East Bay real estate is crazy and many buyers are now foregoing home inspections, which is really…read morenaive. Sellers' agents usually use sellers' inspection companies - ones that are not thorough and miss a lot of things. The first house we bought was like this. Not getting our own inspection cost us more than $200K and 1.5 years of costly but necessary renovations down the road. The sellers' inspection totally missed that half of our house was run on knob and tube, that our deck supports were completely rotten, and that most of the siding needed to be replaced. Since then, we've used JMC twice. Both times Lee Parsons was our inspector and I can't say enough great things about him. He doesn't mind if you follow him around and explains things along the way. Because of offers being due, he worked at night to finish our report so we could decide how much to bid the next day. Also the owner is great and scheduled us in last minute on one of the inspections, responding to a voicemail and texting over the weekend. On one inspection, the house was marketed as new construction and looked great, but had a lot of hidden issues. The gutters needed to be replaced, there were flashing issues with the roof, the skylight was not secured to the roof, there were drainage and retaining wall issues, rats had gotten into the HVAC ducting (missed by the pest report), several appliances were not functional, and there was no hot water going to a section of the house. There were 5 offers on the house, 4 with no contingencies, but only 2 had done inspections. The house sold for $1m above asking with no contingencies! That buyer will soon discover all the issues with their "new" house! On another house, which was over a hundred years old but renovated less than 10 years ago, there were minor issues and our family has lived in the house for several months now. Lee's inspection helped us determine our small projects and one big project (the detached garage has no seismic retrofitting and has knob and tube). Overall we're very happy with this house, because no big surprises!

Great company! I've used JMC twice now. The first time was in 2024, and Lee did our home inspection…read morebefore we put our townhouse on the market. He was exceptionally professional, courteous and knowledgeable. This time I called to have a commercial building we are leasing in Oakland inspected. From the first call with the receptionist, the experience was pleasant and the staff all seem so nice and competent (a tall order these days!). For this inspection, we had Paul Barraza, and he was great! Did a very thorough job, patiently explained things to us, then wrote up all his findings in an easy to understand report complete with pictures and suggestions on how to tackle problem areas. I am not sure what Bay Area prices are, but I found them to be very reasonable. I definitely would recommend them!

Inspection was performed which did not find major issues in the attic and electrical which if found…read morewould have dissuaded us from buying the property. Don't know if the inspector was paid to keep it quiet by the seller agent because any professional would have caught the issues or just failed the inspection report

We are in need of a super urgent (next day) home inspection (due to seller agent's really shady…read morebusiness practice) and out of many companies Sam is the first one to call me back. He offered to do it next day and even helped us get a Pest inspection specialist at the same time!! Unfortunately the seller's agent didn't authorize to let us have access to do the inspection. We've been stressed out about the whole situation but Sam is very accommodating and super quick on replies. Depending on our home purchase results, I would definitely reach out to Sam and have him do the inspection for us.

Don't trust their report, it will miss critical issues such as mold. I beg you to read what…read morehappened to me before hiring them. We booked GCIS through our realtor (realtor had the invoice sent to me few hours before our offer was redacted.) Supposed to be the "best" in bay area, they charged me double the average inspection price. Mark Nolfi showed up on the property and performed a 1.5 hour inspection on a 2700 sq ft property (google average inspection time for larger properties in bay area for comparison). During the inspection, I pointed out concerns about mold smell and stains on the interiors, which he said it was no big deal. Mark Nolfi sent the reports to the wrong email address and got it delayed in my hands. The final report did not address any mold issues which I raised multiple times during the inspection, just mentioned water damages and ventilation issues. Regardless of their clean report, I hired a mold inspector to check the property. Guess what, mold inspector found active black mold under the bathroom sink. It's up to your decision, but I will never trust GCIS report ever again. Funny fact during the inspection, Mark Nolfi seemed to argue with my realtor that he got to be paid more for inspecting non-permitted spaces and spending extra 30min on it. LMAO, interesting company with interesting employees and interesting relationships with realtor. To me, it's lesson well learnt. I paid quite a bit to GCIS, but avoiding them will save me thousands of dollars from now on. Hope my story can shed some lights to home buyers. Happy house hunting guys!

I couldn't be more disappointed with the inspection. We bought a place 2 months ago. The sellers…read morepaid for an inspection and we paid again so that we could walk through it with them. So they got paid twice. In the 2 months that we have been in the place, here's what we have found: - Day 1 - water heater didn't work. They disclaimed inspection because the gas was turned off when they visited. - Siding leaked - we had a contractor out and he told us that the siding was not properly sealed. He noticed just by looking and he wasn't trying to sell work. He actually recommended we call someone else to do the work. Estimate is $12K. Not in the inspection report. - Roof leaks. Our contractor was out looking at the siding leak and pointed out a bubble in the ceiling paint. Said we should check it out. My husband poked his finger up there and it went right through. Roofer came out and said it was a completely terrible roofing job. There's another few thoughts. So thanks for your useless inspection. Certainly provided zero protection. Their report is also pretty difficult to read. Inspections I have received when purchasing other houses had pictures and level of concern to help a non-expert like me understand the significance of the issue.

I needed some wood siding replaced and contacted this company that was recommended to me by another…read morecontractor. David arrived at my home and spent considerable time assessing my job and discussing recommendations with me. He called his lumber supplier while I was present and quoted me a material price which was exactly what I had overheard! Since his visit, the scope of my job changed and I no longer needed a replacement. I am confident that this company would have been easy to work with and the work itself outstanding. I will absolutely consider them for any future projects.

