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Servicing: LAKE, MENDOCINO, NAPA & SONOMA COUNTIES
Welcome to Housecheck Inspection Services, beginning our seventeenth year, and dedicated to meeting your highest expectations for a home inspection. I am Byron Duerksen, an ASHI Certified Inspector with the American Society of Home Inspectors, the Gold Standard of the home inspection profession, and a Certified Master Inspector with the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Housecheck is my own company, not an out-of-state franchise, nor a company of minimally qualified employees or subcontractors. You can be sure what and who to expect. What sets Housecheck apart - (1) locally owned and operated, (2) highest level certifications, (3) advanced continuing education, (4) extensive home inspection experience, (5) professional, high-quality, detailed reports, (6) errors and omissions insurance, (7) a 90 day warranty, and (8) outstanding customer service. You’ve finally found a home that looks like it’s in excellent condition, but merely looking like it’s in good condition is not enough when it comes to such a huge financial decision. To make sure you’re not buying a money pit, you need a professional home inspection before you commit. If a home inspector does not require you to sign a legal contract for an inspection, it's because he has NO insurance and you are at risk for any potential errors or oversights in the report. Without an Agreement and attached Standards of Practice, you do not know what you are getting. We stand behind every inspection we do with errors and omissions insurance and with a 90 day warranty. After you receive your report, if you would like to discuss any part of it, we would be happy to open the PDF on our screen while you are looking at yours, and review any section on which you do not feel you have a clear understanding. You would be hard pressed to find another inspector who does all of this. You have the right to have the home you are purchasng professionally inspected. If something is wrong, you can request it be fixed, negotiate a better price or you can back out of the sale. The home inspection fee is a drop in the bucket considering the costly home issues that may be revealed by a professional inspection. The importance of having access to all the relevant information on a house before making a purchase decision should not be underestimated. Equally important is getting information that is accurate, complete, and unbiased. The purpose of a home inspection is not to compose a repair list for the seller. It is to provide you with total disclosure before you close escrow, to let you know what you are buying, before you buy it. Choosing the cheapest inspection could be the most expensive mistake you'll ever make. Home repairs can be some of the costliest expenses consumers face. The few dollars you think you could save may cost you thousands of dollars down the road because of missed or overlooked defects, some of which can injure or even kill you. You couldn't put a price of your family's health and safety. Your home inspection costs very little but it will tell you a whole lot. It's worth much more than the inspection fee. My fees are reasonable and affordable, and depend on the perceived amount of time it will take to inspect the property and to produce a fully documented report. Continuing education separates a professional home inspector from all others. I never stop learning. I take audited classes and proctored exams. It is necessary to keep abreast of new materials, advanced methods, code changes and different applications. I have attended Conferences and Seminars all over the United States to obtain advanced education. I use state of the art equipment: tablets, drones, infrared camera, laser devices, and the most sophisticated software utilizing the Cloud, in order to conduct the highest quality inspection and produce the finest report available. WHEN YOU WANT THE BEST, THE CHOICE IS CLEAR
As a professional, I maintain my long standing memberships in the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI), the two largest and most prominent national home inspector associations who set the standards for industry-wide protocols. * Experienced, over sixteen years of home inspecting As a former contractor, I can tell you that home inspecting demands far more detailed education in every discipline than a general contractor. A professional home inspector must possess a unique combination of disciplines, skills and education involving many elements that are particularly complex in order to perform the very detailed job of investigating a home’s structure and components.
