Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

The advisor was professional, knowledgeable, and willing to discuss the ecoENERGY audit, how it was conducted, and the cost-effectiveness of various improvements, in a courteous and patient manner. I will definately refer others

The inspector took time to explain what he was doing in every step of the process and why he was doing it. Additional to this, many things that I did not know about the house (plumbing, electrical systems, heating, cooling) he took the time to explain to me in an easy and understandable way; also gave me some tips to keep in mind for the well maintenance of the house.

This was my first home inspection - and to tell you the truth - I could have not asked for someone as good as Stuart. I rarely refer people - but in this case - I will be referring Stuart to anyone who needs an inspection done.

I found this site recently and was shocked to see the negative comments about a company that has really impressed me with their customer service.

I have had 3 inspections by Carson Dunlop over the years and have always been very happy with the service. Their engineers are knowledgeable, informative and able to speak in terms I can understand without making me feel like a dunce (which I am).

The inspections have saved me time, money and hassle by alerting me to potential problems and maintenance issues. Even years after the inspection I have called them with questions and can't believe they take the time to explain something to me for free.

Here is the best part. I save $400 - 500/year on insurance for my house and car through their home owner association. When I look at it this way the inspections haven't cost me a nickle!

Very helpful, they gave info on what might be needed and approx. cost, and we can call any time for advice! Great company, definately recommend to anybody buying a home.

Dave provided satisfactory service, covered most of the areas around the house, and gave us tips and advices along the way
However, we think it might not justify the extra 30% to 50% more compare to a small firm.
We were a bit disappointed that he didn't make any attempt to inspect the roof although the company's customer service rep had stressed that all their inspectors would do so even it was in winter.

I recently listed my Toronto home for sale and the real estate agent suggested a pre-listing home inspection. Walter from Carson Dunlop did a thorough job and provided me with a report that we had available during the open house which was held on the weekend. Walter deserves a 10+ rating for his in depth inspection and his professional, friendly manner. Coincidently, we sold the house within one week and the purchasers did not have any conditions on the sale. Infact ... We were so pleased, that we used Walter again to inspect the new home we just purchased.

This company was recommended to us by our realestate agent. They did not tell us anything we couldn't see ourselves, just gave us a large binder which I could have filled out myself. They totally missed the moldy basement, which we ended up having to entirely tear out and replace. It cost us about 30K to put it back in and we lost a couple of years revenue from renting the basement apartment. Entirely useless and expensive experience.

We used Carson Dunlop for our home inspection. Jim was very quiet but when he did speak he was rude and condescending. He noted all of the minor issues with the house, and said he did not see anything major issues. He specifically said the skylight was old and we needed to keep an eye on it but it had recent repairs and should be good for a while - it leaked prior to possession and within 7 days of moving in it was leaking again. He also mentioned that the grade in the backyard did not have a significant slope away from the house and that if we bought the house we might want to consider putting in more of a grade so water flows away from the house. He mentioned there was minor seepage in the back of the basement - 7 days after possession we had a massive flood in the area he cited.

He did not catch the grading, the skylight or any of the illegal wiring.

The guy that performed the inspection was timely and polite. However numerous window companies have told me that the building inspector should have caught a new window that was improperly installed. It should have been noted when we bought our house. We talked to Carson Dunlop and they said that they do not check for any building codes and that they do not do a thorough inspection of households. My suggestion to others considering Carson Dunlop is to get a family friend that knows a lot about construction to do the inspection. Carson is just there to get your money. It was a waste of $400 and it probably cost me about $2,000 - $3,000 in potential savings on the cost of the house.