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Home Inspector Working RE
Winter/Spring,Volume 24
The Rise of Multi-Million Dollar Inspection Firms
The Benefits of Investing in a Drone Managing Risk as a Home Inspector
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Winter/Spring, 2024, Vol. 24
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From the Editor
Readers Respond
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The Rise of Multi-Million Dollar Inspection Firms by Kendra Budd, Editor
10 14
The Benefits of Investing in a Drone by Kevin Hesterberg, The Drone Hangar LLC
Managing Risk as a Home Inspector by Kendra Budd, Editor
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Private Water Systems: The Science Behind Your Inspection by Tom Feiza, Mr. Fix-It, Inc, HowToOperateYourHome.com
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Let’s Absorb Adsorption Together by Greg Johns, WIN Home Inspection
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Make Use of ChatGPT by Ian Robertson, Inspector Toolbelt
Lessons from a Service Business by David Brauner, Founder Emeritus at OREP.org
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Do Long Home Inspections Mean Bad News? by Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech
Tips on Safety and Dealing with Snakes by Nick Massimo, SnakeGuru, LLC
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Professional Marketplace Mission
Working RE Home Inspector magazine is published tri-annually to help home inspectors build their businesses, reduce their liability and risk, and stay informed on important technology and industry issues.
Published by OREP Working RE Home Inspector is published by OREP Insurance Services, LLC, a leading provider of home insp ector insurance nationwide. OREP has a low cost, broad coverage E&O and General Liability policy that includes coverage for radon, infrared, termite, pest/rodent, lead paint, mold, drone, and more. Visit OREP.org/inspectors for more information or to get a quote in only four minutes! OREP Insurance Services, LLC. Calif. Lic. #0K99465
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Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
Publisher
Isaac Peck: isaac@orep.org
Marketing & Design Manager Ariane Herwig: ariane@orep.org
Editor
Kendra Budd: kendra@orep.org
Graphic Design Associate Maria Cornelia: mj@orep.org Working RE Home Inspector is published tri-annually and mailed to home inspectors nationwide. The ads and specific mentions of any proprietar y products contained within are a service to readers and do not imply endorsement by Working RE. No claims, representations or guarantees are made or implied by their publication. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either whole or in part without written consent.
From the Editor By Kendra Budd, Editor
Readers Respond
The home inspection profession is growing up—so much has
Inspector Licensing: The Wrong Path? “Recommending a cheap inspector works well for agents. The low cost of an inspection looks good to the buyers and makes the agent look good, too. Cheap, inexperienced, and uninsured inspectors are in business because agents recommend them to homebuyers.” This has been my experience in Texas since 1997. —Aaron M.
changed over the last 20 years. From the rise of the multi-million dollar inspection firms to the introduction of ChatGPT and drones in the workspace, this issue of Working RE Home Inspector that you now hold in your hands, delves into the growth of the home inspection industry of the past couple of decades. In the early decades of the home inspection profession, a majority of home inspectors worked under “one-man” operations. Multi-inspection firms were still fairly new, and very few existed—let alone seldom making one million dollars in revenue. However, in the last ten years alone the market has taken a dramatic shift. Today, an estimated 200 firms earn over one million dollars in revenue annually. With this increase, the development of private equity groups moving into the home inspection space also began to rise. This has some home inspectors excited, but others are extremely worried that the business is shifting for the worse— namely, that inspectors will be pushed out of their businesses and will make less money than before. (Read The Rise of the Multi-Million Dollar Inspection Firms on pg. 6 to learn more). Other inspectors surmise they will be replaced by devices as technology advances. One of these devices is drones. Many inspectors would prefer to keep technology as far as possible from home inspections, and drones aren’t an exception. However, Kevin Hesterberg of Drone Hangar argues that all using drones will do is protect the inspector from injur y (read The Benefits of Investing in a Drone on pg. 10). In fact, ladders and roof-related injuries are the number one way in which home inspectors are injured. Then, there is the rising growth of ChatGPT. Like many people working nowadays, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has many inspectors worried that they’ll eventually be replaced by technology. Some inspectors want nothing to do with the technology. However, Ian Robertson argues in his article Make Use of ChatGPT on pg. 28 that it’s better for us to get ahead of the technology rather than behind it. Instead of refusing to use it, Robertson says it can be a useful tool in helping inspectors do their job easier and more effectively. The market and the industry are maturing, and business and technological advances come with that. However, this doesn’t mean you have to embrace and utilize new technology. Oftentimes, it is better to do the research, weigh the pros and cons, and make the best decision based on you and your business model. Change is inevitable and how you react and adapt can halt or propel your business. WRE 4
Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
Improve Your Website’s Relevancy Many great suggestions in this article. Staying current can be time consuming and sometimes difficult. The nice thing about the home inspection industry is that we frequently come across something on an inspection that could easily be included as a blog post. Example: We recently noted that a gas furnace condensate drain line was clogged. Shortly after the inspection, we were informed that it went on to leak and overflow the drain pan. The leak shorted out the smoke detector on the floor below and set off the fire alarm for an entire condominium building. Everyone had to evacuate until the fire department determined what had set off the alarm. While accurate, this is a little extreme. However, I find this an interesting business for many reasons. Just about every week, something comes up on an inspection that could be a good blog topic. —Larry W.
Supercharging Your Home Inspections Your section on building your business when things slow down is helpful. We are working on removing duplicates and improving our various software templates. Thank for this thoughtful article. —Anonymous
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The Rise of Multi-Million Dollar Inspection Firms by Kendra Budd, Editor
The home inspection profession is still relatively young. Beginning as a cottage industry in the late 1960 s, it wasn’t until 1985 that Texas became the first state to license home inspectors (Visit WorkingRE.com, see History of Home Inspection). During these early decades of the profession, the vast majority of home inspectors were one-person operations (solopreneurs). Very few multi-inspector firms existed. Even rarer was a home inspection firm earning over one million dollars in revenue. In the 199 0s, there were less than a dozen home inspection firms that were breaking this revenue band. In the last ten to 15 years, however, the competitive landscape has changed rapidly. The number of “million-dollar revenue” home inspection firms has exploded. Today, industry insiders now estimate there are over 200 firms earning over one million dollars in revenue annually and that number is increasing every year. Not only are we seeing an exponential increase in million-dollar inspection firms, but we’re also seeing an increase in private equity groups who aspire to buy up dozens of the larger inspection firms and build a “mega-firm.” This shift signals a certain maturation of the profession. The development of many service and trade professions have all followed a particular arc—Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Consolidation, and on it goes (this is a classic Industry Life Cycle). This trajectory is not new. People often draw comparisons between the home inspection profession and pest control operators. Although it has a much longer, storied history, the pest control profession began much like home inspection—with local, small business owner-operators. Over time, entrepreneurial-minded operators built larger and larger pest control firms. Then private equity began buying up these firms and building “mega-firms.” Today, the five largest pest control companies bill over $7.2 billion in revenue and manage the lion’s share of all pest control business in the United States. Smaller, owner-operated pest control businesses still exist and some do well, but the space is dominated by Kendra Budd is the Editor of Working RE Magazine and Marketing Coordinator for OREP Insurance. She graduated with a BA in Theatre and English from Western Washington University, and with an MFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University. She is currently based in Seattle, WA.
