Home Inspector

Does anyone have a home inspector they would recommend? We want a good inspection before making final payment.

Donna B wrote:Does anyone have a home inspector they would recommend? We want a good inspection before making final payment.

Brad Grieve does most of the inspections at Lakeside
766 2836

A lot of people i have talked to say that a home inspector is useless in Mexico, because they would have to able to see through concrete and brick. There is a Ground Penetrating Radar for about $11,000 (about a third of what they used to be) but no one is offering the service. If I had one I probably would be treasure hunting.

It is possible to find someone local who knows the reputation of the local builders. I can recommend Ing Jurgen Lauterbach, he seems very knowledgeable, but his specialty is swimming pools. His office is in the same building as Handymail, office ph 76 6 15 69

I also recommend Brad Grieve. He is extremely thorough and really knows the local building styles.

By all means, get a home inspection. We had one by a well known local contractor.

However, they can't drill down to the drains or go through walls in the process, so be prepared for surprises. Things like our neighbor discovered the hard way: a septic tank on a street where everybody else is connected to the city sewer.

.....Or like discovering your kitchen sink drain goes down, down, down........under the neighbors' yard.

Or that the wall constituting the front half of a hotel is starting to collapse, as old adobe tends to do in time, no matter how many coats of paint are applied.

Just bear in mind that sellers lie and that's just tough luck for the buyers....in Mexico. Watch your burro. and good luck.

We've had occasion to be in on two selling inspections. We have extensive construction experience. Each time very specific situations were pointed out to the inspector and the realtor. After the sales the new owners were angry because there were problems they had not known about....not a one of the mentioned problems were included in the inspection reports. One was the need to remove the entire roof for sealing that had disintegrated. Another was that drains in the bathroom went straight into the ground. Another was that the tinaco which was supposed to have been replaced in the remodel had not been and was full of mold and moss. Another was a repeating gas leak in a water heater closet which I was told wasn't a problem because the door to the closet was louvered.

Buyer be very aware. In fact if I were buying today I would insist on an inspection of spending no less than 24 hours in the house and I would have everyone I know come visit and look at things that they have experienced or heard of happening
.

Bad home inspectors are not unique to Mexico.
To do a proper home inspection ANYWHERE you need to find someone with Xray vision, Ultrasound hearing and Spock-like analysis.
Even then, they will only find some of the problems.
On the other hand, you can hire someone who feels that they HAVE to find something wrong and will make up something if necessary.

Good luck with your final inspection.

I wanted to add some recent info to this post. We have put in an offer to buy a home in La Cristina and I was looking for a good home inspector that would give us an unbiased report on the state of our potential home. After searching around online, I came across a company from Guadalajara called Bradport Property Inspection. I contacted them and arranged an appointment for Eduardo Quinones to come and inspect the property. Bottom line: we were more than pleased with the thoroughness of his inspection and feel that we got excellent value for the money. Being new to Ajijic and not being familiar with purchasing a home here in Mexico, my husband had a lot of questions about our water system (which includes an aljibe, tinaco, and pump). Eduardo was able to give us the best and clearest explanation we have had since we arrived. He is very knowledgeable about all the important aspects of home inspection and had the right equipment, including a dampness meter, that allowed us to see where water had been seeping into the home from areas on the roof and walls. I highly recommend Bradport Home Inspections for anyone looking to purchase a home in this area.

I guess I could try and find the contact information for Bradport Property Inspection but it would be so much easier if you would provide it. Thanks.

ferret wrote:I guess I could try and find the contact information for Bradport Property Inspection but it would be so much easier if you would provide it. Thanks.

Bradport Property Inspections
Montevideo # 2661
Colonia Providencia
Guadalajara
(33)3620-2015
(33)3100-4050
Eduardo Quinones
eduardoq@bradport.com
www.bradport.com

Awesome! Thanks Canmex87!