I was the seller of a home that was inspected for my buyer by Ridgeline, and I have to say that I felt very bad for my buyer who was unaware of what a poor job he was getting. There wasn't a whole lot wrong with my home out of the ordinary for one that was 60 years old and very well maintained, so I was confident that an inspection wouldn't find much to worry the buyer, and I was right. But there were major issues we disclosed--issues that had been resolved but that there was still evidence of--that Ridgeline didn't even mention in the report. These disclosed issues included: lot drainage problems that involved potential flooding from the uphill neighbor and a shifting/cracked concrete patio. Past roof/chimney leaks resolved and disclosed were not mentioned in the report, though there was two entire paragraphs devoted to how to clean the minimal amount of moss off the roof. Paragraphs were devoted to the sink traps, but no mention of the disclosed main sewer scoping we'd had done, or the cast iron pipe and the issues that come with that.
An entire paragraph discussed "missing insulation" in the attic. Interestingly, PSE's inspection passed the attic with exceptionally flying colors, so apparently they missed that missing insulation. And there was a recommendation to add cardboard ventilation baffles to the soffit vents in the attic. There are no soffit vents in this home. And no, there wasn't a recommendation to add the soffit vents, just the baffles. To the vents. That don't exist. Several paragraphs were devoted to one fireplace insert with recommendations that a qualified installer bring it up to code (Innovations, who installed it fairly recently, might be surprised at that), and that a qualified chimney sweep might need to repair the hearth (Haulin' Ash, who swept and inspected every year would be surprised at that). The second insert wasn't mentioned at all.
There were several other pretty scary-sounding issues that we disclosed as resolved, which should have been at least mentioned in the report, and were not discussed.
Mentioned in detail: things like the small tear in one of the screen doors, a broken towel bar, and the "leaking faucet" in the ADU. (Shocked at mention of the leak, I discovered that the aerator screen on the end of the faucet needed to be finger tightened, which, were she still alive and living there, my elderly mother could have handled.) This was not a leak, and had Brad known what he was doing, would not have mentioned it. Oh, and there was a lengthy paragraph regarding the excessive danger of the hogwire deck railing. I guess all those deck contractors using it in every other project, and the building inspectors approving them, are unaware of this issue.
Again, I feel bad for my buyer. He bought a sound, well-maintained home with a history, but things that were evident in the past should have raised alarms, and not one word was said. He paid for a very shoddy inspection. I hate writing negative reviews, and I know my review has a pretty snarky vibe, but my lack of respect for the abilities of this inspector runs pretty deep. This is not an issue that can be toyed with. It is incredibly serious financially and for the sake of safety. Avoid. read more
