Greater Peoria Property Inspections

Denny was very thorough! He did a great job and offered some helpful and realistic recommendations. I would use him again!

I am very disappointed in this company and their business ethics, which is not insured or bonded. As a potential home owner you put faith and depend on the home inspector to be honest and find flaws in home that will be safe to occupy and ones that you can either ask the seller to fix prior to closing…he let me down on both. There was a pretty significant gas leak on one of the water heaters in the house that he failed to identify, but the plumber I had to come in after the close noticed it right away after I smelled gas for days. That could have been much more serious and something you would expect any home inspector to identify. His report said he did inspect this. The second issue was much more expensive to fix. Denny documented in his report that he inspected my attic but in fact all he did was observe what he could from the access point (after the fact and not in the report, he said it wasn’t safe to enter the attic…it is well lit and has a beautiful catwalk that easily show the major flaw in the insulation). He missed a large portion of the living space that had no, repeat no insulation and it is costing me $4K to fix it. Even what he could see wasn’t great…he mentions that in the report but not as one of the items to fix, just a canned “Installing additional insulation to bring ceiling insulation levels in the home current with modern recommendations will help save on heating and cooling costs. The modern recommended value for ceilings is R-38”. Even what he purported to see was a mess by any standard and should have been a recommendation to get an insulation professional to look assess it before purchase. He stated in his report that “The home inspector shall observe: Insulation and vapor retarders in unfinished spaces; Ventilation of attics and foundation areas; Kitchen, bathroom, and laundry venting systems; and the operation of any readily accessible attic ventilation fan, and, when temperature permits, the operation of any readily accessible thermostatic control. The home inspector shall describe: Insulation in unfinished spaces; and Absence of insulation in unfinished space at conditioned surfaces. The home inspector shall: Move insulation where readily visible evidence indicates the need to do so; and Move insulation where chimneys penetrate roofs, where plumbing drain/waste pipes penetrate floors, adjacent to earth filled stoops or porches, and at exterior doors. The home inspector is not required to report on: Concealed insulation and vapor retarders; or Venting equipment that is integral with household appliances”. He failed to do this. A warning sign to begin with was I wanted to be present at the inspection and when I showed up at the appointment time, he had already been there for over an hour and only showed pictures…so I had no idea he didn’t enter the attic. I would have done it myself. When a homeowner requests to be there for the inspection, the inspector shouldn’t start the inspection until they arrive…he did. I didn’t hire him to save me time, I hired him to save me money…again, that wasn’t the case. When my realtor and I questioned him on why he missed these items, he became very combative…even when he did enter the attic after my complaint (which he did easily, as did I, my insulation contractor and my realtor), he stated he should have reported the no insulation…but added what do you want for $425? My answer is simple, a professional job that identifies risks in the house and flaws that I could have had the seller fix prior to close. He refused to take any responsibility, said he would refund my inspection fee…this has cost me thousands more than that…I have been forced to file a complaint with the BBB. I wouldn’t recommend him to anyone.

This home inspector was retained by the real estate agent that we were using. Based on his “inspection” we purchased the house “as is”. Once we moved in, we had a plumber and an electrician inspect the house. It cost us $7783 to bring the systems up to code. Additionally we incurred $708 in legal fees trying to pursue reparations from him. To date we have received none. DO NOT use Dennis Murphy/ Greater Peoria Property Inspections for your purchase.