John H.
Look elsewhere for a home inspection
I've filed a complaint with the BBB against HouseMaster. First off, they are completely non-responsive if you've had an inspection done with them and have an issue or need to talk to someone other than an answering service. I got promise after promise that an inspector would call me back after finding an inaccuracy in my report with the HVAC system. Finally, when someone did call me back almost 2 weeks later it was the owner (Tim) who admitted they had INCORRECTLY marked the HVAC unit as Gas/Electric w/ PVC venting - this would indicate to anyone relying on a home inspection that the unit was in fact GAS and ELECTRIC. Tim's resolution was to send me an email with the following: I do see that our inspector inadvertently described the heating system as both natural gas and electric when it should have been marked strictly as an electric furnace. Even after recognizing that this identification was an error, the balance of the reporting on the furnace and condensor unit appears to be correct. The condensor unit was identified properly as an electric air conditioner and not a heat pump in the report. Your report also states in the introductory paragraphs under General Inspection Limitations, in the section labeled Element Descriptions: " ...there is no guarantee of the accuracy of any material or product descriptions listed in this report..." We apologize for this error and will correct your report to properly reflect this element. There are no further actions that will be taken concerning this issue. Please note that in his response he states basically they are not held responsible for any accuracy in their reports. This would insinuate they can mark whatever they want and you're out of luck if its found to be different. Think about that before you do business with HouseMaster. They don't stand behind their service or their product. Secondly, after reporting this situation to the BBB Tim again stuck to his guns and calls it a "minor" discrepancy. Not sure if anyone reading this would say that an HVAC system is a minor discrepancy. Due some brief googling and anyone can see the cost to run an ALL ELECTRIC HVAC vs. a GAS furnace is considerably different in the winter months and has about 1/2 the lifespan of a gas HVAC. Again, do yourself a favor and just pass on HouseMaster. Go with someone who has some pride in their work and stands behind their expertise.