that the copper pipe is rubbing up against galvanized pipe and and has created electrolysis on copper pipe.Furthermore, drain line is not installed with proper slope and it makes a smell. They also mentioned the piping is not new and it is at least 8-10 years old , I really don't know how come he couldn't get that and didn't know the difference between new and old problematic piping. the warranty company didn't cover the cost of repair since they said it's pre - exixsting and your inspector should have noticed you. I called hem several times and he didn't answer clearly and just answers the email. He is one of the inspector that doesn't care about customers and I would never recommend using his services unless you want to waste your money. read more

After a third follow-up, I finally got the information that I requested. Therefore, I changed the rating to 2 star.

Derick is so detailed-oriented and helpful! He took his time to explain every detail he saw in and outside the house. He spent almost 4 hours with us, and his report is just as detailed as he is --colored pictures, pointing arrows, and well-explained comments. Highly recommend him to any home buyers who want to know ins and outs of the purchased property! He also charges very reasonably compared to other inspection companies you get in Orange County!! read more

Derick was very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable in performing our home inspection. He took the time to walk me through the various places in my home that he was inspecting and why. I would recommend him to anyone! :-) read more

I used Derick at Cornerstone Home Inspections a few months ago for a rental I was buying. He really knows his way around a house! Like the other reviewers, he also took time to walk me around the property after his inspection, even though I had arrived late. The turnaround on the report was very fast too. Definitely recommend. read more

Derick was a nice person to deal with, however it ended us costing us money. We paid $350 for our home inspection and thought he would catch the repairs that needed to be made. He marked our furnace as in good condition and ok to use. When the gas company came out to relight the pilot light after we had the house tented, he discovered a crack in the furnace wall that Derick had missed. After arguing with the home warranty company, they finally agreed to cover the cost of the furnace but it would still cost us $1250 out of pocket for labor and other fees. When I told this to Derick, he claimed he wasn't responsible for inner workings of appliances. He then asked for copies of the items showing it was unsafe, which I gave him, but never followed up with us. On several occasions I emailed asking him to help come up with some arrangement as $1250 is a lot of money out of pocket for someone who just bought a house and paid for an inspection. To date, I have not heard back from him. I think the customer service here is horrible. He made a costly mistake to us, wont own up to it, refuses to help pay any out of pocket expenses and will not return any emails. I would not recommend his services.s a nice person to deal with however it ended us costing us money. We paid $350 for our home inspection and thought he would catch the repairs that needed to be made. He marked our furnace as in good condition and ok to use. When the gas company came out to relight the pilot light after we had the house tented, he discovered a crack in the furnace wall that Derick had missed. After arguing with the home warranty company, they finally agreed to cover the cost of the furnace but it would still cost us $1250 out of pocket for labor and other fees. When I told this to Derick, he claimed he wasn't responsible for inner workings of appliances. He then asked for copies of the items showing it was unsafe, which I gave him, but never followed up with us. On several occasions I emailed asking him to help come up with some arrangement as $1250 is a lot of money out of pocket for someone who just bought a house and paid for an inspection. To date, I have not heard back from him. I think the customer service here is horrible. He made a costly mistake to us, wont own up to it, refuses to help pay any out of pocket expenses and will not return any emails. I would not recommend his services. read more