As the title states, I'm wondering if anyone has any connections when it comes to home inspections, preferably more so than your typical "home inspector". Wife and I have been looking at buying recently and both places we've looked at so far have had some issues, deeper than just cosmetic stuff. We're both fairly competent and aren't afraid of a little fixer upper action, but there's a definite line where the comfort zone ends. What we're ideally hoping to find is a trustworthy handyman type guy that can give us a solid inspection of multiple "systems", and would maybe be willing to offer advice/suggestions on ways to rectify/improve certain issues. And then whatever we didn't feel confident diving into we'd just go through said guy and provide him with the work as well. Anybody got any friends or somebody they've used before. Mainly just trying to avoid being lied to and/or taken advantage of as first time buyers. House we just looked at yesterday had a pretty bad ass heated shop with high ceilings and a paint booth still in it. Pretty much perfect except for a crap load of half assed, self done wiring that looked sketchy at best. Needless to say, my stoke level was pretty much killed by the fear of the unknown. Thanks!
You've been to our shop. We do all types of home renovations/repairs. I am not a certified inspector...but i know my way around a house.
Certified shmertified. Just need somebody who isn't on their first rodeo. Trying not to get gored to death here. Haha.
Call the city offices where the property is located and ask for the building permit department. They might be able to point you to someone that they are familiar with and know is competent. Or just rent a Cat from Ziegler. http://www.zieglerrental.com
I just closed on my new house a week and a half ago and went through Structure Tech for the inspection. They are highly rated in MN (why I chose them) and they did an awesome job pointing stuff out and making recommendations on my new house.
What about a OTPHJ? Seriously though, I hope you can find a good, detailed inspector, and I'd be curious to hear the result. I've heard so many stories of people using a "great" inspector... Only to find a ton of serious issues after they've moved in and/or started tearing down for a remodel. Maybe that's just part of the process...building in extra, extra budget for any Amy project.