Do your own due diligence before engaging the services of any inspector. One home inspector is not the same as another. A true professional will require a signed contract, carry liability as well as errors and omissions insurance, and be a member-in-good-standing in a national organization which requires annual continuing education. Assuming that you will get the same level of inspection and comprehensive report regardless of the fee is a pitfall you should avoid. That simply isn’t true. Shopping for quotes doesn’t begin to tell you what you need to know. You need to get the most for your money. What about one of the online lists of the best inspectors? If these lists actually contain the best, why aren’t they identical? They are not even close. For a monthly fee, any inspector can be added to Angie's List, Home Advisor, Porch, Manta, or any others. Are these companies going to post bad reviews and risk losing their monthly income? Bogus reviews proliferate these sites. In fact in San Francisco, the DA announced a lawsuit against one of the most popular for deceptive advertising, specifically for fraudulently misrepresenting the objectivity of the consumer reviews it publishes. Don't let them insult your intelligence. It's just advertising, nothing more. Unlike Washington, Oregon, Nevada and many other states, California has no requirements for education, training, insurance or conduct of home inspectors. California DOES NOT license home inspectors. Consequently, many self proclaimed home inspectors have not spent the time or money to get proper training and do not meet minimum standards for continuing education that are required for every other real estate professional. I am a Certified Master Inspector, a seasoned professional, having conducted thousands of inspections in Northern California's wine country in the last sixteen years. The dictionary defines a "professional" as "skilled, proficient, knowledgeable, prepared, talented, competent, and experienced," in other words, a master of his craft. I've taught classes in national conferences for Licensed Home Inspectors in Washington, Oregon and Nevada. I look at everything I can during an inspection; mechanical and plumbing systems, doors, windows, electrical panels, attics, crawl spaces and the roof. I look for signs of water damage or moisture intrusion as well as missing or falling insulation. And, I look at the construction of the deck. Many look beautiful but are not built correctly and are dangerous. Don't let anyone mislead you by claiming to be a State Certified or a Licensed and Bonded home inspector because there is no such thing. Only in California can somebody be a dog catcher on Tuesday and be a home inspector on Wednesday, and I promise you I'm not making this up. There is one law, CALIFORNIA TRADE PRACTICE ACT 338, which prohibits home inspectors from repairing properties that they have inspected. This is designed to keep contractors from masquerading as home inspectors. A PROFESSIONAL, COMPREHENSIVE REPORT IS A MUST Judge the home inspector by the quality of the Inspection Report which should speak for itself. A professional report is well written, skillfully prepared, and leaves nothing to your imagination. It should be well organized and systematically cover every room, component and system. It should not require anyone to interpret it. Poor reports come in an incomprehensible variety of formats. Some are a 12 to 20 pages check boxes which are inadequate for your analysis. While other reports can be a disorganized volume of comments and pictures, with redundancies as well as omissions, that will leave you confused and unsure. The report is the KEY! Make sure you look at a sample report. My reports are specific to your property with no fillers added. My report is designed to walk you through each area of the house and show you what I saw and report on it right then and there.
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION The home purchase is too expensive to risk not knowing what you are buying in order to save a few dollars. The inspection costs relatively little compared to real estate commissions and down payments, but "the home inspection is the most important part of the real estate transaction" according to Consumer Reports Magazine. THE CHEAPEST INSPECTION MAY BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE MISTAKE YOU CAN MAKE If an inspector offers to do the inspection for an extremely low fee, but only gives you a verbal report and offers to throw in his hand written notes -- RUN. Worst case scenario, the house collapses around you in the first rain storm, and you have no legal recourse. You can't prove a thing. Identifying potential problems with a home's infrastructure or its major systems before close of escrow can ultimately save thousands of dollars in repair costs. Current or potential issues that are identified during the home inspection can then be used as a negotiating tool. A seller might reduce his price, or may even fix the problem before the close. I won't minimize the issues to please someone involved in the transaction whose agenda may be different from yours. Neither will I exaggerate the extent of the issues in hopes of getting the repair work which is an illegal practice. The State prohibits home inspectors from repairing properties that they have inspected. I will report to you exactly what I find. CALIFORNIA HAS A FULL DISCLOSURE LAW This law requires the seller to disclose all known issues. The