JC2010 - used him about 6 months ago for a 1br condo.

If you dont like him, there are many other options out there. 400 is on the high side, I'm sure you can negotiate.

We used John Moss mid-April for a 900 sq ft condo by St. Peter's College. The price was $325. He was prompt and efficient.

John Moss now is charging home inspection service fee around $400 for a condo. The price seems much different as the people suggested above. Also, his service attitude is pretty rude. Thus, no clue why he is good??

For #46, Thanks for the info. Could you please adv. when did you do your home inspection with John Moss and how big is your condo? Will your condo in Newport , Jersey city, NJ area? Thank you very much.

Yes, he's good. see his website in the above post.

I think I paid around $275. Here is his email: inspex10@yahoo.com

Email him and ask for a sample report.

I am going to purchase a condo in Newport area, Jersey City, NJ. Can anyone recommend a great home inspector? How much it will be cost? Thanks you all very much.

Have a nice day

for #74, Is he good? How much it cost for the home insepction? Thanks.

I used John Moss too, nice guy.

He was on time and wrote a very good thorough report. I was very satisfied and he charges a fair price. I would recommend him to anyone.

thank you guys - is John still reasonably priced? old posts said it was only a couple hundred

Tino,
We used John Moss of Inspex, as others have earlier in this thread. We were very pleased with his thoroughness and how quickly he turned out an extremely detailed report. Also, he takes great photographs of any areas of concern.

Good luck with your purchase.

Just used John Estes for my condo inspection and cannot speak more highly of him. He was quick and thorough, and he helped us find several issues that the seller gave us a credit to fix. Very familiar with the area.

201-954-9894

wanted to see if anyone had condo/home inspection suggestions. I saw a few names listed in the thread but was hoping someone had something a more recent experience good or bad - thanks.

No. It isn't the Park Hamilton. It's in the heights. I sold my condo and put part of the profit into escrow for the buyers to cover the assessment for them. It hurt to give up the money but I'm glad I'm not there anymore even though I LOVED my place. It was-and is--a beautiful loft but I imagine there's a lot of negative energy swirling around the building over this assessment especially with the housing market and economy the way it is now.

Quote:

This isn't the infamous Park Hamilton, is it? I feel for you - the problem sounds more like a structural one (improperly constructed penthouse) than a mere leaky roof. Seems like everyone--from the city building inspectors to the home inspectors--dropped the ball on this one. I learned the hard way to insist, even if it costs more, that the home inspector not only inspect the inside of a condo unit, but key infrastructure for the building as well.

I know. It's crazy. I was SHOCKED when that number came in. We assumed the assessment would be around $5000.00 per unit. It's a 28 unit building--a former factory built in 1901 which was converted to condo in 1988. They added a penthouse level at that time (probably incorrectly) and the roof has been leaking and patched and patched again for the last 20 years. Finally, they hired Falcon Engineering to do core samples etc... really probe what's causing the leak. The solution is not only a new roof but also repointing of the brick. The charge just to have the engineer on-site to make sure it's done right is $35,000.....I don't live there anymore and it's an ongoing problem because people can't afford the assessment. I shudder to think what this recent weather has done to the affected apartments there.

Quote:

$20K per unit for roof leaks? Your building is either being mismanaged or the roofer ripped you off big time. My building replaced the entire roof a few years ago and the total cost was $12K (total, not per unit) - and even then we thought the cost was kind of steep for the square footage involved. How big and what type of building do you live in? If you paid that much per unit to patch some leaks, I shudder to think what a roof replacement would've cost.

Usually the inspection is done sooner so that if there are problems you can either back out of the deal or negotiate with the owner for lower price or fix the problems. You shouldn't take this lightly. Also, with condos, you need to be aware of the condition of the whole building-especially the roof or you could face special assessments. Hopefully you've looked at the minutes from the board meetings and you know the building has a reserve fund etc... I don't mean to sound doom and gloomy but my former condo passed an assessment of $20,000.00 per unit (depending on size) for roof leaks.

