About Us                

SBI (Special Building Inspections) was formed to provide a full range of specialized services to the residential real estate, condominium, and commercial real estate industries. The founders are all leaders in their fields, and are well aware of the special needs for inspections and consulting in today’s complex real estate and legal climate. Our goal is always the best in technical and legal services to our clients.

The founders of SBI are:

Arthur Bagirov - Art is well known throughout the San Francisco Bay area as one of the best home inspectors in our industry. He has also become one of the leading foundation and drainage experts, performing numerous site investigations. And finally, Art is one of the best indoor air quality testing experts in our industry. His work with mold sampling has made him one of the most respected people in this industry.

Art’s background includes two Master’s degrees in engineering, licenses as a General Engineering Contractor, General Building Contractor, and a Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor. With this expertise, Art teaches in several realtor education programs (for DRE credit).

George Drew - George is probably the best known and most experienced foundation and drainage expert in Northern California. He has performed thousands of site investigations, specializing in the difficult soils and terrain of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara Valley, and the East Bay Hills. With his extensive background in site work, George has expanded his work into expert witness consulting and has worked for most the leading Bay Area law firms that specialize in construction defects and disclosure litigation.

George has both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Civil Engineering, and is licensed as a Professional Engineer in California, Hawaii, and Connecticut. He is a member of the prestigious American Society of Professional Engineers, and lectures for several professional organizations in the fields of soils stability and the difficult drainage conditions in Northern California.

Thomas Douma - Tom is the best known for his work in Reserve Studies for condominium Home Owner’s Associations throughout the Western United States. He has performed hundreds of reserve studies, and is a well-known lecturer for the Executive Council of Home Owners, the Condominium Associates Institute, and the California Association of Community Managers as well as the Department of Real Estate. His background in general contacting, home inspections (over 8,000), and construction consulting gives him an unusually base in terms of experience.

Tom is a licensed general contractor, and has an undergraduate education in mechanical engineering and a Masters degree in business from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.