Homecrafters Home Inspection Services Inc

Jim is exactly the kind of inspector you want when buying a house. He inspected two homes for me. Both times he was 15 minutes early and got right to work. Within the first 15 minutes of the first inspection, Jim brought to my attention some major issues with the home that my realtor, partner and myself missed. Thanks to Jim's expertise, we avoided buying a home that would have cost us a lot of money to repair. Jim is very thorough and goes through the entire house as well as up on the roof and in the attic. He takes photos of everything he sees and prints off a professional initial report in the home at the end of the inspection. He then sent a finalized version with photos the next day. Jim takes the inspection that extra mile by explaining how everything in the house works and tagged all the emergency shutoff valves. His fee is comparable to the market and I will be recommending him to all my family/friends.

We hired HomeCrafters Calgary to inspect replacement windows for quality. Jim was very punctual, professional and prepared a report ASAP which we presented to the Window company. They modified some of the finishing as Jim had recommended.

Although the inspector this company sent me is what you would call a "nice guy" in the sense that he was pleasant and self-confident, he shouldn't be doing inspections. He did not catch what were obvious, basic problems and the company subsequently failed to deal appropriately with my concerns. The inspector missed a rotten roof with two layers of rotten shingles. He missed a leaking furnace that quickly failed. He missed obviously damaged and rusted gutters. He missed (and I pointed out) some defective downspouts. We had a sunny, warm, spring day for the inspection. He just wasn't careful; collectively, he missed about $15,000 worth of problems that were visible on a superficial inspection to someone knowledgeable in how roofs should look, how gutters and downspouts should look, and how furnaces should look on the inside. The inspector was pleasant but unapologetic when I pointed out some of the problems I saw myself with my untrained eye; the company was ultimately unapologetic when I conveyed the serious and obvious things he and I had both missed. I am not interested in hearing from this company; I just know not to use them again. We need regulation and accountability for inspectors.

If you are looking for a seasoned Professional Home Inspection company, look no further. As a 16+ year real estate professional, I recommend several home inspection companies to my clients, though HomeCrafters clearly is the best choice.

The inspectors have experience in home building, not solely inspections. They use both a moisture meter and thermal imaging. Photos are included in your emailed or mailed report. Please attend your inspection. Ask a lot of questions, this is the one time you will have to go over all the details in person, though they welcome after inspection questions. My most recent inspection, the clients both looked in the attic and attended in the utility room to review operations in there.

They have an excellent & detailed computer program listing each section of inspection and a clear system to let you know the priorities of repair and concern, down to items to monitor. They cannot see behind walls nor are they allowed to take apart a home to see what is there. Be reasonable in your expectations. You can request an outline what is expected in national standards. They are all CAPHI licensed (Canadian Association of Professional Home Inspectors) and obtained this licensing long before other companies. I have used ALL the staff on different inspections. If you like a chatty fellow, a quiet one or the boss, I will ask to set up the inspection with the inspector that matches my clients personality. Overall, we want the BEST inspection. All inspectors at HomeCrafters have the knowledge, the tools, the expertise, and the experience to provide my clients the best inspection.

I have used many other companies, too. If you want a lengthy report, full of the excruciating details of things like 'crayon marks on the NE baseboard in the 2nd child's bedroom', this is not the company for you. They are there to check for major and minor defects in the operation of the house, not cosmetics. When an inspection gets lengthy, they use the time to add cosmetic details. Not vital to the inspection, nor the purpose of a home inspection. They are justifying the inspection costs by staying in the homes for needless hours on end.

Choose a professional when making your selection, choose HomeCrafters.

We had Dennis Remington go through a home we were about to purchase. He was incredibly knowledgeable, very thorough, informative and gave great helpful suggestions. I felt very confident in his report.

We Hired Homecrafters to inspect our new home, after we had some issues with the build process. We anted to ensure that the items that were pointed out during the build process had been repaired. They were very professional and went through the whole house in detail.. The report was very well laid out and easy to read.

I was pleased with the feedback/tips given to me by the home inspector while he was on site doing the inspection. And I was also pleased that HomeCrafters was available to assist with questions post purchase.

Jim from Homecrafters was punctual and professional. He inspected the house we potentially were going to buy very thoroughly and made sure to point out any deficiences to me whether they were large or small throughout the entire house. They use a portable printer to document and detail the entire home inspection so that I could have a copy as soon as the inspection was complete. Homecrafters also sent us a CD with the entire details of the home inspection for our electronic records. Our inspector Jim was very friendly and helpful. I would recommend Homecrafters again.

We used homecrafters to inspect a home that we had conditionally purchased. At first the service seemed professional however soon after I found gleaming mistakes and oversights in the inspection - after the inspector finished his duties I had asked about a couple things, the first and most major issue was a large ridge in the kitchen floor, it turns out that there was a major structural failure that was not picked-up in the inspection. The second major issue was kitchen cabinetry that was installed incorrectly, again this was not picked-up on. I think there is a problem when a non-construction type person identifies major noticeable issues after a home inspector has finished up. I certainly would not trust these folks to inspect the largest investment of your life. I have yet to hear back from Homecrafters after lodging a complaint, judging from others reviews I can be certain that I will hear back from them... Buyer beware of these unknowledgeable fraudsters!!!

"Homecrafters" use an "Unconditional Guarantee" to promote their business, in case you are not satisfied with their inspection. I was not satisfied and they have told me they will reimburse me in full.