Chicagoland Home Inspectors
2026-10-01T17:37:34.223Z
We were disappointed with CHI.First, the good: our inspector was great on site, conducted a seemingly thorough inspection, and answered all my questions patiently and professionally. He also identified a requested chimney scan as unnecessary given a metal chimney, and refunded the amount, which we sincerely appreciated.Now to what disappointed us. When we received the inspection report, we were surprised to find seemingly material issues described that did not reflect my understanding of the findings conveyed to me verbally during the inspection. Having raised these issues with our inspector (who, to his credit, was very responsive), I understand that these discrepancies arose from his use of generic, template descriptions while drafting the report that did not necessarily reflect the actual findings of the property.For instance, a description of one issue noted having “observed significant water intrusion” despite the inspector having reportedly not actually observed any water intrusion in the inspected unit. Again, to his credit, after we raised these issues, our inspector revised the report, including by correcting the above referenced issue. Unfortunately, however, these revisions delayed negotiations with Sellers and required that we request an extension to a deadline.In any event, the use of template descriptions in an inspection report felt problematic for a few reasons.First, in order to effectively negotiate resolution of findings with Sellers, we needed timely and accurate information in the report as to the issues with the property. Because I did not conduct the inspection and therefore could not distinguish between actual issues and inapplicable template descriptions, it was difficult for me to discern the true condition of the property based on the initial report we received, and to structure our requests from Sellers accordingly.Second, I anticipate that one day we may sell the property that is the subject of the report, and we will need to make accurate representations and disclosures about the history of the property at that time. In preparing those representations and disclosures, I suspect that we may wish to refer back to this report. But the use of template descriptions not actually reflective of the state of the property, at least in the initial report, would likely undermine our ability to identify required disclosures and possibly lead to disclosure of issues that were described but not actually found.Third, if I recall correctly, CHI’s own terms states something to the effect that the written report represents CHI’s final say on findings—not to be conflicted with verbal assertions over the course of the inspection. Given the importance that the agreement places on the written report, I was surprised by CHI’s use of template descriptions that inaccurately described findings.Separately, with respect to the follow-up call that CHI offers, no representative from CHI was available for this call during the week following our Sunday inspection. Although there were some open times the following week, given the timing of our closing, we were unable to benefit from this call prior to the conclusion of inspection review. At the recommendation of an employee, we reached out to Charlie directly to see if he might be able to accommodate us before the end of our inspection period, but we did not receive a response by the time of posting this review (about three days after emailing him). To be fair, we understand Charlie may have been traveling for a conference at this time, but it was nevertheless disappointing.The stellar reviews suggest our experience was not necessarily reflective of CHI’s ordinary level of service. And we did find our inspector knowledgeable and responsive. Still, due to the issues described above, we cannot recommend. If you do proceed with CHI, confirm in advance that your inspector will carefully curate any template or generic descriptions of identified issues to ensure your report accurately reflects the state of the property inspected.