Meet Our Founder

Dan standing next to a ladder while preforming home inspection services

Dan Gartrell, ACI

President/Chief Home Inspector, Virginia Inspector License #3380000696, Maryland Inspector License #34722

For over 24 years, Dan Gartrell has provided professional Home Inspection and Appraisal services throughout the D.C. Metro area.

To date, Dan has personally performed over 7,000 Full Service Home Inspections for Buyers and Sellers, and has either personally performed or directly supervised over an additional 13,000 property Inspections for Appraisal purposes related to federally-funded mortgage transactions, probate processing, settlement platforms, and personal interest cases.

Dan is a 3rd generation Northern Virginia native who brings extensive knowledge concerning local building practices and materials to the table. His method of analysis and conveyance of critical information has earned him a reputation that fuels an ever-expanding “referral only” based business rarely found in the industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (GMU 1999), and is a former decorated United States Marine (1987-1991).

Years of Experience

Full Service Home Inspections

Property Inspections

Professional Affiliations

American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
Northern Virginia Chapter ASHI (NOVAASHI)
Virginia Association of Real Estate Inspectors (VAREI)
Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR)
Metropolitan Residential Information Systems (MRIS)
Brightseat/Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
McKissock Training Institute
DPOR (Virginia)
DLLR (Maryland)
DLLR (D.C.)
HomeGauge/Alamode Software Systems

American Society of Home Inspectors ASHI

American Society of Home Inspectors ASHI Certified Inspector

Northern Virginia Association of Realtors

What Are Our Clients Saying?

Sean S.K. Kim

21:30 16 Jul 22

very proper and professional.all necessary explanation with thorough job in inspection and report. pleasant experience.

Kari Steinberg

20:00 14 Jul 22

Dan Gartrell is as good as they come. He has been my go-to inspector for years. He is thorough and efficient. In over 10 years of referring him I have never had a disappointed client. Everyone raves about him and I frequently hear "thank you for the wonderful referral". I do not hesitate to pass along his name as I know my clients will be taken care of.

Mur1ca Strong

19:26 11 Jul 22

Dan is impressive!Dan spent 4 hours giving my house a thorough inspection. From every power outlet, HVAC, filter, appliances to roof. Inside, outside, top and down.Not only that, he explained everything with detail about how everything works, what the issue is, what needs to be fixed, and what may lead to bigger problems.I learned so much from him since I decided to stick with him the whole time so I can better take care of my house as an owner.4 hours, non stop, no break, fully committed to it. I’m super grateful for having such a dedicated decent gentleman and a retired Marine. Even better, he gave me an inspection report with pictures and marks that show the issues in two days. I get to decide and prioritize them to be fixed.In the end, I wanted to pay him a bit more just to show Dan my gratitude and appreciation but he takes nothing extra from me.Dan is a man with integrity. I wish every service could be as reliable, responsible, and efficient as him.

Celeste Buccola

19:12 04 Jun 20

Dan was professional, thorough, and offered helpful suggestions. It was evident that he has been doing this for a long time and his level of expertise gave me peace of mind. Dan exhibited keen attention to detail -- he spotted things I would never have thought of. I would definitely recommend him.

Devin Moore

00:34 11 Apr 20

Homestar is my go-to for all things related to real estate. Whether appraising homes or doing in-depth inspections there is nobody else I trust in the industry! I have employed their services countless times and have referred them countless time to many other industry professionals and I have never had anything but overwhelmingly positive feedback. They always find a way to accommodate clients, you can 100% trust this company.

Elizabeth Ide

16:01 15 Mar 18

I have used Homestar Real Estate Services exclusively for several years. My clients find the inspections to be extremely thorough and professional. Dan explains in detail, all the major components of a property (including the way each individual HVAC system works) and takes time to answer buyers questions and concerns about maintenance.I want to protect my clients and help them make informed decisions -the inspection service offered by Dan's company is the most important step!I generally hesitate to recommend any service provider online, however, my client's experience from high ranking Military families who have purchased many homes, to first time home buyers (in over 100 recent home inspections) the experience with Homestar has been outstanding!

More Testimonials

Servicing Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia

Homestar provides Inspection services throughout the entire Northern Virginia area, to include Fairfax, Falls Church, Arlington, Manassas, Manassas Park, Fredericksburg, Prince William, Loudoun, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Fauquier County; The State of Maryland to include Prince George's, Montgomery, and Charles County, and the District of Columbia.