In 2015, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Croton-on-Hudson — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a ranch, about 60 years old.
Rated 4.9 on Google as of November 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
The report, as Lou wrote it up.
2015, a ranch, about 60 years old: 15 items flagged: 4 garage; 3 exterior; 3 kitchen. As recorded: gable roof, architectural, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: pull down stairs, r-19 insulation, gable vents and ridge vents ventilation; wood shingle cedar and shingles siding, chimney: brick; masonry block foundation, 2 x 10 floor framing, wood piers and steel screw jacks, crawlspace: crawled; 50 gallon (2-3 people) oil water heater (basement); 100-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex and BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung windows, hardwood t&g floors, wood cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Cement chimney cap cracked to flue pipe and around brick edge”; “Rear gutter full of debris and water. Only one down spout for thirty five feet of gutter”; “This will prevent further water damage in basement”; “Left front leader pipe elbow full of debris”; “Middle bedroom right side window upper storm glass broken”; “Two stone steps from upper patio cement joints loose and washed out”; “Cement stucco loose and cracked on side of front stoop”; “Railing post loose on front stoop”; “Left side retaining wall of driveway cracked near front. There are no weep holes in wall”; “Rear retaining wall right side is missing copping stones”; “Rear retaining walls behind house top course of block is loose and out of plum. There are no weep holes present”; “Right rear drainage culvert full of debris”; “Front sidewalk right side trip hazard near catch-basin”; “Rear garage wall damp when tested with moisture meter”; “Front wall stucco cracked at corners of vehicle door”; “Garage floor damp near rear”; “Bracket loose to automatic door closure for occupant door to house”; “Hardwood floor not installed properly in kitchen joints are opening up to left of sink”; “No saddles installed in doorways”; “Granite counter seam uneven at sink”. Also noted: “Illuminated Switch for attic fan in hallway, cover missing”; “Wood fascia board rotted on side of shed”; “Metal exterior of shed needs paint”; “Left side door off track”; “Soil pilled up against rear wall of shed”; “Condensate pan over flow”; “Right side bedroom lower sash comes out of track”; “Exhaust pipe in attic is not connected to bathroom exhaust fan”; “No cover on combo switch and not GFCI protected”; “Whole house trap in basement left front closet under plywood boards”; “Drain cover in driveway right side”; “Fire hydrant less than 25 ft from right side property line”; “Fuel tank under hollow of front stoop. Strongly”; “Main panel in basement front wall left side near washer and dryer”. On the day: 73°F, clear, damp ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not present in this house: fence; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; insulation under floor system; range hood; trash compactor.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Westchester page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Croton-on-Hudson inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10520: 1961 (Westchester: 1958). Of 5,425 units, 23% predates 1940; 6% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 22% and the 1970s at 15%. An older house is not a worse house, but its wiring, plumbing and roof were installed under different rules and replaced piecemeal, which is what the inspection looks for. Lou’s reports here: 60 years old. (ACS)
47% utility gas, 34% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 34% against 30% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 297 petroleum spills at private homes in Croton-on-Hudson since 1987, 93 since 2015. 15 were logged in 2012, the year of Hurricane Sandy. Ask about a tank, and for closure papers. A tank can be buried in the yard or sit in the basement, and a removed one should come with paperwork. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
55% detached houses, 8% attached single-family houses, 8% buildings of 20 to 49 units; 69% owner-occupied (Westchester: 62%). Detached houses dominate, so most inspections here run from the roof to the foundation of one building. (ACS)
Town of Cortlandt: 240 basement tests, average 4.41 pCi/L, 50 at 4 or above (21%). Westchester: 18% of 2,826. First-floor tests there: 60, average 1.89. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 9th of the county’s 23 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 95.4 pCi/L. EPA’s action level is 4 pCi/L, and it advises testing every home whatever the area’s results. Radon testing is optional. (NYSDOH)
30 flood-insurance claims from zip 10520 since 1980: 131st of the 189 zips on these pages. A claim count describes the zip, not the house. Flood zones follow the address. Check the address on FEMA’s map. (OpenFEMA)
The Village of Croton-on-Hudson Engineering Department (Village Engineer / Building Inspector). Your attorney usually runs the search. The inspection reports the condition of what is there and flags work that typically needs a permit, such as a finished basement, a dormer or a moved panel, so you know what to ask about.
By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Croton-on-Hudson (zip 10520) 1961, 34%, 69%; Ossining (zip 10562): built 1962, oil 33%, 61% owner-occupied; Congers (zip 10920): built 1974, oil 3%, 89% owner-occupied; Briarcliff Manor (zip 10510): built 1970, oil 25%, 82% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York State Uniform Code, the local water suppliers and the county rule on testing private wells at sale: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Westchester, so they are set out there with their sources instead of on each page.
Lou quotes the actual property, not a flat rate — what drives the price is size, age and what is included. The written report arrives the same day as a rule; a large or complex house can run to the next morning. Call or text 516-330-3870.
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.
Nearby towns Lou has inspected: Ossining · Congers · Briarcliff Manor · Chappaqua · Pleasantville · New City · all 250 towns.
His Croton-on-Hudson file goes back to 2015. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.