My Reputation

ATS PROPERTY INSPECTIONS  is proud to be know as one of the most if not the most thorough, honest home inspector in the Chattanooga area. 

Not all inspectors are alike, there can be major differences in your inspection and inspector.  This fact was again confirmed to me from a trusted professional Realtor who had a competitor of mine inspect one of his listings.  After he received a copy of the inspection report he emailed me the following "I just received one of your competitor's reports on one of my listings (someone else's buyer).  I'd much prefer to be Pauled than appalled!  Your work is simply on another level altogether.  Thank you for bringing your care and expertise to the field everyday.  You are good." 

I didn't say it he did.  You get what you pay for in this industry.

Our fee schedule is based on several factors such as the age of the house, the size of the house (square footage) and the location of the house. Please contact me for a quote. 423.421.7095

 

If your criteria for selecting a home inspector is to choose the cheapest one then please keep shopping, as I am not the most expensive or the least expensive. You get what you pay for as Inspectors typically charge based on their knowledge and experience. I have found that typically new home inspectors will offer the lowest price in order to stay in business and get on the job training, unfortunately this approach often leaves the revenue stream short for the inspector and they can’t continue to stay in business. When you have a question they may not be there. Again if pricing is your main concern for hiring an inspector you may want to contact high volume inspection firms listed in the yellow pages or on the sponsored pages of search engines as these firms may not do much referral business from past clients and are low priced to land new business.

 

 

Look at the value of a thorough home inspection rather than the cost. Ask any inspector you are considering the following questions:

 

How long have you been inspecting houses full time?-I have been a full time inspector since 1990-you will see many inspectors claim on their web site or in other advertising that they have 20 plus years in construction and inspections, ATS was established in 1990 and there was only one other inspector in the greater Chattanooga area then, and he left the business several years ago.  Do not be mislead by advertising.  Construction experience does not equal full time inspection experience. 

Will you do my inspection or will it be staffed out?-I do each inspection as if I am buying the house

Do you have on site construction experience?-I have all types of roofing experience, framing and finish carpentry experience

What type of report do I receive?-I generate a combination narrative and checklist type PDF file that is uploaded to the internet for your retrieval. I will not rush through an inspection just to generate an on site report just to get it to you quickly. It takes me another 1-2 hours to generate the report in the office so you get the detail you are paying for. You will get the report the evening of the inspection or the next morning. Please download our samples which are actual reports and not reports made up just to impress you.  Please be aware that not all inspectors are looking out for your best interests. 

This is what one inspector in our area has written in his report if he sees evidence of past or current water penetration in the basement "It is not uncommon for basements to get wet.  Typically this does not indicate a defect in the house.  The problem if there is one, is usually related to the deferred maintenance of gutters, downspouts, drains or a landscaping slope towards the house.  If water in the basement becomes troublesome, the first line of defense is to clean the gutters.  This report reflects conditions that were apparent at the time of the inspection, and includes not predictions on whether or not the basement will eventually get wet.  We strongly advise you to ask the seller "have your ever seen water in the basement?" 

Why if you can ask if there is a water issue should your inspector ask you to do the same?  You are paying for an opinion on this issue, you should get one. 

You should also ask will the inspector walk on the roof, go into the attic and enter the crawl space?-I walk on every roof possible if it won’t damage the roof or if it’s unsafe(contrary to national standards which discourage inspectors to walk on roofs, enter crawl spaces and attics (if accessible and not blocked by shelving,storage, etc)with less than 30 inches of clearance). I will enter the crawl space and attic because I have learned the harder it is to go into the more likely there will be issues there.