Client
Testimonials
We have had two home
inspections with Matt; the first was about 2 years ago, which we did to try to
identify problems that needed attention that we might not otherwise know were
there, so that we could be smart in home maintenance. He did a thorough job and
spent time at the end reviewing his findings with us. He was very knowledgeable
and friendly and his input helped us find and fix some problems we didn't even
know about. His work was thorough and his report that he emailed and
snail-mailed to us was detailed.
As a mark of his thoroughness, a couple years later when we were moving we our
home was inspected by the buyer's inspector, and this other inspector did not
identify several of the things we had not fixed; granted, none of them were
major items or we would have fixed them already, but Matt clearly "won" over the
other inspector in his attention to detail.
When we then moved in the Triangle area this summer we specifically requested
Matt to inspect the home we were looking at, and once again he was friendly,
thorough, and professional. Though we cringed at all the problems he found with
the house, at least we knew what we were getting ourselves into, and we were
able to negotiate a lower price to compensate for the needed repairs. It would be hard to
go wrong with Matt! Paul & Linda S.
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To avoid any potential
conflict of interests, we decided to not use the inspector that our realtor
recommended. We contacted Matt and
scheduled an inspection a week later. Though we were anxious to get an
inspection on our house within a couple of days to assess the integrity and
quality of the home, we determine that waiting for his inspection would be worth
the wait. He seemed easy to talk to on the phone and competent for the home
inspection. Fortunately, we were very happy we did. He arrived early and
identified a couple of red flags (which the builder satisfactorily address
later). He spent well over 4 hours inspecting the property. He had a checklist
that he used to assess the various home systems from top to bottom, inside as
well as outside of the home. He correctly focused on the functionality of the
house not the cosmetic items. As first time homeowners, we were comfortable to
ask many detailed questions and received competent responses. He seemed
professional, honest and direct. After pricing several other inspectors he
seems to offer fair, comparable rates in addition to his glowing reviews.
Afterwards we received a detailed report via email as well as a written report
with photos. We also contacted him with additional questions which he
answered. In addition, he recommended some helpful advice for maintaining
various systems in our home. Overall, we were very please with the quality and
the service of First Step Home Inspections, Inc. Thanks for this thorough
inspection, we were able to bring it to the builder's attention which ultimately
saved us some money, time and work. Michael J.
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I located Matt through a service provider as a possible person to inspect the home I
plan to buy and decided to go with him after talking with the inspector my
realtor recommended and talking with Matt. Matt just seemed more knowledgeable
so I decided to go with him even though he cost a bit more than the other
inspector. He did a great job. He was very knowledgeable and thorough.
He explained many aspects of his findings during the course of the inspection,
providing explanations for how things work and what the problems were. He
arrived early, emailed his report within a day or two as he promised, and mailed a hard copy to my home. The report was very thorough and detailed,
well-organized, and included good photos of the areas of concern. He said the
inspection would last at least three and a half hours and it did - lasted closer
to four and a half hours. He was pleasant, courteous, and professional. He
also promptly responded to a follow-up question I sent to him via email. I was
very pleased with his services and definitely recommend him. Also, as a single
female, I appreciate that he was not condescending to me but instead was very
patient in answering my
many questions. Thank you. Leslie D.
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Matt has actually performed 3 home inspections for me
since mid-January of 2011 while I was trying to find one to purchase. As
each inspection report got shorter and shorter, I think it's safe to say I
learned enough from Matt to be a better judge of the homes I tried to buy.
The first home: I tried to buy was a foreclosure. My agent recommended, and
I agreed to use, a home inspector she works with regularly. I visited his website
and realized that I needed to consider having him do my inspection. However,
before changing course, I tried to perform the same research for my agent's
inspector. The only results from this search was a NC inspector's license
page. No website, no publicly available sample reports, no client
testimonials, etc. I also faced quite a lot of resistance when I requested a
sample report.
Needless to say, my agent wasn't thrilled when I told her to cancel
her inspector and that I’d arranged to have Matt perform the service. When I
explained my reasons (that I wasn’t able to find any publicly available
website, advertising, referrals or testimonials) for changing direction, she
responded, “Well, he’s done this long enough that he doesn’t have to go
looking for work, everyone comes to him.” This told me that I’d made the
right decision – did I really want an inspector who was a go-to-guy for
realtors? Or one who seemed to be the go-to-guy for prospective home buyers?