I can not say enough good things about Cowperthwaite Hininger and I can't wait to hire them for…read moremore work in the future! First, they are incredibly professional: they show up when they say they will, do what they say they're going to do, go the extra mile and then clean up thoroughly after themselves. Secondly, Dave (co-owner) has been in the business for many, many years and very seriously knows his stuff - and yet he's very helpful and patient - without being patronizing or exaggerating the scope of work: this is a rare and very welcomed quality, especially when you're a female dealing with male contractors. Most importantly, the work they do is just beautiful - thorough, DONE RIGHT, and executed at a high level of quality. If you're looking for a contractor who is going to do half-assed work that will fall apart in a couple of years, by all means go with someone else. I, for one, wouldn't dream of letting anyone touch my home that wasn't Cowperthwaite Hininger (or someone who comes highly recommended by them). Dave and everyone who works for him has *earned* these five stars!

This company was great to work with. They were efficient and professional. Alex was very friendly…read moreand communicated well throughout the process. Reports were received quickly and they answered all questions I had regarding the reports.

I'm selling my home and Oscar was appointed to do the inspection services. He was professional and…read morefriendly. Oscar showed up on time and gave us needed repairs. He is able to update inspection report, which is so helpful. Thank you Oscar!

I had a very strange phone call with James Gillett yesterday. I called because I want help…read morepreparing for the special inspection of my home's shear wall. The city of Oakland requires this inspection, but the previous owner (who had the wall installed) never did it. Special inspections are expensive and the city only authorizes a few companies to do them. I want someone with experience (such as James) to correct any major issues prior to the inspection so I don't have to do it twice. James initially said this was exactly the kind of thing he did and he would look at a "representative sample" of the shear wall. Things got weird when I told him that the city requires the whole wall to be inspected and I'd have to remove the drywall that covers part of it prior to his visit so he could look at all of it. He said I could do that "if I was masochistic" and that I should "learn to take yes for an answer". I again mentioned that the building department told me that inspecting the whole wall was the only thing they would accept, but if he knew a better way I was happy to do it. He said that he had already explained everything, that there was "no point arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" and he didn't appreciate me "giving him the third degree". I got the impression that James either didn't know anything about the inspection process in Oakland or didn't realize (despite several mentions) that addressing it was part of the service I was requesting. He seemed to think I was questioning his seismic retrofitting expertise, mentioning several times that he has been doing this work since the 70s and that many engineers and contractors do substandard work. I can't evaluate his expertise, but I know that before hiring someone, it's important that both parties understand what service will be performed and why. I remain baffled why he was so defensive over my attempts to reach that understanding. Over the years I've learned that when I get a strange reaction to a very normal question, it's best to just walk away. I was disappointed that this happened after reading so many positive reviews, so I decided to post this to give fair warning to others.

I highly recommend Jim Gillett, owner of Earthquake Construction Service. Jim has extraordinary…read moretechnical knowledge of effective seismic management practice, an incredible work ethic, and a commitment to doing the right thing for his clients at a fair price. My wife and I have had two extremely satisfactory experiences with ECS. In the first case, Jim installed sheer walls, updated bolts and insulated reachable areas in a partial basement and in the crawl spaces of our 1908 Craftsman house. The price was right, the workmanship excellent, and he got it done in less time than he estimated. More recently, Jim inspected our new house, built in the late 70s. Although we were eager to hire him to do some work, he told us the house was so well built that no upgrade was necessary, and he explained to us exactly why that was the case. We were convinced, and were impressed both with his knowledge and with his ethical treatment of us as customers. In our experience, not too many would turn down work, even if it were unnecessary. So, six stars on a 5 star scale.

We hired Mark as a home inspector after being impressed by the quality of his reports. We read 50+…read morehome inspection reports while home shopping over the last two months... Mark's reports stood out by far among all of them so we bookmarked his contact info and immediately called him once we made an offer. Mark returned our call quickly and explained his services and fee structure clearly. He was available to come out two days later and sent a contract for us to review beforehand. Home buying can be a little scary with so many people taking advantage of buyers when they can. Mark was generous, honest, kind. We are so THRILLED with his services and it was worth every penny. He spent an extraordinary amount of time and attention on our house, even reviewing a couple of sites around the house that the seller's inspector had deemed inaccessible (eg attic, portions of basement). His assessment was thorough. Additionally, he took extra time to make sure we understood the house, gave us honest advice and answered all our questions. Home shopping on a limited budget in a sellers market has been an arduous process. Working with Mark today has been the best part of the process so far. He is truly a gem. We are forever thankful and strongly recommend him. - T& S

Good value and performed as advertised. Mike was on time for…read morethe inspection I had ordered. A seismic inspection of the foundation of a home we wished to purchase. He insisted I join him and explained each step of the process as we went along. He provided a comprehensive report both in hard copy and CD form upon completion. I would recommend using this firm and Mike Khoury if you need a foundation inspection.

Mike Khoury is both a Certifed P.E. in GEOTECHNICAL and CIVIL Engineering. The question I asked…read moremyself when buying my first home in California was - "What's important to me as a buyer?". I didn't care about trivial things like the oven, hot water heater, or the stove (these are essentially easy and relatively cheap things to repair or replace). What's really important is the structural integrity of your new home and the drainage/foundation that everything depends on - especially in an earthquake prone area. I've heard people complain that he didn't do all the things that a typical home inspector would do, but that didn't matter to me. I wanted certainty in my purchase and confidence that I would have a strong and lasting structure. Pay the extra money for a Certified Professional Engineer, you'll be glad you did. Mike's report was comprehensive and provided me the reassurance I needed to move forward. I only use Professional Engineers for my inspections and have never had a problem with any home purchase I have made. Get it done right - call Mike!