If Frank is busy I recommend Jess Asbach. Tell him I recommended him. He does the same report. He did both our homes and saved us $20,000 in repairs. (352) 748-2008

Used him two years ago. He found some things that I never would have found on my own including one defect that was worth well more than the cost of the inspection. I would not skimp on the inspector. It is better to have the Villages pay for the repairs rather than paying it yourself! Then you will think the Villages is expensive.

Yes.
Here he found that there was a cold spot in the main bath ceiling. There should have been an A/C duct there!

Where Do You Shop?
 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your post, but where in the heck is bacon $8 a pound? Aldi's has it for a little over $3.00 a pound. If I was having a BLT, and bacon was $8 a pound, I'm afraid the sandwich would just be an LT.

At Publix, Hormel bacon is $9.99 a pound. However, if you wait for a BOGO, it will be half price.

Inspection cost
 

We used D’Angelo on our first home about four years ago and our home had an outdoor kitchen and 500 sq. ft. larger and we paided $350.
We sold that home and was contracting D’Angelo to do our 500sq.ft.smaller home
inspection.After setting up a date for the inspection later I got a email stating the inspection is $600.I immediately pick the phone up and canceled.
I hired Tom. Stevens from Surf&Turf inspection for $325.
He was great,very thorough friendly and asked a lot of questions.
He has done inspections in 3 states.His # is 352-448-5567

I'll inspect your house for $500.

I'll give you a report of findings, but I'm NOT financially responsible for anything I miss.

I find what I find.

:pepper2:

D'Angelo & Sons has a sterling reputation, not just with their customers, but with the Villages Warranty department as well. A copy of their report (which is quite detailed and comprehensive) is sent to Warranty usually the same day as the inspection. The folks at Warranty know that D'Angelo provides an honest report, and they use his findings as a punch list for items that need attention. Pay the man...the rate he quoted you is not excessive in light of the value received. Far better to cry once, than save a few bucks and wind up crying later when you are out of pocket for repairs beyond the warranty expiration.

We used Jeff (not Jess) Asbach too last October, but weren’t highly impressed. Took him maybe an hour for a 2700 sf house. Didn’t ask us any questions, wasn’t friendly. $350. Only hired him because we couldn’t get Frank even booking 3 months ahead.

The problem with hiring a home inspector is that, if you don't like the service you get, you really have no recourse, except to not hire them again.

We had our inspection done by Frank's D'Angelo's two sons two years ago.
2501-2750 sq.ft. Warranty Inspection $500.00
Inspection Total: $500.00 (Cash or Check)
for credit cards a minimum $10.00 convenience fee will apply.
The inspectors said they would concentrate on what they knew The Villages will fix. They also said with a Villages house you are paying for a lifestyle. They found a lot of defects we did not find ourselves. They submitted their report directly to warranty without our review so you may want to ask to see it first. They know people in the warranty department so actually helped us get something repaired warranty was stalling on us.
Many Villagers us Asbach for inspection who also directly reports to warranty. I have heard good things about Askew but don't know much about him.
BTW, several items on our list never got fixed by warranty so there is no guarantee there either. Good luck!

opinion
 

You can shop around but we used them and were totally satisfied.

You get what you pay for and Frank is supposedly the best. Can't say because he's booked up so far in advance that you have to schedule six months in advance. He recommended, and we used, Brian Harwood. And he wasn't cheap either. But we were very surprised at the thoroughness of his inspection. Several of the businesses that remediated his findings told us that they preferred working his inspections because he marks the defects he finds with blue masking tape so they don't have to hunt to find the item to fix. You only have one shot at this and should consider competence over price. www.harwoodinspections.com

Frank did ours and you get what you pay for.

Surf&Turf
 

I’ve heard great things about Tom and plan to get a quote from him.