It was a no-brainer. Matt’s thorough inspection uncovered a lot of
problems with the foreclosed home. Long story short-er, we revised our offer
by $60,000! They rejected it but it got me out of the deal. A well-spent
$425.
House #2: was better but still had a lot of costly issues.
Matt obviously gave me bad news, but the difference is that I found out
BEFORE buying the home. After his inspection, I simply sent the plumbing
portion to a plumbing contractor, sent the HVAC portion to the heating and
air guy and had them provide itemized estimates that I could use for
negotiations. Again, the homeowner wouldn’t agree to the fixes, but I was
glad to have a reason to get out of the deal.
House #3 looks like a winner : I’m supposed to close at the
end of April.
I’ve certainly appreciated Matt being on my “team” throughout this
experience. Even though his job is limited to identifying problems and
pointing you to certified professionals for this or that, I found Matt to be
so thorough in his inspection that, as a prospective homebuyer, it gave me
tremendous leverage in negotiations. Also, I like to ask a lot of questions
and Matt explained the problems he found in detail so that I could make
informed decisions when working with contractors. It’s also telling that I
received many kudos from the contractors, seller’s agents and homeowners who
saw Matt’s report. Some of them obviously didn’t like the results, but they
all commented that it was the best and most complete inspection they’d ever
seen.
One of the funniest experiences, to me, was Matt’s visit for the inspection
of the first home. Matt would give us some bad news and my agent was
obviously unhappy and rolling her eyes behind his back. Then, she’d try to
gently “nudge” him in a direction he wouldn’t go and I could see the
exasperation in him. I loved it! I want them both working for me, not being
cozy and trying to please each other. For what it’s worth, my agent has a
new grudging respect for him (after 3 tries!) now and I think she likes him.
We both held our breath as he was giving his report verbally at the end of
the last one.
No surprise – I highly recommend Matt and First Step Home
Inspections. Jennifer D.
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I am a licensed RE Broker and gladly recommend Matt and First Step Home
Inspections, Inc. because Matt is so thorough and meticulous. His
Inspection process is especially beneficial for First Time Home Buyers
because Matt provides education during his post-inspection on-site review
with the client. The client takes away from the experience actual tips and
tools for maintaining their home during their ownership, as well as the
detailed summary report for their records. Those intangibles provided
by Matt with his easy-going, friendly style make him a top inspector in this
area. Julie G.
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Quite astonishing actually! Matt did not leave one "tooth pick"
unturned - The typewritten report together with supporting pictures left no
ambiguity as to what needed to be repaired - Matt noticed a gas leak - When
the gas company serviceman came to repair said leak he advised it was so
minute that it would not have caused a problem passing inspection! Marian P.
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Matt inspected our new home and explained every item in detail to me. His report was in my email the next morning with pictures. I submitted the report to the builder and when we had a walk through three days later, almost all the repairs were completed. We had a great experience with Matt. He explained how different items worked and thoroughly answered all my questions. We will use him again in 11 months when we have our one year inspection with the builder. Thank you! Mike S. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Unbelievable!!! We are building a new home and I was close to calling off
the inspection as I figured that the builder was really good, which they are...
However I figured that it was just insurance to have this done and boy am I glad
I did. Matt showed up early to the inspection, inspected the exterior of the
house and then when I arrived explained what he had found in great detail. Then
when we went into the house his attention to detail was amazing... He walked
the house testing everything and explaining his findings and the codes and
practices of each item. He provided much more detail then I would have expected
and really took his time with both the investigation and explanation. In
talking to other neighbors who have conducted home inspections they thought it
was a waste. I on the other hand think they didn't have the right inspector. I
have already highly recommended Matt to 2 of my realtor friends and upon reading
the home inspection report they were both really impressed
by the detail of the report. I would highly recommend Matt and First Step Home
Inspections and will be giving him an A+++. Thanks Matt! Chris G.
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Matt certainly earned the accolades, He was very thorough! That is
exactly why I wanted to use him. He did exactly what I wanted, checked out
every nook and cranny to see what problems were lurking. I have already started
on what I can do and have two of my go to guys looking over the list. One
specializes in anything with wood and more, the other will oversee subs to do
the plumbing and whatever the first isn't comfortable doing. He found my heat
pump was not working correctly and water in the crawl space. I am working
on fixing those issues - they are warranting my attention first and foremost!
When I get ready to buy the new house, I am definitely going to call you!
