Pillar To Post Home Inspectors

I got my inspection from Andrea Stammreich - Pillar to Post - over four years ago now in 2018 when buying my duplex. She was recommended by our realtor, and we gladly took her up on the recommendation since we were new to the area. The house was a fixer- we knew that and were prepared for it- and were relying on the inspection to help guide our priorities. There were some straightforward/ obvious and big ticket items that we prioritized thanks to the inspection and we thought we were finished with work on the house in the past year or two.

Cut to this year, when we have one issue after another all stemming from our HORRIFICALLY installed plumbing drainage- it was "a real mickey mouse job" according to our thankfully great plumbers. Quite literally the entire drainage system for the house- sinks, tubs/ showers, washer, etc.- was duck taped together and propped up by cinder blocks. It had finally buckled, spewing drain water under our house for who knows how long before we caught it.

Not only had it been terribly installed, but because we had no idea, it had been leaking for an extended period of time, ultimately causing sewer line damage and more that amounted to easily ~40%-50% more repair costs than if we had just replaced the drains upfront.

Why did we not do that? Because we had no idea it was a problem, thanks to our useless inspection. After the initial damage was contained, I went back to the inspection from 2018 and not only is there no mention of the extensive issues, but the section on drains/ plumbing claims that they were "visually inaccessible" hence why there's no comment on them. That's a flat out lie, which we know since the moment we realized there were issues we could immediately see what was going on. Not only was this a terrible inspection, but because the issue was all in our crawlspace, therefore "outside the house", it wasn't even covered by homeowners insurance.

Hopefully other Pillar to Post franchises are better trained but DO NOT use Andrea Stammreich.

Our son was looking to purchase his first home in Altadena. His realtor recommended Andrea Stammarich, a contract employee of Pillar to Post. The inspector was less than thorough, overlooking such things as missing sections of floor joints, broken support beams in the attic, a large gap in the chimney where it meets the roof (including water damage and standing water in the attic) and the front part of the foundation that had fallen off of the sill plate. Had our son had this information before purchase, he would have had the opportunity to negotiate the price to include these repairs, which are in the tens of thousands of dollars. We sought the advice of an attorney who reviewed the contract and said it was 'unconscionable' as it gave the client no recourse if the inspector did a poor job. Ms. Stammarich is a very nice person - but she is not thorough. This is costing our son a LOT of money.

My advice: don't use Pillar to Post - or Ms. Stammarich