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the Rollins and Terminix’s of the industry. (Note: An obvious difference between these professions is the recurring revenue model of pest control services.) Will the inspection profession follow a similar trajectory? What’s Changed? Mike Crow, founder of Coach Blueprint and the “Father of Home Inspector Marketing,” has built, not one, but two different million-dollar-revenue home inspection firms and has a unique insight into how the competitive landscape is changing and why. For starters, the type of people driven to run their own business, even as a solopreneur, are rare. Crow says that 95 percent of our industry doesn’t want to be in business for themselves at all. They’d rather just be inspectors. And of the five percent who actually do want to own their own business, it takes an even more unique individual to want to build a larger business, according to Crow. “Some people are company builders like myself. I wanted to build a business that not only could take care of my family and myself, but where I wouldn’t have to be out there every single day doing the home inspections myself. There are so many home inspectors in business today whose business would be incredibly hurt if they took 30 days off—whether they wanted to take a vacation or for health reasons. But the reality is that the majority of home inspector business owners just want to be a solopreneur, or maybe have one or two inspectors,” Crow says. In Crow’s coaching groups, Crow’s goal is to coach the solopreneur inspector to reach $300,000 in revenue. Crow calls inspectors who reach this level an “Ironman” (or woman). “There’s nothing wrong with being a solopreneur. We coach many single-person operators or firms with just one or two inspectors. But you still need to maximize your business as much as possible. Lots of people want to say they made $150,0 0 0 as a solopreneur, but that’s revenue. Even with no employees, you have to factor in expenses, gas, tools, insurance, and so much more. These are the kinds of things that we focus on in our coaching,” Crow reports. In terms of how the profession is changing, Crow says that very
business minded entrepreneurs have been building their businesses in the inspection space over the last two decades. “These are folks that have been very focused on building the business instead of just being a technician. Working on their business, not in their business (as Michael Gerber wrote in The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.) The shift from running a home inspection business as a home inspector technician versus running a home inspection business as a business owner who wants to expand, hire more people, and grow the business into something bigger. That’s what’s changing the game over the last decade,” suggests Crow. Inspection training schools have also shifted their focus. “Schools used to teach new home inspectors from the standpoint of ‘you’re going into business for yourself,’ here’s how you need to grow your business. Fewer schools are taking that approach today. Home inspectors are getting less business and marketing education and are being trained to be just inspectors,” Crow observes. As the founder of the Millionaire Inspection Community, later renamed Mastermind Inspection Community (MIC), Crow was one of the first business coaches and visionaries who helped home inspectors focus on putting the processes in place to really scale their businesses—whether they wanted to be a solopreneur or a multi-inspector firm. Crow says he has personally coached over 10 0 inspector-business-owners to reach over one
million dollars in revenue. (To learn more about Mike Crow’s coaching programs, visit www.coachblueprint.com.) Inspection Mega-Firms Of course, now that there are several hundred “million-dollarrevenue” inspection firms, more private equity backed groups are emerging to buy up the larger firms and build a mega-firm. Crow has direct experience with being acquired by such a group. Before founding Tex Inspec, Crow’s current home inspection firm, which earns over a million in revenue, Crow built Affordable Inspections, Inc., which grossed nearly two million in revenue, which he sold to US Inspect in the year 2000. US Inspect was one of the first mega-firms that ambitiously moved to acquire home inspection firms. While US Inspect likely hasn’t grown quite as big as they’d originally hoped, public information reveals they currently employ over 250 people and their website boasts over three million inspections in the last 30 years. That’s $1.2 billion in revenue at $400 per inspection; or an average of $40 million in revenue a year. “In every industry, as it matures, somebody always tries to roll up (buy) the industry. When I first started, if you go back to page 8 8
Why Choose the Affordable Inspection Software Option?
Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
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7page 7 real estate, there were not any really big real estate offices. Then came Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Better Homes, and eventually Keller Williams—each building up a huge organization. In the home inspection industry, it’s been tried three or four times. Most of the companies that are rolling up are after the data. They’re not actually after the home inspections themselves,” says Crow. Today, there’s a new kid (private equity group) on the block. LaunchPad Home Group has begun buying up some of the largest home inspection firms across the United States. They are rumored to currently have over 50 million dollars in revenue and are shooting to raise that number to 100 million dollars shortly. LaunchPad Working RE Home Inspector magazine sat down with LaunchPad’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Scott Swayze to discuss their business model and learn more about their vision in the home inspection space. LaunchPad has been in the home inspection space for less than a year. It was created with the first acquisition by their equity partner RFE Investments and Max Home Inspections—which Swayze used to be the CEO of before LaunchPad. In terms of the growth of the inspection profession, Swayze echoes some of Crow’s comments with his own twist. For Swayze, it all comes down to growth of the workforce available to inspection firms. Specifically, younger home inspectors aren’t as inclined to open up “one-man” shops anymore. “As companies have gotten bigger and the workforce has gotten a bit younger, some have found that it’s a little more attractive to work for a multi-inspector firm where they can get access to things like benefits, paid time off, health insurance, etc. That’s only possible with companies that are a little bit larger in size. So, as more home inspectors complete training, they’re drawn to those larger companies. This growth in the workforce is why we’re seeing more multi-inspection firms pop up that are doing revenue numbers in excess of one million dollars,” Swayze theorizes. Time has helped as well, as these inspector entrepreneurs have been working diligently over the last two decades to develop systems and processes that allow them to scale. “The profession has reached its current level of sophistication because the business owners have been working through their growing pains. Going from a successful solopreneur to a multimillion-dollar inspection business comes with a whole new set of challenges; then you go to five million in revenue, then to ten million in revenue. Each milestone requires solving a different set of problems,” says Swayze. Regarding what makes LaunchPad unique, Swayze says its business model is different from other private equity firms in that it is led by a home inspector (Swayze himself) and is built around supporting each LaunchPad location. “Our model is predicated around LaunchPad—the support group for our brand partners. We handle everything from finance, human resources, client success, IT and systems integration. We are fully dedicated to 8
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our partner’s success,” Swayze reports. Swayze believes LaunchPad will bridge the relationship between home inspectors and homeowners by creating lifelong connections. LaunchPad’s vision is one-part concierge service and onepart a network of useful tools and resources for homeowners throughout the home life cycle. For example, LaunchPad pairs homeowners with contractors for repairs. It provides a lifetime support network that a homeowner can call anytime and connect with a licensed inspector to walk them through issues. “From the onset of the inspection throughout the entire journey of ownership, we want to create lifelong relationships by simplifying the process,” Swayze elaborates. To date, LaunchPad has acquired some of the largest firms in the U.S., including The Inspectagator, Residential Inspector of America (RIA), and All-Pro Home Inspections (API). They continue to grow rapidly through acquisitions. Swayze explains that their acquisition strategy is built around what Swayze calls “anchors”—which are just larger home inspection companies that make three million plus dollars in annualized revenue. “Then as we do our acquisitions, or ‘tuck-in’s’ as we call them, we begin to fold them into the ecosystem of these anchors which have a lot of systems, resources, and talent, so they’re able to start leveraging out those processes across a broader scale of inspection companies that we’re able to bring in—all the while being supported by LaunchPad,” says Swayze. Taking Back “Our” Business The growth of large, dominant inspection firms and new venture-backed mega-firms is obviously a concern for some home inspectors. Many inspectors see the deep-pocketed mega-firms as a threat to the home inspection industry. One of these inspectors is Ian Robertson, co-owner of Inspector Toolbelt Home Inspection software, owner of Full View Home Inspector Marketing, and Host of Inspector Toolbelt Talk—all the while owning three home inspection companies. Robertson has concerns over the way that mega-firms may affect the customer experience and the quality of services provided. “The market is basically trying to be turned into Walmart or McDonald’s by large companies—so these mega-firms are going to try to turn out what people think they want. It’s going to be just like Walmart where you go in and get a lower quality product because it’s cheaper, and without thinking about the actual quality. You only choose it for the sake of convenience and price,” Robertson says. In fact, Robertson goes as far to say that, if successful, these mega-firms will turn home inspectors into a commodity—comparing it to what appraisers are like today. “Ta ke appraisers as an example. Homeowners used to think about who they hired, who was the best appraiser, and who had a clear report. Now, most people don’t even know who their appraiser is. The appraiser shows up, does his thing, and then moves on. It’s a commoditized aspect of the real estate industry. That’s what these larger companies are trying to do with the home inspection