Will close a condo in Jersey City next week, want to have an inspector help me to do the final walk through and create the punch list. Can someone recommend a good inspector? And how much it's going to cost me for such inspection?

Thanks!

Our 50 unit condominium has a long history of LEAKS. The board and the managing agent, to their credit, do call in a contractor to make spot repairs to the roof, terraces, and interiors of apartments, but the leaks come back, especially with the especially wet weather we have been having.

Our building was built in the 1890's as a factory, and remodelled as a condominium in the 1980's when several additional floors, set-back terraces, and new facades were added. The owners and tenants suffering from leaks into their apartments are asking one another what can be done - the managing agent seems to prefer 'quick fixes', in part because they own 20% of the units and could face a huge expense if the building needs extensive repairs.

It seems the real solution is to hire a qualified, independent architect or engineer to do a thorough inspection, and determine the right repairs. Does anyone have experience with this type of project, and can you recommend a someone and give us and idea of what the inspection report might cost?

I used Sergio from Housemasters twice. One single family and one two-family home. He was thorough. But he didn't have a ladder that allowed him to get access to our roof the second time, and said we would have to get one and have him come back, which we didn't- and ended up replacing the roof later because it was in terrible condition. Lesson learned. I don't know if most inspectors have ladders that go to the top of a third story or not. Other than that, he was extremely thorough, and we had a good idea going in both times what we would need to address in the homes.

I ended up using Sergio Angione from House Masters. He charged approx $340 for a condo inspection. I'm not sure if I would recommend him, but I'm not saying he did a bad job. It took him 35 minutes tops. Not especially informative, but not sure how thorough he was. I think the price is a bit steep for such a short inspection.

John Estes
Regional Home Inspections
201.954.9894
Intelligent,experienced,
Non-condescending and one of the nicest guys ever!
Knows all there is to know esp.in Hoboken and Downtown.

I've used Joe Pasaturo of AVT Engineering twice in the past 10 years. Once in Brooklyn, once in Journal Square. He knows his stuff, is smart and pleasant, very straightforward, and I received my report promptly (sorry, can't remember if "promptly" was 24 hours or three days, but it definitely arrived quickly and when he said it would).

He's based in Brooklyn but had no problem coming to JSQ.

In 2004, his inspection cost between $400 and $500.

http://www.avtinspect.com/index.html

I also recommend John Moss/Inspex. We just closed on our house in JC this week and he inspected it about a month ago - very thorough, very quick-turn around and honest. He charges about 300-400 for the standard inspection.

I used John Moss from Inspex for my Condo inspection when I was buying. He was extremely thorough and accurate about the condition of the home as well as common areas. I received a detailed color report in pdf by email the next morning. He charged $150 at the time, which was about 2 years ago.

I think you always need an inspection, and you'd be well advised to do so, even if you didn't. You never know, especially with new construction, whether there may be something structurally wrong, even if it looks beautiful.

http://www.inspex1.com/

Hey Folks,

Do you guys have a recommendation for a good home inspector that serves the JC area. How much does it usually cost? Is there any situation you wouldn't need one (i.e. new development?)

Thanks in advance. Have a great weekend.

I wanted to bring this thread up again as I may be purchasing a home in JC. Anyone have any recent/new recommendations for home inspectors other than who's listed here? Thanks!

Is it a good idea to get a home inspection before putting your house on the market? I am in the process of getting my house ready for sale and I was thinking that it might be a good idea to get it inspected first? But then some friends said not to worry about it, since a prospective buyer would most likely get their own inspector. My thinking is that if I have it done first, then I won't be surprised by anything that their inspector finds, and I also will have an opportunity to get stuff fixed or upgraded if anything needs to be done. Any advice on this? Also, does anyone know what the cost of a home inspection should be? I have read that it can be a little as 2/10ths the value of your home. Does this sound about right? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'll second that on Luciano. He's a funny guy, and very thorough in his inspection as well as just explaining the basics. We got our inspection report within 4 hours, complete with photographs and recommendations.