They inspected our home that we are selling. They made so many mistakes that we lost the buyer of our house

When we purchased our home four years ago, we had Steve Vacha out and he was very educated and thorough; a true professional. I had some questions and talked to Aaron, who was very helpful and explained things so I could understand them. Sadly, our buyers hired a clueless inspector who claim to be educated, but wasn't nor could he write accurate reports. Red flags: poorly written reports looking like cut and paste, misspellings, not knowing how to find basic things in your home, not knowing how to use GFCI, having to call you to ask how to get the electrical cover off (funny), not knowing how to turn on an ice maker, etc. The next time we need a home inspection, we will again contact Home Standards and know that we will be secure in the findings. Also, I recommend you hire them BEFORE you list your home, so you know what/if any repairs should be made to get it out of the way, then the appraisal should go smoothly to closing. Also, then the buyers won't need to hire their own (who could be a "hack."). We learned the hard way 2nd time around as sellers. In this day and age it's sometimes hard to find honest and reliable services, but Steve and his team have our full confidence. They actually know their way around a home and how to write a clear and accurate report...kudos! read more

We hired Home Standards to inspect a 1913 condo we recently made an offer on. Tim took his time to walk us through detailed findings: structural problems; roof damage; possibly water/mold damage; fire hazards, such as improperly wired lights in the storage unit; electrical safety issues, including old wiring; and problems with plumbing and major appliances, like the HVAC system and hot water heater. If he had to, I know he would physically crawl the attic and crawl space, if possible, rather than just taking a quick look around from the opening or doorway. The report was provided the same day as the inspection. The report was thorough and easy to understand and included narrative accounts of the inspector's findings that are specific to our condo- along with pictures and diagrams. Don't skimp on a home inspection when buying your next property! Highly recommend. read more

Oversights cost thousands and potential loss of life. These folks missed the fact my furnace wasn't to code, not having a HUD inspection sticker on it and having an air flow vent that didn't match that of the house (there's about a 4-inch gap between the two). When the furnace failed shortly after home purchase, the repairman said these most definitely should have been caught by the home inspectors. What's more, his service call led to the discovery that the furnace was not that originally installed in the house (although it looked like it), but rather a junkyard replacement. Worse still, the limit switch that prevents the furnace from continually burning in the event the blower fails was bypassed, meaning a house fire was a real potential. I have two children. When I followed up with HSIS, they were friendly enough, came out to look things over. But in the end, they said they could not be expected to notice a missing HUD sticker or an airflow vent mismatch, and offered no resolution. HMS (home warranty service) was also unable to do anything. Why? Because the furnace had not been installed to code! But wait, there's more. HSIS also missed a poor bathroom shower installation job that over the course of the next 6 months led to the spread of black mold in the walls, an issue I'm now having to spend thousands to remediate as I prepare the house for sale. HSIS is good for someone trying to offload a flipped house (another thing to stay away from, by the way), but I definitely wouldn't recommend for anyone buying a home! read more

HSIS was great with our entire inspection process. Tim was very informative, patient and thorough. He founds several significant electrical issues that needed attention immediately, as well as a few other "fix it" projects. It was great to get a binder with written info and photos so that once we move in, we can remember to do the small things that need attention. Tim was great at explaining things and even kept his composure when the current owner came home in the middle of the walk-through. I would recommend Tim and his team if you want a thorough inspection with attention to detail! read more

Home Inspection Standards exceeded my expectations for a home inspection. Honestly, I did not know what to expect and they were very patient and fully explained the whole process. I was very impressed with how knowledgeable their inspectors were. They also have a lot of ties to the community and suggested some rally reliable contractors to help update my kitchen. I have recommended them to everyone! Thanks! read more

Home Standards has always been my top choice for Home Inspection Services. They are extremely competent and thorough. Each and every client I have referred has received excellent service. read more

Tim inspected a home we are in the process of purchasing. He was professional and thorough. Haven't moved in yet so not able to note the accuracy of the inspection. I would like to add that he inspected the roof in spite of the fact that it was raining. A bit pricey but in the current market I was lucky to find a company that was able to complete the inspection in the required time frame. Pleased with their customer service. read more

If given the opportunity, I would not recommend Home Standards for home inspection work. I was recently on the other side of Home Standards' work as the Seller of a home in Northwest Omaha. I'm not certain if Jon Vacha is a qualified inspector as his erroneous Report cost me time and money as a Seller and almost single handedly jeopardized the Closing. In his Report, Jon noted a dishwasher leaking as well as the bathroom sink. I inspected both and they did not leak, but needed licensed professionals to confirm. Therefore, in order to meet the Buyers' demands (which were reasonable based on the Report), I had to pay a licensed home appliance company $80 and a licensed plumber $90 to come out to fix the dishwasher and sink, respectively. In both instances, the licensed individuals found no leaks and I was out $170. These are costs I should not have incurred; however, because Jon included these in his Report, I was forced to pay. One of the larger mistakes he made was to indicate that I may have street creep and recommended a qualified inspector come out to see if an expansion joint is needed in the driveway. This all due to there being one small crack in my garage foundation. There were no cracks in the floor and none in the back wall of the garage foundation. I had to have a qualified concrete contractor inspect the driveway and foundation to confirm there was not any sign of street creep. There are specific causes of street creep explained to me and my driveway/garage did not have any of the characteristics. The Buyers then ask me to have a Street Creep Stopper installed as part of their counter offer. Again, I can't blame the Buyers for asking because it was in the Report. I told the Buyers I would not pay to have one installed based on my contractor's recommendation and this is where the sale almost fell through at the last minute. About a week before Closing, Buyers in turn had Thrasher come out to inspect for street creep and Thrasher advised there were NO signs of street creep. I understand an inspector needs to be thorough in his inspection, but not to the extent he is making erroneous claims that cost the Seller unnecessary costs and jeopardizes a Closing. I will never recommend this Company to a Buyer unless they want to spend the negotiation period arguing over unsubstantiated claims and potentially jeopardizing the Closing. read more