home inspection report also becomes part of the disclosures but is separate from the seller's form and is not meant to be a substitute for it. The home inspection may reveal an issue or several issues that had not been disclosed by the seller, or may even be unknown to the seller. All disclosures are available to anybody interested in the property. Let Housecheck provide you with the most qualified inspector and the most comprehensive report you can find. It's the difference between your peace of mind and nagging doubts. PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ESSENTIAL TO EVERY REPORT Without photographs, you get less than half the information. In my experience as a home inspector, sellers have removed etched shower doors, wood carved mantles, brand new water heaters, air conditioners, even doors between the inspection and close of escrow. And since they replaced them with like items, albeit of lesser value, they see no harm. What do you think? Pictures show why a fascia board should be replaced even if you don't know what a fascia board is. My reports are unmatched in details, in number of pictures and in readability. View any inspector's sample report online and compare. YOU GET REAL VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY Our main focus is to provide FULL SERVICE for our clients. We continually strive to improve our customers’ home inspection experience, performing high compliance inspections, and providing a comprehensive, detailed, easy to understand report, unlike any other. We include these additional services at no cost to you: 1. WALK-AROUND FOLLOWING INSPECTION - Following my inspection, I invite you to walk around with me to discuss what I have found, explore remedies and to answer any questions you have. There is no time limit placed on this. 2. THERMAL IMAGING DETECTION - By utilizing my infrared camera, I can detect costly leaks and potentially dangerous electrical hot spots. 3. 90 DAY WARRANTY - You will have a 90 Day Limited Structural and Mechanical Warranty from American Home Warranty, from the date of the inspection. 4. INSPECTION REPORT BOOK - In addition to providing you with the PDF of your inspection report, I will mail you a printed copy in a plastic cover for easy reference. Why settle for an inferior report of only a dozen pages with check boxes OR 2 letter acronyms for you to decipher? That's not a good value at any price. My 60 page reports have no filler pages and do not require a secret decoder ring. 5. SAFE HOME E-BOOK FOR MAINTENANCE - And, finally I will send you a valuable 225 page e-book. This book is designed to provide you with tips and information to keep your family safe and your home in top condition. THE BEST INSPECTION AND REPORT DOESN'T COST, IT PAYS In fact, it could very well prove to be life saving. This is your last opportunity to gain information and understanding on a property which is a major long-term financial commitment. I provide a room-by-room, system-by-system report written in plain English with pictures every step of the way. COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INVESTORS You have found a potential property investment in the Northern California Wine Country that will suit your needs and it shows promising growth in equity and profits. With my experience in inspecting a diverse range of commercial properties, I can supply you with a commercial property condition assessment report that will further reduce the financial risk you are about to undertake. This report can be used as a tool for negotiations. The purpose of the Physical Condition Survey was to evaluate the building's structural condition and the performance of the principal building systems. Choose only a professional commercial inspector who will inspect and report on every area. Only if destructive discovery is required should a contractor be called in. READ MORE MY PROMISE TO YOU Sophisticated buyers as well as first time buyers call me directly to book inspections. Some are out of state and a few have contacted me from as far away as Japan, Afganistan, and Italy. My first priority is to provide you, the client, with an honest and complete evaluation of the property you are about to purchase. Every inch of the property is inspected -- all structural, electrical, air conditioning, heating and plumbing are examined. I crawl under the house. I climb into the attic. I inspect the roof. I will notify you of any item that has a current or potential issue. PRE-LISTING INSPECTIONS If you are about to put your home on the market, a pre-listing inspection will put you ahead of the competition. It will alert you to any immediate issues discovered before potential buyers tour your home. Then, any issues or repairs can be resolved ahead of time without rushing, which will help the home show better and give you time for repair choices. This alone can save you a considerable amount of money. Without a pre-listing inspection, defects can cause unreasonable price adjustment demands from the buyer or even kill the sale and escrow may drag on instead of closing quickly and smoothly. READ MORE PRIVACY POLICY We collect no personal information or data, other than what is required for our insurance and the inspection report. Click here to view the Standards of Practice Affiliate Member of North Bay Area Association of Realtors Housecheck Inspection Services, 21177 Calistoga Road, #1833, Middletown, CA 95461 Google+
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