industry too,” Robertson explains. According to Robertson, the result will be fee pressure for home inspectors and lower standards. “What we’re going to see is lower standards so that the homeowners get a lower fee; this is going to push good home inspectors out of the industry and leave the ones willing to do more work for a lot less pay. Inspectors who have been working since the 80’s and know the area like the back of their hands, for example, are suddenly going to be faced with these large companies, who come in and put a bunch of new inspectors with little experience in their path. The only one who benefits is the large corporation, not the actual inspectors. It is ultimately going to hurt consumers, which will hurt the industry,” warns Robertson. To those home inspectors worried about the growth of LaunchPad, Swayze says there’s room for everyone. “We’re not out here to take out anybody, and we aren’t engaging in conversations unless someone is actively looking. There’s plenty of room in the market, and independent inspectors will always have a place in this industry. We’re here to provide opportunities and elevate the entire industry. Our people are our priority and at the core of everything we do. We have not lost sight of what is truly important: ensuring we provide an exceptional experience on every inspection without exception,” Swayze argues. Pushing Forward For those inspectors who are worried about larger inspection firms, especially mega-firms such as LaunchPad, Roberts
reminds us that there is still a place for the independent inspector and believes inspectors should take pride in being independently owned during this time. “We are not a large corporation. We’re your neighbors. Will these companies get a big share of the market? Sure. But that doesn’t mean they have all of it. Most people will pay more for the independent guy in my experience, that’s a great selling point,” Roberts argues. Crow’s advice to home inspector business owners, whether you want to succeed as a solopreneur or build a larger firm, is to learn from your peers and those who have gone before you. “Be successful and be around those that are successful” is a motto of Crow’s which has proved to be true for both him and the inspectors he’s coached. “The best defense a home inspector can have is to build their business on a strong foundation, that means strong marketing, processes, systems, and if you make the decision to take that step, hiring the right people and training them so you can scale your business,” says Crow. (See pg. 20 for details on Crow’s upcoming event.) As for LaunchPad, will they succeed in building a $10 0 million, $20 0 million, or $50 0 million revenue inspection firm? We’ll just have to wait and see. One thing seems certain: the home inspection profession will continue to grow and we will likely see more large-scale inspection firms level up every year. The upside to that is that our profession is growing—and growing up. Stay safe out there! WRE
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The Benefits of Investing in a Drone by Kevin Hesterberg, The Drone Hangar LLC
I started using drones for my father’s home inspection business in 2018, and since then we have per formed over 1,000 roof inspections using drones. I developed a process for effectively capturing images that allowed my father to not only save time on his inspections, but to reduce the chance of serious injury. This started after he had a ladder fall out from underneath him while inspecting an attic in a garage. I realized that using a ladder to get onto a roof could possibly be eliminated entirely by using drones. Like most inspectors, my father didn’t want to trust this relatively new technology blindly, so we devised a test. I would inspect the roof using a drone, he would review the photos, and then he would climb onto the roof to do his normal inspection to compare the two. In those two months he realized that he was seeing more with the drone than he could walking the roof. It wasn’t just the time and safety elements that made using a drone a winner for him, but the viewing angle, capability to access areas he couldn’t otherwise, and being able to inspect every roof regardless of surface, pitch angle, or ground condition. I began Drone Hangar in 2019 because we realized that no one was discussing using drones for home inspections at that time. Since then, there has been more discussion among inspectors about this amazing technology, however I believe there is some important information that is usually not covered, or even incorrect. For example, I have read articles that have concluded that even though drones are great you should still walk on a roof—I completely disagree. When I read these articles or talked to inspectors who believed that walking on a roof is still the best way to do it, I found they have a few things wrong. First, having the right drone with the right optics is critical. The saying “garbage in, garbage out” applies here. Optics and camera resolution matter, if you have the wrong optics, then you are losing out on the most important component of a drone. We have found that a 20 Megapixel Kevin has advanced training in Aircraft maintenance through the U.S. Air Force where he served as a crew chief on the F-15. Kevin is a licensed commercial drone pilot, repair technician, and a drone trainer and speaker, providing CE courses on Drones in the inspection business at State and national inspection organizations. Learn more at www.TheDroneHangarLLC.com.
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(MP) sensor is a minimum when inspecting. You can do just fine with a 12 MP, however, to take full advantage of the images, you must be a lot closer to the roof’s surface—which spells trouble for newer pilots. So, if you are considering a drone, make sure you pay close attention to the camera you get. Second, if you are using the drone like binoculars, you are using it wrong. Are you going to see defects while flying? Yes, however, keep in mind you are distracted because you don’t want to hit a chimney or tree or you are focused on operating the drone (as you should be). Therefore, your chances of missing things are much higher than if you just take images of the entire roof in a logical pattern. You can then view the images on a PC or tablet after the flight. In fact, you’ll be able to zoom in on the images and you’ll be fully focused on the roof inspection. Even when walking on a roof, there is a certain amount of distraction because whether inspectors want to admit it or not, you are thinking about not falling off the roof. Even this subconscious distraction affects your ability to catch small details. I have spoken at multiple large inspection conferences in the country and had the opportunity to speak to inspectors from all over the world since I began Drone Hangar, and I hear a lot of the same arguments and reasons that walking a roof is still better than using a drone. While I would love to address each one of these concerns, there simply isn’t enough time in this
article to do so. However, if you are on the fence, do what we did. Buy the right drone, fly it, and then walk it and compare, or do some more research. I am confident that you will find that the benefits of using a drone are worth the small expense (drone technology has been getting better and cheaper). I am also not saying never to walk a roof, in fact, if you still feel the need to lift shingles or check drip edges, you can use the drone to inspect the roof and then inspect from the eaves from a ladder. The most dangerous part of inspecting a roof is getting on and off the ladder at the top of the roof, so eliminating this will make your inspections safer. However, do not just get a drone to “use on the dangerous roofs” only. As I just mentioned, getting on and off the ladder is dangerous and there is no such thing as a “safe” roof. If you get a drone, use it on every inspection. When using a drone, you are flying an aircraft (the FAA calls it a small unmanned aircraft), and just like private or commercial pilots, you need to maintain your proficiency through use. If you are not using your drone on a regular basis, you are going to be less proficient, less confident, and you are going to make mistakes. If you decide not to use a drone on every inspection, at least set aside the time to take your drone out once a week and practice. I would still recommend that you use it on every inspection, as it can literally save your life.
Did you know that most fall deaths occur at eight feet or less? It doesn’t take a fall from high up to be fatal. Most inspectors don’t regularly inspect their ladders or even take ladder safety classes, and I have seen many inspectors that don’t even tie their ladder off at the gutter. Talk to a firefighter; there is a specific way to set up a ladder and even they know that failing to respect this process can cause injury or death. The bottom line is that you don’t get paid enough to take that risk and your Standards of Practice don’t require it. In fact, anything that can be deemed dangerous or can cause damage is covered in the exclusions section anyway. If you are the sole provider for your family, what happens if you become seriously injured or permanently disabled? Do you have an adequate disability policy? Do you charge enough to make these risks worth it? I am also sure that your Errors & Omissions (E&O) provider would love to know that they won’t have to pay out any claims because you damaged the shingles when you walked on them. We have actually started to see many inspectors be accused of this. (Many E&O providers now include drone coverage as part of the policy too!) Now, let me tell a story about something that happened to an inspector in my area this year. He recently fell from a page 12 8
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7page 11 two-story roof while inspecting. He ended up in the hospital with a couple of broken bones and a head injury. Weeks after he was released from the hospital, he was still having headaches. He says he was lucky, and I agree, because it certainly could have been worse. The craziest thing of all was that he owned a drone, and even had it with him that day but decided not to use it because he didn’t consider the roof “unsafe”. He says he is doing fine now, however, injuries can take years to manifest the full extent of the damage. A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can have side effects that are not initially apparent. Memory loss, “foggy thinking,” trouble sleeping, depression, or even personality changes can occur several years after a head injury. So, what happened? Why did he fall off the roof? What he said to me was what I hear a lot from other inspectors: “I don’t know what happened, next thing I knew I was on the ground”. I think it is safe to say that the ladder slipped, failed, or maybe he mis-stepped. Another story that an inspector told me is that he got up on what he deemed as a “safe” roof, and after taking three steps the granules started to release and it was like “standing on a sheet of ice, on steep hill.” He was able to catch himself on the gutter, where he had to sit and collect himself for about 20 minutes. That was the last roof that he walked. He now uses a drone on every roof that he inspects.
