An Experienced New Jersey Home Inspector Serving Northern and Central New Jersey
I’m John Martino, founder and home inspector at LookSmart Home Inspections, LLC, an independent New Jersey home inspection company serving home buyers throughout Northern and Central New Jersey (areas serviced).
I am a New Jersey Licensed Home Inspector and Board Certified Master Inspector. I have been inspecting homes in New Jersey since 2002 and have personally completed more than 8,000 home inspections.
- 24+ Years Inspecting Homes
- 8,000+ Inspections
- One Inspection Per Day
- Board Certified Master Inspector
I perform one home inspection per day.
I have worked this way for years because I do not want to rush through an inspection to get to another appointment. Some houses simply require more time than others. I want the time to inspect carefully, follow conditions that deserve a closer look, and think about how what I am seeing in one part of the house may relate to something I find somewhere else.
My job is not to sell you the house or talk you out of buying it. My job is to help you understand it.
I work for you, the home buyer. I want you to understand what I found, what matters, what is typical for a home of that age and construction, what may require repair, and what deserves additional investigation before you buy the home.
More Than 24 Years Inspecting New Jersey Homes
I began inspecting homes professionally in 2002. My original training included New Jersey’s formal home inspector licensing program, 63 field-training inspections, and an additional 250 mentored home inspections as a licensed associate home inspector.
That training provided the foundation. More than 8,000 inspections provided the experience.
Over the years, I have inspected older homes that have been standing for generations, mid-century houses, newer construction, renovated properties, condominiums, townhomes, large custom homes, and many of the different construction styles found throughout Northern and Central New Jersey.
Older houses are not necessarily bad houses, and newer houses are not necessarily trouble-free.
Every house needs to be looked at individually.
Age, construction, maintenance, previous repairs, renovations, drainage, mechanical systems, and the way a property has changed over time all help tell the story of a house.
What 8,000+ Home Inspections Has Taught Me
Experience teaches you to look beyond individual defects.
Houses work as systems.
What I see outside may help explain what I find later in the basement. A stain in an attic may lead back to a flashing detail on the roof. Poor grading, short downspouts, or overflowing gutters can contribute to basement moisture. An unusual electrical alteration may be a reason to look more carefully for similar work elsewhere in the house.
Sometimes the individual condition matters. Sometimes the pattern matters more.
Experience also provides perspective.
Most houses have defects. Finding defects does not necessarily mean you are buying a bad house. Some conditions are routine maintenance. Some need repair. Some affect safety. Some can become expensive. And some deserve additional investigation before you move forward.
Knowing the difference matters.
My goal is not to make a house sound better or worse than it is. My goal is to help you understand it.
Why I Perform One Home Inspection Per Day
I deliberately limit my schedule to one home inspection per day.
I do not want the clock determining how I inspect a house.
Some inspections are straightforward. Others are not. A foundation condition, older electrical system, basement moisture problem, attic condition, roof concern, or unusual mechanical system may deserve additional time.
If something needs more of my attention, I want to have the time to give it that attention.
A home inspection also requires concentration and a methodical process. I work through the property carefully, document conditions, and follow findings where they lead. At appropriate times during the inspection, I discuss significant findings with my client and answer questions.
Afterward, I review the findings and photographs and prepare a detailed written inspection report.
One inspection per day gives me the time to do all of that without rushing.
Independent and Working for the Home Buyer
A home purchase involves many people with different responsibilities.
My responsibility is to my client.
I am an independent home inspector. My job is to provide my client with an objective assessment of the conditions I can observe and explain those conditions as clearly as possible.
Sometimes that means telling a buyer that something deserves serious attention.
Just as importantly, sometimes it means explaining that something that looks concerning is common, manageable, or not particularly significant.
Both are part of doing the job properly.
A Home Inspection Should Give You Perspective
A detailed home inspection report can contain many observations. Read without context, even a reasonably maintained house can sound intimidating.
Part of my job is helping put those findings into perspective.
What needs attention?
What can probably wait?
What is typical for a house of this age?
What could become expensive?
What deserves additional investigation before you buy?
I want my clients to understand the significant conditions I found and why they matter—not simply receive a long list of defects.
Knowing the Limits of a Home Inspection Matters Too
No home inspector can see through walls.
A home inspection is primarily a visual examination of the readily accessible systems and components of a property. Finished walls and ceilings, flooring, insulation, stored belongings, underground components, weather conditions, and other limitations can conceal conditions that cannot be observed during an inspection.
Experience does not eliminate those limitations.
What experience can do is help an inspector recognize clues, understand relationships between conditions, identify areas that deserve more attention, and know when another qualified professional should become involved.
Being clear about what I cannot determine is every bit as important as explaining what I can.
Sharing What I Have Learned
After decades of answering questions during home inspections, I realized that many buyers ask the same very good questions.
- Why does grading matter so much?
- Should I worry about that foundation crack?
- Why are gutters and downspouts so important?
- Do I need a sewer camera inspection if everything appears to be draining normally?
- What makes one house more expensive to own than another?
Those questions are part of the reason I created the LookSmart Home Inspection Learning Center and continue producing educational articles and videos.
Much of what I write about comes directly from the houses I inspect and the conversations I have with buyers. I try to explain things the same way I do during an inspection: what I am seeing, why it matters, how significant it may be, and what should happen next.
Every house teaches you something.
After more than two decades of inspecting them, I am still learning.
Home Inspection Services
LookSmart Home Inspections provides professional home inspection services for buyers throughout Northern and Central New Jersey.
Depending on the property and the needs of the buyer, additional inspection and testing services may include radon testing, wood-destroying insect inspections, mold sampling, sewer-line camera inspections, infrared thermal imaging where appropriate, and other property-specific services.
Not every house needs every additional service. The age, construction, systems, property conditions, and circumstances of the purchase help determine what additional inspection or testing makes sense.
Professional Credentials, Training & Memberships
My professional background includes:
- New Jersey Licensed Home Inspector — License #24GI00058700
- Board Certified Master Inspector
- New Jersey Radon Measurement Technician — #MET11963
- Wood-Destroying Insect (WDI) — #173
- New Jersey Pesticide Applicator — #27811B
- InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector — #2009933
- Certified Sewer Line Inspector
- Extensive initial field training and mentored home inspections
- More than 24 years of professional home inspection experience
- More than 8,000 personally completed home inspections
Professional Memberships
- American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) — #244472
- Independent Home Inspectors of North America (IHINA)
Training and credentials provide the foundation. Professional organizations provide opportunities for continuing education and involvement within the home inspection profession. Experience develops judgment, and continuing to learn keeps that judgment current.
After more than two decades in this profession, I believe all of these things matter.
Serving Northern and Central New Jersey
LookSmart Home Inspections is based in East Hanover, New Jersey, and serves home buyers throughout Northern and Central New Jersey.
Working in this area since 2002 has given me experience with a wide range of New Jersey homes, construction methods, building materials, renovations, additions, mechanical systems, and property conditions.
There is no single checklist that can substitute for looking carefully at the house that is actually in front of you.
My Approach to Home Inspection
After more than 24 years, my approach remains simple.
Take the time the house requires.
Look carefully.
Follow the clues.
Explain what matters.
Put defects into perspective.
Be clear when something deserves additional attention.
Be equally clear when it does not.
Understand the limits of a visual inspection.
And always remember who I am working for.
The home buyer.
John Martino
Founder, LookSmart Home Inspections, LLC
New Jersey Licensed Home Inspector #24GI00058700
Board Certified Master Inspector
Serving Northern and Central New Jersey since 2002
Contact us today, or call me at 973-407-9621.