Recommendations for Home inspector and architect/designer?

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

Hi All,

I will search the archives/tags too, but i don't recall seeing anything go by recently. I find myself in the position of having placed an offer on a house and having it been accepted (yay! and scary!). Now I need to find an inspector. Any recommendations on someone who is thorough? What type of cost should I expect?

I also would like to contact an architect or designer about some remodeling work that will need to be done immediately after closing (if everything goes well, of course). I have no idea where to begin with finding someone who can help design a plan for knocking out several internal walls on the first floor. Any recommendations on people to contact? where to start? what to expect?

Thanks in advance, i'm a total newbie at this. Also, this is in North Cambridge, though I don't think that should effect recommendations...

Comments

[library-sexy.livejournal.com]

I know that Greg Rapp Architecture specializes in residential work:

Greg Rapp Website (http://www.rapparchitecture.com/profile/)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Do you need a designer or just a guy to knock out the walls? A general contractor would be fine for that and he/she would use their engineer to make sure things are done safely. This can be very expensive for load bearing walls, very cheap otherwise. We got a quote of $4k to remove one wall that's about 10' (but is thick and includes a chimney and a few other messy things). I think that quote is a bit high though and we haven't sought out another yet. If you hire a designer, they are going to sub out the contracting work and take a cut in the cost, making it more expensive (but you might end up with better results/more professional supervision, etc.)

Our inspector was good and cost about $275 I think. I think he's from Somerville, or works there a lot at least:

Frank Marinello
marinellohomeinspection.com
781 956-0125

That will not include a pest inspection or a radon test if you want to go that route.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

I can highly recommend Harold Pop at Mt Vernon Inspection Associates, (617) 548-5002, and www.myhouseinspector.com. He was very thorough with our inspection. We paid somewhere in the $400-500 range, but that was including termite inspection and radon test.

You may also want a real estate lawyer to look over your paperwork, and for that I recommend Chris Burt:
Christine Burt (Attny)
564 Main Street
Suite 301
Waltham, MA 02452
(781)894-9200
I spend hours with her on the phone going over the bits of legalese that I didn't understand, and she was very patient with me. You should know that she has a very deep voice, so don't be alarmed if you think you've accidentally phoned a man.

[dphilli1.livejournal.com]

we've been working with David King at David L King architects, but your job may be too small for him to take.

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

I'll give an anti-recommendation for Tiger Home Inspection.

And a ++for Architect to David Whitney (http://www.davidwhitney.com/) who came up with a nice plan for building my basement space out into legal dwelling space (had been a sketchy in-law when I bought my place)

[dahdahdahdancer.livejournal.com]

If you do need an architect, Joe at JFF Design (jffdesign.com) is a good resource. Nice guy, knowledgeable, honest.

Alistair Lucks

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

For architecture and design, I've worked with Alistair Lucks on some very small projects, but he's got a more extensive portfolio of work as well-- http://www.alistairlucks.com/

One thing I like about him is that he has really good taste, and in a situation where I was basically asking "what should I do with this space?" he was able to help me narrow down the choices to something which was both affordable and tasteful.

[ron_newman]

I added three tags, though I'm not sure this exact subject has come up before.

Harold Popp

[springhill02143.livejournal.com]

It's great to see people on here using and recommending Harold Popp. I've known and worked with him for 15+ years and had great experience myself. Have also had many, many friends and colleagues who have had the same experience. I keep hoping he doesn't retire before I purchase my next home.