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These stories are sadly not unique. I hear variations of these stories from almost every inspector that I talk to, and with the current drone technology that is available, these can be prevented. Whenever I talk to a large group of inspectors, I always like to ask how many inspectors have almost fallen off a roof at least once. Ninety-nine percent of the hands go up. When I ask how many have been injured falling off a roof, the number of hands that go up is always sobering. If you are worried about learning how to fly a drone, or what you need to know to do so, it’s not as hard as you think. Trust me, your spouse will be okay with you not having to risk serious injury every day, so convincing them that you need to buy a drone will not be as hard as you think. In fact, it is usually the inspector’s spouses/partners telling them to go talk to me at shows. I am very passionate about reducing the amount of roof-related inspection injuries, so I encourage any of you to reach out to me if you have any questions about this technology. Even if you can’t fly because of airspace restrictions (If you live in D.C. , sorry guys no drones for you), or weather, still consider using a telescoping pole. Between that and inspecting from the eaves (not getting off the ladder), you can still inspect the roof according to your Standards of Practice without risking your life! WRE
Managing Risk as a Home Inspector by Kendra Budd, Editor
There are a myriad of risks when it comes to your job as a home inspector. From slippery rooftops to rotting floorboards, a home inspector’s job is a hazardous one. However, one of the greatest risks any home inspector must be prepared to face is the wrath of their clients. Most of the clients that home inspectors come in contact with are easy to work with, but there is always one that has to give you a run for your money. Whether your client found mold in the walls (which wasn’t visible, by the way!), or didn’t quite have their expectations of a home inspection met—well, sometimes they can get a little trigger-happy with the idea of bringing a claim against you. However, a great home inspector should always be ready for this possibility with every client. There are many things you can do as a home inspector to protect yourself from claims, all the way from before the inspection to well after it. Here are just a few. Before the Inspection There are several steps you can take before your inspection to help mitigate risk—some of them are more obvious than others. These preemptive steps can greatly reduce the risk of potential claims against you, because you’ll be more than prepared for them. • Marketing: You would be surprised just how many clients will use an inspectors marketing against them. Marketing can be a great tool for getting more business, but when done improperly it can be detrimental. Let’s take taglines for example. A great witty tagline can make you standout to prospective clients, but you have to make sure it’s not creating potential exposure for you. An example of this would be using a tagline such as “No defect gets past us!” Although it’s eye-catching and memorable, it’s anything but the truth. • Setting Realistic Expectations: Although it’s great to let your clients know everything you can and will do during an inspection, it’s just as important to let them know what you can’t do. For example, a home inspection is a visual non-invasive inspection, so you’re not opening up walls or taking things apart. Let your clients know what services you don’t cover too, such as mold or radon inspections, and be clear about it. Let your clients ask you questions before you begin, that way you’re all on the same page and there’s no confusion down the line. 14 Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
• The Pre-Inspection Agreement: Ever y inspection you do should come with a thorough pre-inspection agreement. A pre-inspection agreement is a contract between you and your client outlining the services you will be covering. It especially lets your client know what your home inspection is not. This will serve as a great tool, especially if you and your client start to butt heads. You’ll be able to go back and remind them what they did and didn’t agree to. However, you need to make sure that your pre-inspection agreement is thorough, conspicuous, and updated for each inspection. Some clients might try to look for loopholes otherwise—so, it’s good to have all your ducks in a row. If you’re not sure what to include in your pre-inspection agreement read Key Clauses You Need in your Pre-Inspection Agreement on WorkingRE.com. Also, remember to always get the agreement signed before you do any sort of work as a signed preinspection agreement is a condition of coverage for most insurance policies. • Insurance: Obtaining insurance before even doing your first home inspection seems like a no-brainer—however, you shouldn’t just be getting any insurance. OREP offers a complete package of E&O and General Liability Insurance Coverage for home inspectors. You want to ensure you have coverage for both. Many states require inspectors to only carry General Liability, but the majority of claims against home inspectors are E&O related. During the Inspection Now comes the actual job, and what you do during the inspection could greatly decrease the risk of claims arising in the future. In fact, during the inspection, you should be taking pre-emptive steps just in case a client files a claim later on. • Take Pictures/Videos: Part of your job is to take pictures, but during an inspection, there is no such thing as taking too many—the same can be said about videos. Get angles of everything you inspect. It pays to invest in a higher-quality page 16 8
7page 14 camera and ensure that the pictures and videos are lit properly and clearly before moving on. These can later be used as evidence to help you against a claim. • Create a Record: This goes beyond just the inspection report you create. Keep a thorough log of everything you encounter during your inspection. From a faulty roof to comments your client makes about the house, it’s important to keep everything in a dated log just in case you ever need to refer back to it. We’ve seen several instances where a home inspector notices something that needs to be called out, but forgets to write it down and it never makes it into the report. • Invest in Signage: If your client is still going to be on the property while you’re inspecting your home, then it is a great idea to invest in signage. Let’s say that you’re inspecting a basement that has a hatch entrance, and you leave it open. If your client were to fall in and injure themselves, and you didn’t have signs as a warning, then you could be held liable. After the Inspection Finally, there are some steps you can take after the inspection to protect yourself. • Keep Everything on File: A well-organized system can help you out greatly if a client were to make a claim against you. Remember all those pictures, videos, and detailed notes you took during the inspection? This is where they come into play. The human mind can only remember so much, but the information you gathered is forever. If a client makes a claim years later, your detailed report can serve as evidence.
• Inform Clients of the Severity of Problems: Once the inspection is complete, be honest with your client about any problems you found, and just how serious they are/can be. Let’s say you found slight damage to the roof and noticed that the tiles aren’t properly installed. Be upfront about anything that can and will go wrong if they don’t get it fixed. Make notes about this in your report too. Whether they choose to fix it is up to them, but you can sleep soundly knowing that you didn’t sugarcoat the severity. • Never Admit Guilt: In the event of a client blaming you for something or bringing a claim against you, avoid admitting guilt or accepting fault—even if you think you should have caught the defect they are complaining about. Remember, your home inspection likely states that your inspection is not a guarantee that you can identify every defect and it is not a warranty against hidden defects. In some cases, an admission of guilt on your part to the client can affect your insurance coverage. This is where you want to promptly contact your insurance company and seek legal advice if necessary. (OREP provides its Members with attorney-led pre-claims assistance at no cost). Final Thoughts There’s no magic bullet that can guarantee you’ll never face a claim, but proactive measures can significantly mitigate your risk. Home inspections extend beyond the physical examination of a property; meticulous record-keeping, clear communication, and strategic planning are integral components of a home inspector’s risk management toolkit. Stay safe out there! WRE
Leading Provider of Home Inspector E&O AND GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE I have been an OREP customer for my Home Inspection Insurance needs for over five years, and these guys are fantastic. —Danny B.
