In 2026, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Highbridge — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a town home, about 19 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.
2026, a town home, about 19 years old, a two-family house: 4 items flagged: 3 exterior; 1 roof, chimney and attic. As recorded: gable roof, architectural, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 12 steel channel rafters; passive and skylight vent ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: metal flue pipe; steel lally columns; 150-amp and 100-amp circuit breakers, copper supply pipes, public water, through wall sleeve units; double-hung and thermal/insulated windows, hardwood t&g floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Metal chimney left rear main roof appears to be in good condition”; “Right rear parapet wall cracked at brickwork and broken bricks on end”; “Abandoned TV dish antenna should be removed from left front parapet wall”; “Precast concrete lintel over first floor entrance is cracked cracked”; “Precast concrete lintel and brickwork cracked over 3rd floor balcony sliding door into brick work”; “On front wall as observed from 3rd floor balcony brick work cracked under soffit”; “Crack most likely from water running down parapet wall on roof to face of party wall right front”; “Brickwork is cracked around 2nd floor rear vent and vent needs wire mesh to prevent birds and insects from entering”; “Large space in brickwork around front intercom”; “Safety Item: Trip Hazard, 5" drop in elevation from main sidewalk to soil area between curb and sidewalk”; “Soil area contains two utility boxes ( Verizon and CATV ) which were installed 5" below grade”; “Safety Item: Rear retaining wall is falling over”; “Rear retaining wall has no footing”; “Safety Item: Sunsetter Oasis freestanding awning on rear deck fabric is torn and unit does not have a wind gauge closing device”; “Ceramic tile back splash not cut at end of wall cabinet”; “Many cracked and chipped ceramic tile on floor and under refrigerator”; “Left side window painted shut and lock broken”; “Right side window lock broken”; “Left side sink base cabinet door hinge is loose”; “Left front burner does not ignite”. Also noted: “Main roof is about + - 10 years old with one layer”; “Safety Item: Front stoop and steps base has dropped in elevation about 1"”; “This has caused a 1" space between concrete steps and concrete storage area under steps”; “Graffiti on left side of front stoop”; “Rear steel deck was constructed wrong with support joists 4' apart causing 1/8" steel diamond plate to belly in many places”; “Safety Item: Water leaking from rear balcony between open joint with steel deck rusting out joist below”; “Whole house trap vent located at left front exterior corner of house”; “Whole house trap located in crawl space left front corner”; “Whole house gas shut off cock located at right of 1st floor entrance next to Gas meters”; “Whole house grounding conductor on water main”; “Safety Item: Ceiling fan in 3rd floor front room conductors exposed”; “Upper floor electrical panel in 2nd floor utility room”; “Solar panel, on right front exterior wall near 1st floor entrance”; “Both electric meters located at right front exterior party wall”; “Many baseboard radiator covers are loose throughout house and clothing furniture placed too close for proper flow of heat”. On the day: 83°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not inspected that day: service entrance conductors. Not present in this house: burner; burner for water heater; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; presence of installed cooling source in each room; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: All towns · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Highbridge inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10452: 1955 (Bronx: 1954). Of 28,854 units, 34% predates 1940; 15% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 12% and the 1940s at 10%. 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: 19 years old. (ACS)
50% utility gas, 21% electricity; fuel oil 17% against 24% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Bronx home oil spills under the borough, not Highbridge. A gas conversion can leave a tank behind. An abandoned tank is most likely in a house that was converted from oil. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
44% buildings of 50 or more units, 37% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 8% buildings of 10 to 19 units; 3% owner-occupied (Bronx: 20%). With 82% of units in buildings of 20 or more, many purchases here are apartments: the inspection covers the unit, and the roof, plant and risers belong to the board. Lou’s jobs here included a two-family house. (ACS)
Bronx (reported by borough): 101 basement tests, average 1.73 pCi/L, 8 at 4 or above (8%). First-floor tests there: 43, average 1.13. The highest basement reading was 20.9 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)
6 flood-insurance claims from zip 10452 since 1979: 180th 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 NYC Department of Buildings. Look the address up on BIS or DOB NOW. 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: Highbridge (zip 10452) 1955, 17%, 3%; Washington Heights (zip 10032): built 1938, oil 21%, 8% owner-occupied; Morris Heights (zip 10453): built 1954, oil 20%, 5% owner-occupied; Bathgate (zip 10457): built 1959, oil 27%, 6% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records and NYC water and sewer: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Bronx, 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: Washington Heights · Morris Heights · Bathgate · East Tremont · Melrose · Crotona Park · all 250 towns.
His Highbridge file goes back to 2026. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.