Read below to see how people just like you have benefited from using Shipley and Associates, Inc. to perform their home inspection.  And to make the whole inspection process easier, here's a gift for you! 

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The following are stories of recent inspections performed by Shipley and Associates, Inc. We have changed the clients’ names to protect their privacy.

Case 1: Stacie. A 50-year-old single female homebuyer moving up from California.

Stacie was relocating, between jobs, and definitely on a budget. She had some home buying experience, but this was her first time buying a house on her own.

She found a home in a great neighborhood, in her price range.

The inspector her agent had referred her to couldn’t fit the inspection in on her time line.  She called several home inspection companies and chose to go with Shipley and Associates, Inc..

She was a little nervous to try someone unknown to her, especially after a bad experience she’d had in California with a home inspector.

Stacie attended the inspection and went just about everywhere with the inspector (except in the crawl space and up on the roof). She learned more about her home than she had learned in all of her previous home buying experiences. Because the laundry room floor was sagging and rotting out due to long term leakage of the washing machine, she chose not to buy the house (the seller wasn’t going to correct the problem and wouldn’t come down on the price of the house). 

About a month later, Stacie found another house and called upon Shipley and Associates, Inc., to do the inspection. This house was in better shape (she had learned a lot from the previous inspection about what to look for) and also in a great neighborhood. 

Shipley and Associates, Inc. had saved Stacie from what could have been a very disappointing real estate transaction.

From Shipley and Associates’ expertise, Stacie learned a lot, and also gained a new perspective on home buying in general. 

Case 2: The Rodriguez Family.

Mr. Rodriguez is in the Navy and goes out to sea, sometimes for several months at a time.

The family wanted a house that wasn’t going to require a lot of work. When Mr. Rodriguez was at home, he wanted to spend time with his wife and four kids, not repairing a damaged floor or re-building a deck.

A new roof or furnace right after buying a house would break the family budget.

He and his wife wanted a house they could afford, not just at closing, but in the future as well.

They also needed perspective. Even if the house wasn’t going to need major repairs for a few years, what about when they went to sell it in five years when Mr. Rodriquez was transferred out of the area?  

Like the first case, above, it took two houses for the Rodriguez’s. Both houses for the Rodriguez family were similar in style and age, and had failing composite siding installed on the exterior walls of the building (a major cost issue). The first seller wouldn’t negotiate; the second one did.

The Rodriguez’s were able to buy the home at a price they could afford, knowing they weren’t going to have to replace the siding in a year or two. And, they took comfort in the fact that when they went to sell the house in five years, the siding wasn’t going to be an issue at all. 

Case 3: Tom and Allison.

Tom is in the insurance business. He and his wife have taken up “spinning” houses (they buy a house, perhaps fix it up a bit, hold onto it for a few months, and then sell it).

When they called Shipley and Associates, Inc. they were looking for just a basic inspection; they wanted to make sure the house wasn’t going to fall down before they went to sell it again.

They were very experienced home buyers.

Shipley recommended the full home inspection instead of just a minimal walk-through. They took Shipley’s advice and were glad they did. They went along on the inspection and learned a whole new way of looking at houses.

The thoroughness and written report allowed them to go back and renegotiate with the seller. They were able to get the price reduced which more than paid for the more thorough inspection.

They learned something they could use in their future endeavors and saved a lot of money.

Case 4: Tim and Arlene.

First-time home buyers with good paying professional jobs and a nice sized down payment.

They wanted a home inspector who was competent and thorough.

Tim and Arlene admitted that their experience with home maintenance was pretty much limited to changing light bulbs. Arlene said growing up that her family only had their furnace serviced when something went wrong, like when it wouldn’t turn on in the middle of December. The house they were buying was an older, 1920s home that had been “significantly upgraded.” They wanted to make sure the upgrades were done professionally and there weren’t any hidden surprises in the home they had fallen in love with.

One of the first questions we asked Tim and Arlene was whether or not the recent work had been done with the proper permits and construction documents. 

They were told the work had all the permits, however, the inspection revealed that neither plumbing or electrical upgrades had not been done!

The galvanized steel supply lines had corroded so badly there was no flow at the shower head in the bathroom. Electric service was limited to 110 volts and would not allow for modern day appliances (for example, a new clothes dryer). But the wood work and interior finishes were beautifully done.

Unfortunately, to upgrade the plumbing and electrical necessary for basic habitability of the home, much of this work was going to have to be redone.

Thanks to Shipley and Associates, Inc., Tim and Arlene were able to re-negotiate with the seller and use the extra money to have the upgrades done.

We hope these stories give you a clearer picture of what Shipley and Associates, Inc. can do for you. Now, we encourage you to go to our Services page to find the inspection that’s right for you.