Competitive pricing, superior coverage. Although I do not envision needing their claim support services, I sleep well knowing that OREP has my inspection business well-covered. —Kevin
The OREP team is extremely responsive and has the best rates I could find. —George
Get a quote in 4 minutes at OREP.org/inspectors (888) 347-5273 | Calif. Lic. #0K99465
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Private Water Systems: The Science Behind Your Inspection by Tom Feiza, Mr. Fix-It, Inc, HowToOperateYourHome.com
Private water/well systems are not part of most standard home inspections. However, you should understand well system basic components, maintenance, and possible repair issues. You should inform homeowners of their responsibilities and liabilities as well owners. If you don’t inspect the water and well system, recommend an evaluation by a specialist. Since you won’t often see a submersible well pump replacement, here it is—the “big reveal”—replacing a pump. All inspectors should have a basic understanding of these water systems so they can provide basic information during a home inspection. Private Well Components Figure 1: Well Pump (Submersible) and Pressure Tank shows a private well system’s basic interior and exterior components. Outside, a submersible pump sits inside a well casing below the water level. The top of the steel casing sits about 12 inches above the soil to keep contaminants out. The “pitless adapter” connects the pump and piping to the underground water supply pipe into the home. The pitless adapter allows the pump and piping to be pulled up from the well casing for repairs.
Figure 1: Well Pump (Submersible) and Pressure Tank
From the outside to the inside, there is a supply water pipe through the basement wall. Inside the home there is a pressure tank (water storage), sampling valve, main valve(s) and basic controls. This is a simplified illustration and does not show the 24 0-volt power supply, wiring and switching. In operation, water flows up from the pump, through a pitless adaptor, and into the home’s pressure/storage tank. Pump controls are located near the tank. The pressure switch is a relay that activates the 24 0-volt power supply to the centrifugal pump in the water supply in the well casing. What is the Centrifugal Pump? Figure 2: Centrifugal Pump — Basics represents a typical centrifugal pump and motor. The motor spins the impeller mounted on the motor shaft. Water flows into the center of the impeller (suction) and the centrifugal force of the spinning impeller throws the accelerating water out of the housing at a higher pressure. Figure 3: Well Pump — Submersible represents a centrifugal submersible well pump. The pump, about four inches in diameter and 30 inches long, has multiple centrifugal impellers attached to an electric motor. The impellers are sized for the well depth 18 Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
Figure 2: Centrifugal Pump — Basics
Figure 3: Well Pump — Submersible
Figure 4: Water Tank and Controls
and flow requirements. It requires multiple impellers to create enough pressure and flow to push the water to the surface and into the storage tank. With this stacked impeller pump, water flows from impeller to impeller to increase the pressure.
a corner and surrounded by storage. The tank is fiberglass and the owner has posted yellow notes describing how to find the water tank and how to turn off the main water valve. The main shut-off ball valve has the yellow handle on the insulated pipe and the handle is parallel to the pipe or in the “on” position (Figure 4: Water Tank and Controls).
Actual Well System Take a good look at an actual private water system you see in a basement. Like most basements, this system is crowded into
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7page 19 To the left of the tank, you can see the drain valve at the bottom and the sampling valve for water testing. On the left, the small piping is connected to the pressure control switch (small gray box) and a pressure gauge. At the top left of the tank, mounted on the wall, you can see a 120-volt disconnect switch and a control box for the 240-volt electrical supply to the pump. Actual Pump and Piping Figure 5: Pipe, Old Pump, Casing shows an actual well pump being lifted from a well casing for pump replacement—something you rarely see. You can see the top opening of the well casing with the cover removed. Above the casing is the well PVC piping attached to the stainless-steel centrifugal pump. You can’t see the small crane lifting the piping and pump. Attached to the pump and laying on the ground is the 24 0V wiring removed as the pump was lifted from the casing. The fitting just above the pump centers it and transfers torque to the casing. This pump is 24 0V and one HP. It lifts about 25 gallons of water per minute up 125 feet. Actual Pitless Adapter and Special Tools To replace a pump, the plumber removes the well casing cover, then lifts the first section of pipe to expose a device called the pitless adapter, which looks like an upside-down brass trap in Figure 6: Pipe, Pitless Adapter, Orange Clamp. Its name derives from a patent filed in 1953 by Milton B. Martinson for a way of extracting well water without creating a pit, the common practice at that time.
Figure 5: Pipe, Old Pump, Casing
The adapter provides a junction between the drop pipe in the well and the water line running into the house. It enables work on the drop pipe, wire and pump without compromising the existing installation. The plumber screws a T-bar tool or steel pipe into the threaded top of the adapter to remove it (pull it), leaving in place another side piece of the adapter. (In Figure 6 the chrome nipple is screwed into the top of the pitless adapter for lifting.) Also visible in Figure 6 is an orange clamp tool atop the well casing; it holds the pipe between lifts. The pipe is removed in sections as the pump is lifted with the pipe. Several hundred feet of pipe can be removed if needed. Working Under Pressure A pressure or storage tank is located in the basement and stores water and prevents the pump from turning on and off every time water is used. There is a compressed air cushion above the water in the tank; it expands and compresses with changes in pressure. As water is used in the home, the air cushion in the tank expands to maintain pressure and force water into the piping (Figure 7: Well Tank with Bladder). The cushion of air generally varies in pressure within a normal operating range of about 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (psi). As water is used, the pressure decreases; when it reaches 40 psi, the automatic pressure sensing switch turns on the electricity to the pump. With the pump running, water is forced into the tank, raising the pressure of the air and water. As the 22 Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2024
Figure 6: Pipe, Pitless Adapter, Orange Clamp
tank is fully recharged with water, the pressure approaches 60 psi, and the pressure switch turns the pump off (Figure 8: Well Tank Pressure Problems). If a small amount of water is used, the pump will not start; water will be drawn from the tank. The slow pressure changes are barely noticeable in the home.
Figure 8: Well Pressure Tank Problems
and how the pump switches on almost every time water is used. A home inspector can easily find this issue by standing next to the pressure tank while running water. You will hear the clicking of the control switch, (the on-off hum of the pump) and see quick changes in the pressure gauge.
Figure 7: Well Tank with Bladder
Spotting a Waterlogged Tank The most common and damaging problem in a private well system is a waterlogged pressure tank. A tank is waterlogged (full of water) when there is little or no air cushion in the tank. Without an air cushion, there is no air pressure to push water out of the tank into the home’s piping. The pressure will vary quickly whenever a small amount of water is used. This quick change in pressure causes the pump to start and stop almost every time water is used. As soon as the pump starts, the pressure will go up very quickly. For instance, if you are running a yard sprinkler, the pump will constantly turn on and off, and you will notice the pressure change at the spray of the sprinkler. If the pump is allowed to continue turning on and off (shortcycling), eventually the pump will be ruined. You can identify a water-logged tank by quick changes in pressure
The Takeaway Understanding the components, operation and maintenance of a private well and water system is part of being a great, informed inspector. You may not inspect private well systems, but when you understand the systems, you can inform your customer of their future responsibilities and liability. Many buyers don’t even know they are buying a property with a private well. The new homeowner will need to operate and maintain the well system and you can give them the basic information they need. Consider providing a reference document that explains the wellsystem components and operation. Most local health departments provide a free brochure about safely operating a private well system. Also, inform the buyers about any local municipal safety and health requirements related to a private well. Normally, wells require registration with a local authority and routine testing for water safety. At the time of property transfer, the well is often evaluated and the water is tested—you should suggest this be performed. WRE
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Let’s Absorb Adsorption Together by Greg Johns, WIN Home Inspection
Figure 1: The difference between Adsorption, Absorption, and Sorption
Let me preface this by saying most professionals in the trades (including home inspectors and building inspectors) are not chemists, physicists, or molecular specialists. If you don’t get the concepts herein, or I fail to explain their conditions properly, that’s okay. There is a world of chemistry that needs and requires specialists—we don’t need to be them. I just want to expose more of us to basic premises that can and should help decision-making when designing, building, or inspecting structures. In the physical world, where materials are felt, cut, and manipulated, it’s hard to pay attention to what is right there but not readily visible—namely: gases and chemistry. So, this is a walk-through to create awareness of how a solid, liquid, or gas responds to another solid, liquid, or gas related to material performance. Perhaps the most accessible and best starting example would be liquid and tape flashings. In modern constr uction, we have become very reliant on liquid and tape flashing for helping to limit air and moisture (and pest) infiltration into our structures (because, don’t forget, our aim is to control the inside and keep the outside out when it comes to building a structure). Well, not all builders/trades professionals are on this bus yet, but the ranks appear to be increasing each year. When a liquid or flashing tape is used, it relies on a chemical bonding of materials—adsorption; this is one of our key Greg Johns is the owner of a home inspection company in middle Tennessee called WIN Home Inspection. He also is a home diagnostic consultant and the current education director for the Home Inspectors of Tennessee Association. He works hard to keep his kids and flowers alive.
