I am not a "handy" individual when it comes to home repair and knowledge about this. When a friend of mine showed me his home inspection report from Mike Holmes Inspections, I was blown away!
We had their inspector come in and spend 2 hours looking through the house. They told me to expect 3 or 4 hours, but I figured it was a newer house and there were fewer issues. Our new home is 8 years old... not old by any stretch of the imagination.
The inspection was almost $695 + GST, which is expensive for an inspection, but I expected a great amount of detail on my report.
The guy appeared to do a fair job. I specifically asked him to make sure that the electrical was good in the kitchen and the laundry room, because the reno's were DIY by the previous home owner.
He finished his inspection and walked through with me. He noted that the roof would need replacing, and that there were normal settlement cracks in the foundation (very small!) and that the attic could use a little more insulation. Lots of minor things... rotting wood outside the home. Ineffective caulking, etc. He noted no issues with the electrical.
That was the last time I was in the home before we moved in.
A week after we moved in, a family member came over for a visit. This family member is a part time contractor, and before he was even inside the front door he said "What's wrong with your doors?" He then proceeded to show me where the previous home owner did a DIY repair on what appears to be a kicked in front door. Air flowing through the top and bottom. He said "You should have used a home inspector... this could be expensive to fix." When I told him I DID use one, he got concerned... and we started to look further.
The double door in the front has a door jam that appears to be made from left over wood and replaced the actual jam with a DIY jam, which doesn't fit right. Air flows freely at the top and bottom. The home owner put several layers of extra weather stripping to compensate. I thought it looked odd, but didn't think much else because it wasn't in the report. I'm told that to replace the double door and frame (which may be needed) it could cost me as much as $5000. Granted, that may be high, but it won't be cheap!
When I asked Mike Holmes Inspections, they said "It's not a major issue and could have happened after the inspection." Which is total crap.
Down to the basement. We had a look at the electrical panel, and it looked okay to him. However... up and to the left (maybe 2 feet away...) inside the vapor barrier was quite a bit of mouse dropping. "Did you know you have mice?" No... it wasn't in my report. When asked Mike Holmes inspections said "Not a major issue, we can't catch everything."
We went up to the kitchen. Above the stove is a live power line. It is capped, but hanging out. Being under some trim... I didn't notice. Neither did the inspector, even though I specifically asked him to check it. It was not in my report.
We went into the garage... we found dozens of holes in the drywall, some pretty big. One of them was very interesting because it has an electrical box with a split of a 240 Amp circuit, cut right into the wall between the garage and the laundry room. Again, not in the report. We pulled out the dryer to inspect the electrical and found a 1ft x 1ft hole in the drywall where the dryer vent is. This is 4 feet away from were the hole in the garage is for that electrical box. Again... not in the report!
When asked, Mike Holmes Inspections said that they are not allowed to open a junction box, though they admitted that it was odd. So I asked, if it's odd, why isn't it in the report? No answer.
On the 1 ft by 1 ft hole behind the dryer, the excuse was "We normally don't move appliances." but I pointed out you didn't have to look behind it, simply under the counter that is around the dryer.
We found some water damage on the kitchen cabinets from a leaky fridge. Not in the report. They don't check the actual appliances, but the water damage should have been noted.
So to recap... they missed damaged front doors, mice, DIY electrical, poorly done reno / electrical in the laundry room, water damage, poorly installed toilets, drainage problem in ensuite bathroom and multiple holes in the garage (which I am told is important for the warmth of the room above.
When I called them, they made every excuse in the book. Ultimately it comes down to this... I NEEDED this information WHILE I WAS NEGOTIATING for my house. Not after. I needed to know I have to get new (or even repair) doors, I have to bring an electrician in to check all the DIY electrical, etc. Now, it's too late!
They said things like "We didn't cause any damage to the house." and "At least you don't have a flood" and "That could have happened after the inspection".
They didn't get that I needed the inspection info BEFORE the deal was done. Almost nothing was in the report that needed to be addressed immediately.
The person I spoke to there said they would meet with the head inspector at Mike Holmes Inspections. Today I got a call with the results of that meeting and was told that it was "reasonable" for the inspector to miss these things.
They told me "You didn't ask any questions of the inspector" which is a falsehood... but even if I didn't, THAT'S NOT MY JOB! That's why I paid HIM twice the going rate of a non-Holmes inspector, to ask those questions for me!
For whatever reason, I can only add 1 picture. I do have more I hope I can add later.
This review has 6 images.
to view the gallery.