My friend Ranae says she wishes she had used you before closing on her house. It
seems the longer they are in, the more things they are finding. Sad, but too
often the case! I really try to be proactive. Thanks again!!! Betty
W.
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He inspected our 2400 sq. ft. house in about 3.5 hours.
Some items were quite simple to attend to, such as moving a card table (for adequate ventilation) and some lumber,
other things require much more effort (roof joists are not mitred (angle-cut) properly). What impressed me most about the
inspection was that it uncovered a great many things that have been wrong since the house was built - things I wish my
pre-purchase inspector had uncovered! He emailed the report to us in the wee hours of the morning following the inspection
and put a hard copy in the mail. My Mother is a retired English teacher and I have only 2 minor faults with the writing on
the report - excellent for 14 pages! I only mention that because it speaks to his education, care in preparation of the report,
attention to details, and ability to communicate effectively. Jim S.
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It went very well. I was pleased with the inspection. He showed up early and
went over the findings with us step by step. He was professional and courteous.
Robin S.
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Matt was extremely responsive. He delivered what he said he would. He did it on
time and in great, invaluable detail. Allen M.
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Does it make sense to spend nearly $400 to inspect a new
home before the builder's warranty expires? You bet it does! First Step Home Inspections saved me a fortune and helped
assure my family's safety. Builders and government inspectors cannot take time for the exhaustive evaluation that a
licensed home inspector can provide, and Matt McClymonds represents the very best in that industry. He's not a nit picker, but
nothing escapes his attention. If I had let the builder's warranty expire and then in the future had to pay for the discrepancies
that First Step Home Inspections found, it would have cost perhaps $1,000, But that's not really the whole story, because some
of the deficiencies (gaps in roof terminations where animals could crawl in and gnaw on electrical wires, or water can
penetrate; electrical flaws that could cause a fire or cause one to escalate more rapidly) had the potential to be very costly or even
catastrophic. I can't imagine a better investment of $385. Larry B.
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Matt was on time, pleasant, informative, and he sent an
electronic version of the complete report with photos to me in less than 24 hours! I am preparing to sell my home and wanted the
inspection first, so I could make repairs before putting the house on the market. Matt found issues that were present prior to my
buying the house and were just missed by my original inspector. He actually climbed onto the roof for a close inspection instead of
using binoculars to inspect as I have seen done. I'm really pleased I had this done BEFORE putting a For Sale sign in my front yard. I
will feel confident after making these repairs that I am selling the best possible house. At the time of this report, I have not
needed to contact again, but he does say that he is available as a resource for
any questions I may have as I begin on the repairs. Gayle S.
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He was a great help. He inspected the home then sat down
with us. He gave us the pictures and told us what to make the builder fix so that it would be up to the required codes. He
charged us per square foot of our home so your price may vary. We found him to be very knowledgeable in his work. PJ.
B.
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We were very satisfied with the work that he did. He was
very thorough as he wrote a bound book, took pictures and made a to do list. He
explained everything in detail to us. I really can't remember how much he
charged me for that but it was quite reasonable. This man saved me a lot of money. Based on his evaluation,
I was able to back out of the purchase since the repairs would have been so high. He was able to give me a list of the
problems that I took to a handyman for price estimates. Elisabeth C.
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He was great. He was polite did a great job and I would
recommend him to others. We will use him again for the final inspection. We were very pleased.
Julio R.
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It went very well from the first phone contact to the
receipt of the bound report. Connie and Matt McClymonds were responsive, courteous, and professional in every way. Connie responded
to my phone messages within a very short period of time. They were able to provide me with an appointment date and time that
was convenient for me. Matt arrived on time and ready to go. He was efficient, methodical, and took copious thorough notes. He
patiently answered all my questions as well as provided great advice. He provided me the inspection report electronically that
evening and a printed bound copy in the mail within two days. His findings were
consistent with our observation. Gregory C.
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They use knowledge, performance, plus ability to explain
all aspects of the inspection so you can understand the process. The bottom line was I saved at least $15,000.00 (yes,
fifteen thousand) of future expenses. I only thought the home needed interior
painting and some new kitchen appliances. was totally blown
away by what was found. Roof leaks, mold and mildew damage were found. An addition was illegally built and violates
numerous code requirements, heating and air conditioning that did not function
completely, and concrete floors that have settled 2-3
inches. I could go on! Many, many, thanks to First Step Home Inspections! They are prompt, courteous, and thorough!
Joey Y.
