In 2015, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Washington Heights — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes an apartment house, about 105 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, an apartment house, about 105 years old: 6 items flagged: 5 kitchen; 1 bathrooms. As recorded: flat roof, asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked roof; none found ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; brick and rock foundation, brick piers; hot water off the boiler; 100-amp circuit breakers (General Electric), BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water; double-hung windows, hardwood t&g floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Hard wood floor finish worn out near sink cabinet and near breakfast nook”; “Kitchen window does not stay up and is loose in track”; “Pump noisy and unit not secured to underside of counter”; “Front bedroom right side window won't stay up and loose in tracks”; “Floor boards loose in hallway outside bathroom”; “Apartment hallway entrance door all hinges loose and screws missing”; “Bathroom saddle cracked and joint behind saddle too large”. Also noted: “Paint is peeling on fire escape”; “Antique metal ceiling in front bedroom painted over”; “Lower outlet left side front bedroom is dead”; “No emergency lighting observed in common area hallway and stairwell”; “Empty wall cavity next to tub near gas meter. Possible location for washer and dryer”; “Main electric shut off switch in basement electrical room”; “Main panel in basement electrical room and sub panel in apartment hallway”; “Radiator in living room and front bedroom valve handles missing”; “Radiator in front bedroom is pitched wrong way”. On the day: 75°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not present in this house: cooling and air handler equipment; exhaust fan; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; insulation under floor system; outlets & fixtures; pantry/closet doors; plumbing water faucets; presence of installed cooling source in each room; range hood; roof structure and attic; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; trash compactor; vapor retarders.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Manhattan page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Washington Heights inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10032: 1938 (Manhattan: 1951). Of 23,178 units, 62% predates 1940; 5% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1940s at 11% and the 1960s at 8%. 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: 105 years old. (ACS)
45% utility gas, 27% electricity; fuel oil 21% against 15% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 1 petroleum spill at private homes in Washington Heights since 2008, 0 since 2015. 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)
46% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 34% buildings of 50 or more units, 12% buildings of 10 to 19 units; 8% owner-occupied (Manhattan: 25%). With 80% 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 condominium. (ACS)
Manhattan (reported by borough): 131 basement tests, average 2.09 pCi/L, 16 at 4 or above (12%). First-floor tests there: 68, average 2.7. The highest basement reading was 49.5 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)
4 flood-insurance claims from zip 10032 since 1978: 181st 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: Washington Heights (zip 10032) 1938, 21%, 8%; Highbridge (zip 10452): built 1955, oil 17%, 3% owner-occupied; Morris Heights (zip 10453): built 1954, oil 20%, 5% owner-occupied; Harlem (zip 10027): built 1943, oil 17%, 16% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records, NYC water and sewer and the offering-plan rules for co-ops and condos: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Manhattan, 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: Highbridge · Morris Heights · Harlem · Manhattanville · Bathgate · East Tremont · all 250 towns.
His Washington Heights 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.