JMC Building Inspection Service

Our HOA hired Paul Barraza to look over a major roofing project that was our first repair in 15 years. We were all tremendously happy with the work he did. Here’s why:
1. Paul found numerous problem areas that would have caused us major problems down the road. We were able to work with Paul and the roofer to successfully complete the vast majority of Paul’s recommendations.
2. He was always reachable, easy to work with, and always clearly explained what was needed and how to go about it. It was never difficult for me to understand what needed to be done; I was able to then turn around and give the roofer Paul’s exact directives on how to proceed.
3. He never sat around and blamed the roofer; rather, he focused on ways that we could work with the roofer to improve the finished project, which turned out to be as close to perfect as we could get it.
4. One of our owners who was extremely skeptical about hiring Paul completely changed his mind after reading Paul’s first report. It was clear that Paul had found so many problem areas that it was worth every penny that we spent to have him on board with us.
5. Because this was my first time overseeing a major building project, it was crucial that I have someone on board assisting me who knew exactly what he was doing. It was a wise decision on my part and we highly recommend Paul to anyone needing his expertise! We are grateful that we had the chance to work with him.

We used them on the sale of our house based on our realtor’s recommendation. Their report was erroneous and unprofessional which resulted in significant delays in the sale of our house. I do not trust their work and would not recommend them.

If you want to sell your house do not hire them!
If you are not born and raised in America, do not hire them!
If you have not been living in Berkeley hills area for a couple of generations do not hire them!
We had hired them based on our agent’s recommendation; they have prepared us a report that was inflammatory, editorial and purely speculative and not grounded in fact!
Their job is to report what they find and to make further recommendations to licensed professionals not to speculate on what might happen in an unlikely event, but they felt for whatever reason to make scary and un-​necessary comments about every little thing that they found.
We requested to meet with the owner to review the report and he refused to meet with us, long story short we couldn’t sell our house as their report scared off all interested parties.

Paul Barraza was fantastic. He was everything we wanted in a home inspector and, funny, gregarious, and so helpful, too, to boot. I admit that I went into the inspection begrudgingly (I rarely have good experiences with contractor-​types, especially those who charge flat fees for things), but this was actually one of the most pleasant home-​related experiences I’ve had. My husband agrees. He walked us through each and every square inch of that lot, yard, house, garage, basement – you name it. He went into the dark parts himself, allowed us to come with where we wanted, answered so many questions (and honestly, too — which I think is not easy to come by!). He differentiated between codes, rules and regulations, and supremely antiquated codes, rules and regulations – not in a shady way, but in a way that allowed us to evaluate what kinds of things in our home would need immediate attention, versus what things could go on the to-​do list. In the end, we didn’t end up with any major no-​nos or red flags, and Paul was just such a pleasure to do business with. He also turned around an inspection report in less than 48 hrs, which I just thought was incredible. Highly, highly recommend this shop (and, ask for Paul!).

John was extremely thorough and knowledgeable about all the local building codes. The flipped house we were buying looked fantastic on the surface, but thanks to John’s extensive inspection, we discovered it had a lot of poor work done that was not up to code. This was not caught in previous inspections that other potential buyers had done. It really helped us as we negotiated with the seller. Even after we closed, John continued to assist us as we prioritized the large amount of work to be redone on the house. He is a fantastic resource and a really nice guy in general.

Wow, Paul Barraza did a fantastic job inspecting a home we are in contract to purchase. Thorough, careful, and ready to answer all my newbie questions while he worked. And turned the report around in 48 hours!

John McComas helped us out when we needed a home inspection asap for a house that we were interested in purchasing. He is very knowledgable, personable, and was incredibly helpful during and after the inspection. He explained everything in detail and pain english, seemed to enjoy my questions that the average home inspector would have probably been annoyed by, and delivered our detailed inspection report to us within days. The next time that I purchase or sell a home, I will definitely be reaching out to John again!

Our real estate agent Eric Wong recommended JMC Building Inspection’s John McComas to us to check out a home we were interested in buying. The home was a flip with a new addition, and had some damage done to it while it was on the market. Getting in touch with JMC was very easy and either John or his assistant were quick to respond to our inquiries to schedule a home inspection and review a sample report. John came out and was prepared to get dirty. He observed the roof, he crawled the entire crawl space from corner to corner, and attempted to get into the attic. He was very thorough with the inspection — foundation, plumbing, HVAC, appliances. He even tested the GFCI outlets and turned on all the lights — each one! — and went into the electrical panels, not just to look at the breakers, but unscrewed the panels to check it out. He asks that you follow him throughout the inspection and you want to do this! He will describe his concerns and explain to you what you need or don’t need to do to address them. He is patient and a great teacher. You can ask questions and get answers without feeling like you are getting in the way. When he is concerned, he really means it so take heed of his advice. He took the extra step of re-​inspecting the home and dropping by the City Inspector’s office to try to figure out something that was bothering him about the home. The report he provided was excellent and written in a way that a lay person can understand what the problems are and the professionals know exactly where to look. We really appreciate his offer for us to continue to ask him questions about his inspection. All the professionals who have come by to review the problems identified, have commented about how spot on John’s observations are. He is really looking out for your safety and comfort!

Paul Barraza at JMC was terrific. He was very thorough and took time to answer all of our questions and explain his findings. His report was prompt and detailed. It’s clear he works very hard and doesn’t cut corners – he finished our report late at night because we needed it quickly. He was very patient and went above and beyond. He even answered some additional questions after the report (emails back and forth) on a Saturday night. Of course, getting a thorough and accurate inspection is the most important thing, but it didn’t hurt that Paul is such a nice guy – made me feel good about writing him a check.

John McComas sets the gold standard in our area for home inspections. He’s the best. That’s really all someone needs to know. He is extraordinarily knowledgeable, and also has the ability to share the knowledge with scared first-​time buyers, and defensive sellers, all in a way that allows them to take in the information. He’s honest. The reports are detailed statements about the property – not his ego (which you sometimes see with other inspectors). And he’s fun to work with. It really doesn’t get better than this!