Between 2013 and 2026, Lou Rubino inspected 23 homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant — more than in any other Brooklyn neighbourhood. Bed-Stuy's blocks of Victorian rowhouses are over a century old, and at that age a house is not a product; it is a record of everything that has been done to it, and the inspection is how you read it.
Rated 5.0 on Google as of August 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
Renovation is the defining fact of the current market: houses gutted and refinished, sometimes beautifully, sometimes over the top of exactly the conditions a buyer most needed to know about. New tile over old walls, new walls over old plumbing — where a surface has failed early, what is behind it is the real finding.
The lot lines matter too. Party walls, shared side passages, and masonry that has been moving slowly for a hundred years all belong in the report with their movement traced, not summarised. A century-old crack and a young one can look identical in a photograph. Tracing them properly — and saying plainly when further evaluation by an engineer is the right next step — is the inspector's job.
Related: How Lou inspects a brownstone · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Bedford-Stuyvesant inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Interior staining, failed tile and soft surfaces are the end of a story that started somewhere else. The inspection's job is to find the start — and to say whether the evidence looks active or historical. Water damage and moisture, explained.
Cracks and damaged framing are information: their pattern and extent tell the report whether further evaluation by an engineer or the right contractor is the honest next step. The report documents location and extent so change can be seen later. What a condition report does and does not rule on.
Every photograph in a report exists to make a finding checkable — the point is not the picture, it is that you and your attorney can see exactly what the inspector saw. Read a complete sample report.
Supply plumbing is judged by material and era — and by the small evidence at the joints. Corrosion and mineral tracks at connections show slow weeping long before a failure. Moisture evidence, explained.
All photographs are from Lou's own inspection reports for jobs in this area, screened so nothing identifies a property or an owner.
Lou covers Long Island, the five boroughs and Westchester from his base in Wantagh, and the archive behind these pages shows where that work has actually concentrated.
Also nearby: Crown Heights · Bushwick · Clinton Hill · all 26 towns.
His Bedford-Stuyvesant file goes back to 2013. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.