Sherwood Inspection Services, LLC

The inspection performed by Sherwood Inspection Services on August 1, 2018 was both dissatisfying and uncomfortable. Prior to their inspection, I had already had a licensed contractor out to inspect the home for mold after viewing mold on the bedroom ceiling during a walk-through. This contractor determined the cause was actively leaking water lines coming off the A/C air handler in the attic, soaking the insulation and the sheet-rock. I made Sherwood's inspector aware prior to their inspection and the need for them to confirm the condition so it could be included in their report. The home was a ranch style with a cut-out access cover in the hallway. Unfortunately, the inspector Sherwood Inspection sent, Marc C, a somewhat portly gentleman, was not willing to enter the attic space to verify the condition. He was only willing to stand on the ladder and look around the attic space. He stated that since there was no plywood flooring on which to walk, he was not required to enter the attic and that he had satisfied the CT Standards of Practice for home inspection. The other inspector determined the water leak to be only about 6 feet from the cut-out opening. It took him no more than 3 minutes to find the leak. It was both uncomfortable and difficult to listen to an inspector attempt to justify why he could not do what another inspector had done 2 days earlier. I stated that the same standards of practice applied to the other company as well. This frustrated Marc so he left the home and called a supervisor. Marc returned about 10 minutes later and passed me his phone so I could speak with this manager. He explained it wasn't really a standards of practice issue but actually a company policy not to enter an attic that doesn't have flooring due to two incidents where their inspectors had mishaps and caused damage to the ceiling below. Ultimately, we were able to reach agreement where they were willing to include language in their report that another contractor had observed leaks even though they did not witness the condition. Nevertheless, the whole situation was uncomfortable. Sherwood Inspection is not cheap. they charge a premium for their services. Customers should rightfully expect beyond the bare minimum and excuses, hiding behind minimum required standards. My take-away going forward is better service would be provided by an owner-operator style company where the owner would not be restricted by the bureaucratic policies of a multi-inspector company or one's physical condition.