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terms. Adsorption is the accrual of atoms, ions, and molecules on another sur face in a bonding method. When liquid flashing is applied, the chemical concoction adheres to the surface of the other material. The liquid flashing does not fully penetrate or incorporate into the other material, but bonds at the surfaces. This is adsorption for building materials (See Figure 1: The difference between Adsorption, Absorption, and Sorption). The other really important takeaway relates to too much of the adsorbate—the liquid flashing—being applied to the absorbent—the other material to which it is adhering. There is a finite layering that can be productive before the liquid flashing stops its intended adhering. Basically, you don’t have to apply (nor would it perform properly) three inches of liquid flashing along the sill/sheathing joint of a wall/ foundation assembly. If we look at flashing tape and adsorption, the same premise applies but a bit differently. You know how you may have heard, “You have to roll the tape,” by flashing tape manufacturers? Well, that’s because the rolling of the tape creates a sorption process whereby the chemicals of the adhesives in the tape “wet” into the tiny pores of the material to which it is adhering. In other words, the mechanical process of physically (think energy usage) wetting the tape by rolling helps to induce the adsorption of the adhesive onto the material at hand—wood, concrete, etc. The tape’s adhesive does not penetrate into the surface, but bonds at the teeny-tiny level to create the “long-term sticking.” This is the same thing that happens when activated charcoal filters your water, or when a carbon filter adsorbs gaseous pollutants from the air through an air purifier (See Figure 2: Carbon Filter Adsorbs Pollutants in Air Purifier, page 26). page 26 8
7page 24 be desorption; for adsorption and surface bonding, it is the premise that what adheres can also come loose (with an investment of energy). Technically, this is an accurate fear; ongoing testing of tapes and liquid flashings continues to help determine longterm chemical bonds and what sort of stressors (think energies) can break those bonds and cause failure in flashing-related protections, which could lead to water infiltration and unhealthy issues developing in a structure. This is why the manufacturer’s literature is so vital—the manufacturer tells you what you can use their product with and how it must be used and when it will fail. If you don’t follow the recipe, don’t be surprised when your crepe eats like a pancake. As a home performance consultant, and a licensed home inspector, I cannot begin to extol the merits of reading all that tiny print. That’s my soap box.
Figure 2: Carbon Filter Adsorbs Pollutants in Air Purifier
Now, perhaps you do a lot of reading and listening and have heard the ongoing rumblings of those nay-sayers who fear failure when relying on liquid or tape flashing. Chemically speaking, this would
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The other key term I intended to confuse and befuddle you regarding is absorption. If adsorption is surface adherence, then absorption is full-on “I’m going to gobble you up and put you in my belly.” Think, alligator and a doe at the water’s edge. The doe goes into the alligator, not onto the alligator. A very crude metaphor, yes, but one that helps to express the point—the deer doesn’t adsorb to the alligator’s skin, although that would be interesting. Absorption is the process by which one material is fully incorporated within another, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently.
For building science and trades, think of moisture in a wall assembly, or in a floor assembly for those of us accustomed to wet crawlspaces. Unlike caulk, which only adheres (adsorption) to a surface, water can absorb into a material—such as wood or concrete. Have you ever seen a composite cement fiber board improperly installed and exposed to water? The rate is not fast, but absorption eventually reaches a point of equilibrium/saturation (a maximum concentration of sorts) that the material was never intended to manage and the related energies and stressors exert so much antagonism on the material that it starts to flake apart in these thin layers. That process starts with absorption and is one of the reasons why wood and cement-based composites are intended to be primed and sealed and separated from ground and roof surfaces (well, we have to introduce capillary action here to really explain it properly— we haven’t enough space remaining in this article). Another ready example would be manufactured adhered stone veneer (a cement product) or brick veneer—both claddings (unless painted/sealed) readily absorb moisture from their exposed surfaces. The veneers will continue to absorb moisture until they reach an equilibrium. Then, either it stays (if it is raining) in the material, or it may begin to exit the material in the direction of less water. If the wind is driving the rain to the brick from the exterior, water may leave the brick on the interior
side that faces away from the rain (more to less). And what’s on this side of the brick? The wall assembly. If this assembly lacks proper configurations to manage bulk water, the water may begin both the adsorption (weather resistive barrier) and absorption (wall sheathing) processes again. We all know what water does in wall assemblies, right? Right. To further convolute, solar drive is an energetic process whereby the sun’s radiant heat physically forces the water onward/inward, which can have detrimental consequences for a wall’s performance. But, solar drive is not absorption. I am no chemist, but I suspect it is a variant of desorption since energy and heat alter the chemical relationships and drive one material out from within the other. Please, don’t just take my word on any of this. Check with your local, friendly, neighborhood professional chemist. We all have those, right? Remember, you don’t have to be a chemist and you don’t need to be able to write a dissertation on any of this. What you should be able to do is have an inkling of an idea how this stuff works so you can make informed choices as a professional, so you can properly cite deficiencies or discovered issues, and so you can proficiently communicate to the client/consumer, thereby being respectful of their time and money. WRE
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Make Use of ChatGPT by Ian Robertson, Inspector Toolbelt
We may not be sitting around wondering how AI (Artificial
Intelligence) may affect our industry as home inspectors—but we probably should be. AI is changing how the world works, and it is also changing how our industry works. The primary service out there that is changing things is called ChatGPT (Chat.openai.com/chat). This is similar to when electronic reports, infrared cameras, and other tools came into play. This service is just that—a tool. And if we don’t use it, we will get left behind. So what is ChatGPT and how can we use it? What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence, text-based chatbot. If you ask it to write something or tell us something, it will formulate a response with text. It can answer questions, compile lists, and generate paragraphs of writing. It is extremely useful and complex and will likely revolutionize how we do business. There are three ways that we will discuss how home inspectors can utilize this tool. These three ways are: writing report narratives, writing website content, and writing newsletters and presentations. So, let’s discuss the first way we can use ChatGPT: writing reports. 1. Writing Reports Before you start to worry that you will be replaced, let’s put your mind at ease. ChatGPT is not taking over the home inspection industry. Think of this as a great supplemental tool instead of something that is going to write your whole report. And it will save you time, especially if you are new to home inspections. For example, let’s say you inspected a house with a bowed foundation wall. You could type in something like, “Write a home inspection report narrative about how bowed foundation walls are bad.” As shown in Figure 1, you can see that ChatGPT will generate a narrative. But you may notice that it is overly objective. It does not identify the issue. That is up to the inspector. And it does not give an opinion. Those are limitations of AI. You can begin your report by writing something like, “Bowed foundation wall noted at the west side of the home. Recommend Ian Robertson is a veteran home inspector, owner of three inspection companies, owner of Full View Home Inspector Marketing, and one of the founders of Inspector Toolbelt. Inspector Toolbelt is simple administrative and scheduling software for home inspectors that makes running your inspection business easy and automated.
