Angie's list for home inspector

[Brad S.]

I got in escrow for my first duplex, the property has lot of issues, city violations and diy disasters. I am looking for a very good home inspector and I am willing to pay the price for quality service. Wondering if Angie's list is more reliable than Yelp. I live in SF Bay Area if that matters.

[Gilbert Dominguez]

I have worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years as a licensed building contractor. Sometimes you can arrange for a city inspector to come out and inspect your home. Just tell them the situation and they may be willing to come out if you buy a permit of some kind. You can also go to code enforcement and tell them you have an unsafe building and you are the owner and are concerned for public safety. You can do one other thing and that is turn in a complaint about the property and that will get them out there even without you buying a permit. 

As far as reliable inspectors you might also try getting a General building Contractor in the home asking them to give you a bid on bringing the home completely up to code. They will provide an itemized list for you and you may find one that will give you an itemized estimate free of charge as well. You will get both the itemized list of what you need to bring everything up to code and have a cost estimate at the same time.