I closed on this house on 9/15/16. I have actually lived in the house 2 days. Today everything is going wrong and I am really at my wits end. I have no power in the living room at all, the refrigerator has no power, my home security service has no power, my home phone does not work, the hallway light downstairs has no power, the microwave has no power, the washing machine has no power. The water in the bathtub does not get hot at all. Additionally when you drain the bathtub the water is leaking through the kitchen light fixture and getting on the floor. I have no way of knowing all of this until I actually moved in. I feel electrical and plumbing issues are major items that should have been noted and been brought to the attention of the seller. This was the purpose of the inspection. I am calling Southside plumbing in the morning to see about the plumbing issue and what can be done. The fact that water is leaking through an electrical fixture is major. Additionally, not having any power in half of the house is major also. I had someone come look at the electrical box and he found some issues that he said should have been caught in the inspection. I agree with Chris D, the things they should have found in the inspection they just claim that it's not guaranteed. I think if you are dealing with an older house the inspector needs to be more experienced in things to look for. Fortunately for me the seller was willing to fix these things and just do the decent thing. Otherwise, I would have walked into a lot of bills no thanks to Home Standards Inspection Services. read more

I'll start by saying I honestly cannot recommend using this company. (It was recommended by our real estate agent.) They were quick to get our new house inspection scheduled and the online payment was fast and easy. Paul was our inspector, he was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. He pointed out a few minor issues on the house and gave us tips on what we could do to fix them. Luckily there were no major issues and we left happy. Shortly after moving in I opened the window in the spare bedroom. The wood around the bottom of the window was completely rotted and the hinge fell out of the rotted wood. It had obviously not been opened in quite sometime. During our inspection Paul told us he opened all of the windows and checked them. Obviously he missed this one, there was no way of closing it without going outside and picking up the rotted wood and forcing it closed. After reading over our signed contract I contacted Paul and told him about it and also sent pictures. He was very nice on the phone and apologized on missing it. He told me to get a window company to come out and give us a quote to repair it and send it to him. He said they would cover the cost to repair it. That was great news and I was glad we picked a small and locally owned reputable company. We had a glass company come out for a quote, the guy said it would be a difficult task to repair and that a new slate would need to be reordered. (He also mentioned Pella is a notoriously difficult company to work with but he would do his best.) He came back with a quote of $800. Paul got back to us and asked if we would allow another company they usually work with to get a second quote. (It was the same.) Several days passed until we heard back from Paul. He then told us his company would only give us the amount that we paid for the inspection which was $370. He stated he really wanted to do more but the people above him told him they wouldn't pay the full price; including the son of the owner of the company. Paul then told us he went the owner and asked him to pay for our repair. The owner agreed to $200 extra dollars. Yes that's better then nothing and I really believe Paul did everything in his power. But that doesn't excuse the fact that an obvious problem was missed and it was something that we could of brought to the attention of the seller's before closing. We now have to pay out of our pocket to get this issue fixed. I am disappointed with Home Standards Inspection. I'm disappointed on how they backed out of the repair cost after finding out the price. I can't recommend anyone to use this company for their house inspection, who knows what else they have missed on inspections and refused to pay in full for their mistakes. read more

Home Standard Services is an excellent and professional company. Steve and his colleague are experts in their inspection, very thorough, organized, and warm. They provided a wonderful binder report that listed every area of the home they inspected, provided pictures, notes, and an electronic copy of the detailed report. We really appreciated the walk through and time they gave us. Online payment was very convenient and they provided a receipt in the binder. Great work and would not go anywhere else! read more

They did find the obvious stuff like rotted window sills, pavement sloping towards foundation etc but the stuff I would expect them to find they did not like a bad faucet in the bathroom that causes the pipes to thump and missing paint on the outside trim pieces on the house and of course we didn't find until after closing. I would skip using them and save $600 and complete yourself as they don't guarantee anything anyways or use a different company. read more

Overall for the price the basic home inspection was fair. The information was presented in a nice binder for use in negotiations for the purchase of the home. We did however not have complete satisfaction in the fact that the HVAC units were unable to be checked because of the tempeture outside plus the inspector did not check the heat exchanger inside of the 15 year old furnace. These major appliances had to be negotiated and inspected outside of the cost of this home inspection. The second issue was that the inspector failed to point out one of the floor joists had been cut into with notches taken out of more than 3/4 depth of the joist and had another board screwed in over the cuts. This repair had only a couple screws where the new board was sistered on and we felt the repair was inadaquate and should have been noted in the report. We the purchaser had to point this out to the inspector. For the cost the limited scope of the required inspection seemed fair though some major issues were not addressed. The inspector did a good job at pointing out simple minor astetic concerns i.e. you are going to want to keep this metal porch rail painted so it doesn't rust at the bottom and become an issue in the future. The inspector was also very polite and personable to discuss the report and concerns he noted in his report. read more