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The service was top-notch. I was on a tight schedule,
having procrastinated in getting an inspection. I called and immediately spoke with Matt's wife who answered my questions and was very
friendly! It certainly help me feel more confident in the quality I would receive. I wasn't at all disappointed! Matt showed up ten
minutes early and proceeded to spend nearly four hours inspecting my home with me two steps behind. He taught me as we went
along and was more than willing to answer all of my questions. His report showed up the same evening, as promised. Having had
multiple homes inspected by inspectors looking to get done quickly, I can say Matt was the first to really take the time to
make sure my home was safe and made recommendations to keep it in top shape for years to come. This was definitely a worthwhile
investment! Brian S.
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Matt spent a lot of time with us and did a thorough
inspection. He gave us a detailed report that spelled out the issues the builder
needed to address. Overall he did a great job. Carrie C.
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I was very impressed with his ability, and will definitely
call on his services again in the future. It was definitely worth the cost of
the inspection. Connie G.
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The gentleman who came out was very knowledgeable and performed a very detailed inspection. My wife and I received all of the findings in a nice booklet that included pictures taken from a digital camera and explanations wrote in plain English. We were able to use the information in the purchasing of the home. The homeowners fixed all major items on the list, which was approx. $7000 worth of work. Since we have bought our house, about a year ago, we have not found any other problems. Jonathan S. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I just want you to know that of all the house inspections I have had (I've had a
few) I feel like I got my money's worth with you. Thank you.
Aurelia C.
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Thank you for the photos
and for the great work you did doing our home inspection. My husband came home
raving about you! I apologize for not sending the checkbook with him but I will
have a check in the mail to you first thing Monday morning!
Thanks again! Jennifer D.
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Thank you for coming out on such short
notice. We were extremely pleased with the thorough job you did on
the first house, the way you explained things to us, and your amazing
professionalism! On items we'd never had experience with you were great about
taking an extra minute to help us understand. I really wanted John to be there
when you were doing this second inspection. Your insights helped us feel much
more informed about the house and confident about what we were getting into.
Even though the home owner was there this time you showed the same integrity
we'd seen before and were just as thorough.
The hard copy report you
sent to us was immaculate, the pictures captured the trouble spots, and this
detail was instrumental in helping us make our decision.
I would recommend you to
anyone and we will surely ask your assistance again if buying a house in the
area. Thanks again,
Kathryn C.
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Thank you very much for the Home Inspection summary
and photos. I was able to unzip and view the .pdf file
without a problem. The photos and notes are super! Sincerely,
Gary G.
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Thank you
for your thorough, detailed, and prompt review. Best
regards, Jeff F.
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Just a quick note
to thank you for the
quick turnaround on the home inspection report, it looks great. Also, Thank you
for handling the property inspections with such professionalism. Your report gave us a good picture of what needs attention and led the
home seller to give us a $750 allowance toward the repairs through escrow.
Thanks
again, Dan S.
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Thanks for your
help. I decided not to buy the house after all. I have rented an apartment for
the time being. I’d rather err on the side of being over cautious, and I have to
go with what my instinct is telling me. I wanted to say that
after seeing the inspection report from my house and the one done on my son’s
house, your presentation was the most professionally done and quite impressive. There wasn’t
anything wrong with the other reports, they were just a little harder to read and didn’t
make nearly as nice a presentation.
Again, thanks for
your efforts in helping me make the most informed decision. Faye S.
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Thank you so much for all of your help and honesty this weekend. You really did
a great job and we really appreciate it. We look forward to working with you
again in the future. Regards, Rebekah and Ryan
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I appreciate you taking the time to point out things to me
and explain them. you gave excellent service, and if friends need a home
inspector I will recommend you highly. Thank you! Mary S.
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Many thanks for the follow-up with
me. I have to commend you for such fine work on putting together such a
comprehensive and useful report, also in getting me the report in a timely
manner. Marnelle A.
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I wanted to thank you for the excellent inspection and
all the time you spent with us in Raleigh. I couldn't asked for a better
experience. Look
forward to working with you again. Thanks, Neal
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Thanks for the quick turnaround on
the inspection. I enjoyed talking with you and learning the essentials about my
new home. I look forward to recommending you to anyone who may need your
services in the future. Thanks, Wes.
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Thank you for the efficient inspection and timely
communication. Much appreciated. Paula B.
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First
Step Home Inspections Inc.
6229 Tryon Road, Cary, NC 27518
Ph: 919-858-9930
FSHInc21@gmail.com