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October 19, 2007

Inspection on already purchased home

Recently closed on a new brownstone, which we did not "inspect" prior to closing as we bought it from a family member for a great price and we knew we would buy it regardless of what a pre-closing inspection report said. However, we did go through the bank appraisal process.

Now that we're in, we want to have a full inspection conducted so we can prioritize important fixes then move on to nice to haves.

Any recommendations for providers of these home inspections who are very knowledgable of 100+ yr old brownstones?

Comments

Call Joe Pasaturo of AVT Enterprises. He is very professional and thorough. He has been cited many times on this site. I used him and still refer to his report which was excellent - very helpful in understanding the issues with the house and in prioritizing the work I had to do.

Posted by: donatella at October 19, 2007 4:02 PM

Matthew Barnett at Accurate Building Inspectors. He's my hero. Call Estelle at (718) 265-8191 to schedule an appointment. He's super thorough and will answer all questions you have and even point out stuff and explain it that you didn't think to ask about. His reports are keepers and he'll be happy to explain anything you have questions about after you get the report too.

Tell him Alexandra Farkas recommended him. Slimy brokers fear him, good ones are in awe of him. I've dealt with too many houses...

Posted by: guest at October 19, 2007 4:24 PM

Heimer 1800 640 8090...They are the best. Not only are they inspectors but engineers. They create a 60 page book with estimates on cost of repairs. 2 hour inspection on bklyn brownstone.

Posted by: guest at October 19, 2007 5:56 PM

We used Heimer. More than half of their 60 page book was just general information that had nothing to do with the specifics of our house. Would not use them again.

Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 5:02 PM

I had a great experience with Heimer. All of my report was specific to my house....nothing general at all. I still refer to it 10 years later and it still makes sense.

Posted by: guest at October 21, 2007 9:45 PM

I second the suggestion of Matthew Barnett at Accurate Building Inspectors.

He was so thorough and extremely helpful. His unbiased assesment was invaluable to me as a first time buyer.

I'm now in the renovation process and my architects refer to his report often, thereby narrowing in on areas of concern to raise with subs, etc.

Posted by: guest at October 23, 2007 12:34 PM