If you are looking for a honest, savvy, and reliable home inspector, Mark McCaffrey is definitely a good choice. I, too, was recommended to Mark by my broker during the home buying process.
I gave Mark 5 stars, because he went out of his way to fit me into his schedule and he conducted a thorough inspection; at the conclusion, I received a detailed inspection report along with pictures that were taken in the process and recommendations given when needed. A few days before Super Bowl 2013, Mark made a commitment to conduct the inspection on the day of the Super Bowl; and there were no additional charges for such a late notice or special occasion (Super Bowl Sunday).
Mark managed to fight his wait through the already snow-covered streets, cold temperatures, and strong winds to arrive on time. In fact, when I arrived (10 minutes before the agreed time), he already had his ladder positioned for the outside tests and had also taken a quick visual analysis of the home structure and the windows.
To be honest, although my broker informed me of the length of time for the inspection to be completed, I was hoping Mark would quickly run through the inspection on the outside due to the cold temperatures. But, Mark didn't take any shortcuts. The same with the inside inspection, after awhile, I thought I had a pretty good idea about the condition of the property. Nonetheless, Mark just continued the inspection step-by-step.
Here are some things that really stood out for me during the inspection:
(1) Mark, despite his tall stature, squeezed into a small closet space to gain access to the attic to do a thorough inspection. (I'm considered to be short and the closet space was still a tight squeeze for me). (2) Although the stove visually appeared to be outdated, Mark keep working with it, until he was able to get it to produce some sort of heat from the oven (tried engaging the owner, but she stated she never used the oven part of the stove). (3) The same with the furnace and the water pressure. Mark shut the furnace off and turned it back on. Although the furnace fired back up, Mark for whatever reason, shut it off again. The second time, the furnace did not start back up right away. Mark discovered that there was something wrong with the on/off switch. Another time, the water pressure in the bath tub seemed to be constrained compared to the water pressure coming from the bathroom sink. Mark asked the owner and she didn't have an answer for the water constraint either. So Mark, pulled out some tools to see if he could remove the filter on the pipe inside the bath tub to resolve it.
Although these are just some things that stood out to me, the entire inspection was a blast. From the time Mark decided to come out on Super Bowl 2013 in the frigid temperatures to the completion of the inspection, I was highly impressed. He also gave plenty of verbal recommendations and answered any questions that I had; just a all-around superb customer service experience. read more