Carson Dunlop & Associates Home Inspection

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.

Sheila from Carson Dunlop did two home inspections for us, and we were very pleased with her services both times. She gave us very useful insights, and seemed to be very thorough.

I hired Carson Dunlop to do a house inspection before I purchased it. Kurt, the inspector, arrived right on time and was immediately at work. He was very thorough, professional and attentive to my questions & concerns. Although I asked a good number of questions, he always asked me whether I had any other questions before moving on to other sections of the house. He gave me tips on how to fix some smaller problems. The final report is very high quality and useful. Carson Dunlop provides a home owners manual with their report. Overall, I am very impressed by Kurt and the professionalism of Carson Dunlop. Their prices are higher than other inspectors (which I have no experience with) but I think I got my money's worth.