Home Inspection

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Pre-Purchase Home Inspection. This being one of the largest and most important purchases any of us will ever make can be a little stressful to say the least. You have a short period of time, if you so choose to have a top to bottom home inspection performed. This is where you need Capstone Home Inspection Service. Be and feel comfortable knowing that a highly trained, experienced and professional inspector is conducting a very thorough inspection of your future home. At the end of your inspection, you will have a state of the art computer generated report. The report will list discovered minor and major imperfections and defects and suggested maintenance recommendations. Most sellers have completed the required disclosure report to the best of their abilities and are often surprised at the findings at the conclusion of our inspection. You and your Professional Real Estate Representative can then discuss the findings and decide on how best to address your inspection discoveries.

Pre-Listing Inspections? You know of course that before your sale closes your buyer is going to conduct their own home inspection. Let Capstone Home Inspection Service review your home through the eyes of a professional and identify potential issues early. Your Professional Real Estate Representative will advise you on pricing, curb appeal and pre-sale decorating etc. Capstone will inspect for those potentially hidden items that can so jeopardize your sale during final negotiations.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. There are a lot of choices when it comes to researching and choosing a Home Inspector for perhaps one of the largest purchases in your life. Please remember that California does not license Home Inspectors. So protect yourself and ensure that your Home Inspector is minimally CREIA Certified and if possible ASHI Certified too! Capstone Home Inspection Service is both CREIA, ASHI and Infrared Certified!

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Capstone Home Inspection Service has received the designation of Real Property Administrator and Facility Management Administrator from the Buildings Owners Management Association (BOMA). Continuing education is an ongoing requirement.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Are you CREIA & and ASHI Certified? (BTW - Yes, Both!) Are You Insured? (Yes) Do you use photo's in your reports? (Yes) Do you email your reports? (Yes) How long do I have to wait to receive my inspection report? (< 24 hours and usually that same evening) Are you or have you ever served in a leadership capacity in any Home Inspection professional organization? (Yes) Do you offer additional Home Inspection services such as Infrared inspections for moisture intrusion and home energy evaluations? (Yes)

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Pricing for services! There may be other Home Inspectors who charge a lower fee for their services. There is a reason why! Hopefully the money saved by using one of these un-certified, less qualified or uninsured inspectors will offset the cost of the discoveries missed or overlooked during their inspection of perhaps one of the largest purchases in your life. I know this is a negative comment but it is expensive to run a successful business and there are scary reasons why some Home Inspectors have such low prices. Capstone Home Inspection Service is not the Highest priced nor the Lowest price professional Home Inspection Service. Capstone Home Inspection Service is just one of the BEST!

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Capstone Home Inspection Service cordially invites you to accompany the inspector on every step through your new home inspection and will answer any questions during the process. After the inspection, we invite all parties involved to call at any time with follow-up questions. Capstone Home Inspection Service creates a computer-generated report with digital photos and colorized comments. The final copy is normally completed and emailed in PDF format within 24 hours of inspection. In an effort to be Green, a hard copy if requested will be mailed one to two days after the inspection and delivered by the USPS.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I get to know and work with some of the best professional real estate agents the San Diego and Southern Riverside Counties have to offer. The Capstone Home Inspection is a large part of a very complicated real estate process and as a result I get to meet and help perspective buyers during probably one of the most stressful periods in their lives.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Would you buy this house??? Honestly and seriously I can't answer that question for you. I don't give houses passing or failing marks. I just ask the you listen to the Home Inspection critique at the end of the inspection and read the report very carefully. There are no perfect houses and there isn't anything that can't be fixed, repaired or replaced! There are many professional and qualified contractors who can do anything. Also, there is always Home Depot, ehow.com and sweat equity!

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I love a story that starts off "No Baloney!" This is a no baloney story! Two summers ago I was inspection in a more rural area of San Diego and it was hot and the house had a below floor crawl space. I put of all of my crawling gear (overalls, respirator, knee pads etc) and laid down on my back with my head in the crawl space to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. After a few moments I had a strange feeling of not being alone. I arched my neck to look straight back and peered into the darkness only to see a long face with horns and two large yellow eyes staring down at me! I shot out of that crawl space like a cannon ball! Then out came a Billy Goat who had been enjoying the under the house coolness on a hot summer day! I have to admit that for a moment he SCARED the %(*#@!^& out of me! Wasn't funny then, but it's funny now! True Story!

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I am CREIA and ASHI Certified. I am fully Insured? I do use photo's in my reports. I do email your reports and they are emailed out in less than 24 hours and usually that same evening. I have been Treasurer of the North San Diego County Chapter of CREIA for 2 years and I am currently serving as Vice President. I have recently started offering additional Home Inspection services of Infrared inspections for moisture intrusion and home energy evaluations?

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Homes in the mid twentieth century were fairly basic and not too complicated. As time and building practices have moved forward with technological advancements and the addition of more creature comforts homes have become so much more complicated! I enjoy the continual quest of learning about the old and the new technologies in the building sciences. I enjoy working with people and helping them with their buying and selling decisions and in some cases pointing out discoveries that could literally save their lives or the lives of their loved ones!

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. During the latter part of last year I performed an inspection on a fairly large older home in the San Diego East County area. This home had two HVAC (heating and air conditioning) systems and two electrical panels (a main and a sub-panel) located on the opposite end of the home. There is a particular type of horizontal furnace system that is known to fail, catch fire and burn homes down. There are also a few types of electrical panels that have been known to do the same. This particular home had both! The sellers and the listing agent weren't too happy that I had jeopardized the transaction by these revelations. But the buyer and their agent were ecstatic that my discoveries had saved them thousands of dollars in system replacements and possibly saved their lives! Fortunately these types of events and discoveries are far and few between. But a Capstone Home Inspection can and does make a difference!

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A.
Continuing education is a must! Both CREIA and ASHI require a minimum of 30 hours a year of continuing education to maintain the status of “Certified Inspector”. Capstone Home Inspection Service averages 60 plus hours of continuing education year after year. Continuing education takes a large commitment of both time and money. But it’s a small price to pay to provide the best service possible as a Professional Home Inspector!

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. INFRARED TECHNOLOGY!

Capstone Home Inspection Service in Infrared Certified.

Without thermal imaging, somethings go unseen. Now you can see what others only guess about. Thermal images can help reveal problems about moisture (which may be conducive to mold, decay and termites), electrical system hot spots, deficient insulation, Heat/AC and duct system, structural issues, plumbing leaks, and more!?! Call Capstone Home Inspection Service for more information!

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Pricing is based on several important variables. Here are some of the factors that must be considered before I can quote you the cost of your a professional home inspection. What is the square footage of the home, townhouse or condominium to be inspected? Are there additional structures such as an outbuilding or granny flat to be included? What is the age of the home to be inspected? Is there a crawl space to inspect the below floor foundation, plumbing and electrical. Is there an HOA that takes care of the roof and exterior? Please call me on 858-229 2093 to request a quote and schedule your inspection.

Q. What is your greatest strength?

A. Capstone Home Inspection Service is a professional, thorough, reliable and friendly inspection service providing home inspections 7 days a week. All inspections are performed according to the Standards of Practice as prescribed by the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) and American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Capstone Home Inspection Service cordially invites you to accompany me on every step through your new home inspection and will answer any questions during the process. After the inspection, I welcome all parties involved to call at any time with follow-up questions!

Q. What are you currently working on improving?

A. Please see "Continuing Education".