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Figure 1: Home Inspection Report on Bowed Foundation Wall
evaluation by a qualified contractor because a bowed foundation wall can be a serious issue. Here’s why.” Then, from what ChatGPT generated, you might want to choose a portion of what’s written. Sometimes it writes way more than you need or is a bit wordy. So, you can select bits and pieces from it (See Figure 1: Home Inspection Report on Bowed Foundation Wall). Explaining why something is bad is oftentimes where we lack the ability, especially as new inspectors, to write a good narrative. And it’s probably the longest part of our report. ChatGPT can really help with that. But you do have to read thoroughly what it generates. The information may not always be correct. If you do not know some information, don’t rely on ChatGPT to give you the answer. ChatGPT is not a replacement for a home inspector’s knowledge and responsibility. If you don’t like a response given by ChatGPT, you can have it regenerate a new response. And remember that it matters how you ask it. For example, instead of writing, “Write a home inspection report narrative about how bowed foundation walls are bad,” if you just asked it “Write a narrative about how bowed foundation walls are bad,” you might get a funny story about a bowed wall, not something you would use in an inspection report. Or if you ended it with how the bowed foundation walls are “serious” instead of “bad,” then you won’t get the opinion you may be looking for. “Serious” can mean many different things. You need to give AI an opinion to work with. 2. Writing Content Perhaps you are thinking of making your own website, or you have a website and want to write blogs to help your SEO. Coming up with written content may take a lot of work. When our team at Full View creates websites for clients, we notice that the hardest information to get is often a description for the About Us page of their website. People don’t like talking about themselves. So if you are tr ying to do this, ChatGPT can help. For blogs, you can ask it, for example, “Write a unique 150-word blog on doorknobs,” and it will create the blog within a few seconds (Figure 2: Written Web Content).
Figure 2: Written Web Content
Let’s address some misconceptions about AI that people have. Some people say that you should avoid using AI because Google hates AI content and will penalize your website if it includes such. None of that is true. First of all, Google has stated that it has accepted AI content for years. Here is a quote from Danny Sullivan, public liaison for Google Search: “Our focus on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced, is a useful guide that has helped us to deliver reliable, high-quality results to users for years.” Google also says, “Automation has long been used to generate helpful content such as sports scores, weather forecasts and transcripts.” One of the things that Google did recently was come out with what is called the helpful content algorithm update. So what that means is, it doesn’t care where the content comes from, as long as it’s helpful. If you write bad content as a human, and AI writes helpful content, Google will assist that AI-generated helpful content to gain a higher ranking than your human-written content. Google cares that content is unique and helpful. 3. Writing Newsletters and Presentations ChatGPT can help you quickly make presentations (Figure 3: Slide Presentation Content). It won’t create images, but you can use Dall-E for that (Labs.openai.com/). But it can write you all the wording for a slide presentation. For example, you are holding a first-time homebuyer seminar and need an outline. Give ChatGPT specific instructions like, “Write me a presentation with slides for first-time homebuyers about home inspections.” And watch it generate your slides. Make some tweaks here and there, but overall, it will save you time and mental energy. The same thing goes for newsletters. You could tell ChatGPT, “Write an email newsletter about spring maintenance.” And it will. You don’t have to hire an outside company to write them.
Figure 3: Slide Presentation Content
Using ChatGPT Is Beneficial There are many other uses for ChatGPT that we haven’t covered in this article. But these three that we discussed, writing reports, content, newsletters, and presentations, are some that you should really consider using ChatGPT for. It can be a useful tool for any home inspector and get you ahead in the game. Just remember to check for inaccuracies and verify the data. Insert idioms here and there (as it does not know how), and use real speech with opinions. Try it today. Go to Chat.openai.com. WRE
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Lessons from a Service Business by David Brauner, Founder Emeritus at OREP.org
Editor’s Note: This article is republished from Working RE Home Inspector’s archives (Vol. 15).
You may not believe this but it’s true. This story could be considered mundane, unless it concerns your livelihood—then it’s very serious. I hope it helps you and your business. I have an all-glass, frameless swinging shower door that slips and rubs at the threshold. In the 12 years we’ve lived in this house, and in an effort to get it to swing properly without dragging, I’ve tightened the screws, replaced the screws, glued the screws, stripped the screws, realigned the door and left it partially open for days/weeks at a time when it couldn’t be fixed correctly. All so that the door would clear the bottom, swing freely and close completely. It has worked smoothly for months and even years at a time after an adjustment but eventually it always slips again, making it impossible to close the door all the way. Recently, I had the brilliant idea to hire a professional to fix it once and for all (duh!). I called three glass companies to get a quote. No one would fix it. They all wanted to sell me a new $1,500+ glass door. The glass is fine, I thought, why replace it? I decided to replace the hinges myself and priced them online. Finding the correct replacements is tricky in itself, by the way, unless you are prepared to drill new holes into the glass door/tile—which I was not. I priced them but did not buy them…maybe because I know my track record on DIY home improvement (do it yourself). I called one more company. The fourth glass company I called did not answer the phone, so I left a message. They didn’t call back. I called again. This time, someone answered. Let’s call her Sandy. She told me to email a picture of the hinges and they’d get right back. I did email the picture and after about three days of not hearing anything, I called again. I got Sandy again, reminding her of my issue. She said someone would call me back. No one did. David Brauner (now retired) is Founder and former President of OREP.org, a leading provider of E&O Insurance for home inspectors and other real estate professionals in 49 states (OREP.org). OREP has provided E&O insurance to home inspectors for over 22 years. Visit OREP.org or call (888) 347-5273. OREP Insurance Services, LLC. Calif. Lic. #0K99465.
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I called again, got Sandy and was transferred to who I assumed was an owner or manager. We’ll call him Bill. Bill hadn’t taken a look at the picture of the hinge yet. He asked me to hold. When he came back, he said the hinges looked fine and that it was probably just the gaskets that were worn out, causing the slippage—a seven-dollar item. If it is the hinges—they are about $150 to replace he said. So now I’m happy. Persistence pays off right? It took a few more email exchanges to get a quote (instead of just quoting me right then). Finally: it appears labor is about $250 plus the cost of the hinges, if they are needed. I emailed back immediately to accept. He replied that Sandy would call to schedule me (instead of putting her back on to schedule me right then). In any case, I’m feeling some pride in my persistence. After about four days, no one called to set up the appointment. So I call. Sandy answers and says she is super busy but she’ll call me soon to schedule (instead of scheduling me right then). Amazing. Even more amazing, she does call back that very afternoon. The tech shows up on time about a week later, is very nice and professional and is wearing a mask! He replaces my gaskets in about an hour and the door is fixed! It no longer drags at the bottom. The hinges do not need to be replaced and all is well—better than well. I ask the tech how he will take my payment. He says he doesn’t do that. That’s unusual I think, but I wait about a week for the invoice to be emailed—nothing. So, I think maybe they are old school and still mail bills. I wait another week or so. Nothing. Now it’s approaching three weeks after the fix, so I email Sandy for an invoice. No response. About a week later, I call and leave a voicemail asking for a bill. Again, no response. I wait probably another week or more before emailing Bill directly, who you may remember, I believe
to be an owner/manager. No response from Bill. Let me ask you, dear readers and fellow businesspeople: are you shaking your head at this point? And it gets worse. About a week later, I call again…just trying to pay my bill. This time “Mary” answers. She assures me she is right person to take care of this because she is the accountant. She asks if I’d wait on hold while she goes “upstairs” to ask. I instead offer my phone number for her to call me back. She says great, she’ll call me right back. Two weeks go by and you guessed it—no one called back—not even “the accountant.” Why wasn’t my order somewhere she could look up, give me a price and take my money right then? I don’t know. Why don’t I just give up trying to pay? Well, they solved my problem when no one else would and I’m grateful. Your Business So what does this have to do with your home inspection business you may be asking—whether you have a home inspection business or are employed by one? Well, if you have your own business, you know you have to do more than perform a great home inspection to be profitable. Having someone competent to answer the phone, return calls and keep track of receivables is vital for the reasons I hope my story illustrates. This glass business has the staff, it seems, but something obviously is not working.
In my own journey, I have encountered business people of ever y stripe who didn’t call back, didn’t show up on time or at all and who didn’t do what they said they would do, once they were hired—this includes landscapers, plumbers, contractors, electricians and professionals—dentists, attorneys and CPA s. I really believe this explains why so many businesses fail or just bump along year after year. My guess is that many of the businesses that fail, do so because they are run like this glass company that won’t let me pay them. My advice, whether you r un your own business or dream of doing so one day, is to take a look at your processes from time to time. How do you land business? How do you get paid? Maybe ask an outsider to act as a new business client. After that, my recipe for success is pretty simple: do what you say and say what you do; never stop learning—be courteous and respect ful of ever yone, and when someone wants to pay you for services rendered, for goodness sake take their money! Press time postscript: I called two more times to pay and left voice messages without any response. I just printed out the quote that was emailed to me and mailed them a check. Good luck to them and to you in the New Year! WRE
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Do Long Home Inspections Mean Bad News? by Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech
If a home inspection is taking a long time, is this good or bad news for the seller? Or neither? Great question. The quick answer: there are so many variables that affect the duration of a home inspection, that the time of the inspection alone won’t give much meaningful information when it comes to determining the condition of the home. I’ll discuss several of these variables to help better understand what makes a home inspection take longer. With all of the items listed below, the assumption is that all other things are equal. The House Large houses take more time to inspect than small houses, and old houses take more time to inspect than new houses. Used houses have had time for components to fail, rot, or reach the end of their life. They typically have many different components in different stages of their life expectancy, and it’s the home inspector’s job to let the client know about components at the end of their life expectancy. Remodeled/renovated houses take longer to inspect. When new systems are mixed in with old systems, the house gets more complex. This frequently means additional HVAC systems, electrical subpanels, etc. All of these additional components considerably add to the time it takes to inspect a house. Complicated houses take longer to inspect. The more types of roof coverings, siding, windows, floor coverings, etc., the longer the inspection will take. Several small rooms will take significantly more time to inspect than one large room. Attics and crawl spaces add to the inspection time as well—especially if a house contains multiple. Tall buildings take more time to inspect than short buildings. This is because it’s more work to access the roof. It’s a piece Reuben Saltzman is a second-generation home inspector with a passion for his work. He grew up remodeling homes and learning about carpentry since he was old enough to hold a hammer. He worked for Structure Tech since it was purchased in 1997 and is now the owner and CEO of the company. To connect with him, visit https://structuretech.com/.
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of cake for a home inspector to pull a Little Giant ladder out of their vehicle and hop onto the roof. That works great for shorter buildings or buildings where the upper roof areas can be accessed from the lower roof areas. It’s a lot more work to unstrap a 28’ extension ladder from the truck and set it up, then carry it back and strap it onto the truck when done using it. For example, one time I spent nearly an hour inspecting the roof surfaces because I used different ladders, and I took many photos of the roof. Houses with deferred maintenance (aka—“no maintenance”) take a lot longer to inspect. It takes time to document problems, and these problem areas then need to be further inspected to help determine what else might be wrong. The Inspector One inspector could easily take twice as long as the next inspector to inspect the exact same property. Sometimes, this is a direct reflection of the quality of the inspection. Inspector F might inspect the crawl space by looking into the opening, inspect the roof from the ground with binoculars, and say the attic was obstructed with personal items and could not be inspected. On that same house, inspector A might inspect the crawl space by crawling through it. Before doing so, she might have to set up a tarp outside the crawl space so as not to make a mess when coming out, go out to her vehicle and change into some coveralls before going into the crawl space, spend ten minutes inspecting the crawl space, then clean everything back up. This same inspector might not have any problem moving the seller’s items to gain access to the attic, and would surely walk the roof to inspect it. Just these three items could easily add an hour onto the inspection time. Some home inspectors produce their inspection reports onsite, which adds considerable time to the inspection. At least, it should. Suppose a home inspector says that producing a report page 34 8
7page 32 on-site doesn’t add much time to the inspection. In that case, they’re probably producing a poorly written inspection report filled with generic disclaimers about ever ything under the sun and lots of sentences ending with “for its age” (e.g., “The 30-year-old roof was in normal condition for its age”). And some home inspectors talk more. The Client Clients with tons of questions make the inspection take longer. Especially the “why” questions. Engineers take more time. They’re usually not satisfied until they can successfully explain a problem back to us. Inspections for first-time home buyers often take longer than inspections for experienced homeowners. First-time home buyers often need to have the basics explained: what a furnace is, how it operates, how to change the furnace filter, etc. Multiple clients at an inspection will usually make things take longer— more questions equal more conversations. The Bottom Line Don’t put too much stock in the amount of time that a home inspection takes. The duration of a home inspection is affected by too many variables for a home seller to draw any conclusions. A long home inspection isn’t necessarily bad news. WRE
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Tips on Safety and Dealing with Snakes by Nick Massimo, Snake Guru, LLC
I own Snake Guru, LLC, a wildlife control business where I specialize in working with snakes. Ironically, my job takes me to many of the same hazardous places as home inspectors. Just like you, I need to be methodical and highly attentive to detail. On an average day, I get dirty investigating areas of a property few others visit. It’s a big responsibility requiring accountability, professionalism and being mindful of hazards. My company safely removed this black rat snake from the INSIDE of an oven control panel (See Figure 1). A notable fraction of my clients start as a human-wildlife conflict needing immediate attention. During my “standard” workday, I’m often called to a scene where a snake has been observed at least once. This is where I get to put on my detective cap to figure out why a snake is occupying a place they aren’t frequently encountered. Regardless of whether you’re a friendly neighborhood snake professional, a property inspector, or work in another related profession, here are tips to help you stay as safe as possible. Snake Tracks Animals may leave a variety of signs if they’ve recently been in the area. Footprints, scratch marks, hair, feathers, are all great examples. Snakes, however, can’t leave any of those signs behind. Instead, the signs are a bit subtler. Snakes may leave shed skin, feces, or slide marks behind on the ground if you are lucky! Don’t forget, even though snakes lack arms and legs, that doesn’t stop them from climbing up above eye level. Another thing to keep in mind, people often come across snakes in a building if there’s an existing rodent problem. If inspecting an area and you come across signs of rodents, be aware a snake may also be around looking for a meal. Nick Massimo owns Snake Guru, LLC and specializes in providing 24-hour snake removal, fencing and prevention services in the Greater Phoenix area. Massimo uses these opportunities to catalyze a more informed understanding of how to live alongside wildlife, and prevent future incidents. If faced with a human-wildlife conflict in another area, consider searching our list of certified, licensed colleagues across the country: nwcoa.com/wildlife-professional-directory/.
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Figure 1: Snake Inside Oven Control Panel
Venomous Versus Nonvenomous Snakes This may be the most important lesson from the entire article. No matter where you live in the world, people want a trick to help them identify if a snake should be considered a health threat. After studying snakes all over the world, Snake Guru has a very special trick to help you identify a venomous snake anywhere and not get bit. Want to know our foolproof trick!? See what you think is a snake? Back away slowly in the opposite direction. The best thing someone can do to try and protect themselves is NOT touch a snake. It’s slightly anticlimactic and not necessarily a trick, but the mentality will surely keep you safe. All snakes should be considered dangerous unless you are one hundred percent certain otherwise. If you’re bit by a snake, you should immediately notify and call 911 to inform them of your location and what happened. Leave the animal alone and don’t attempt to capture it. Consider page 38 8
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7page 36 taking a picture if you can do so safely. If possible, have another person drive you to the nearest emergency department. Prior to getting to the hospital, follow these steps: • Remain as calm as possible. • Remove your belt & jewelry (rings, bracelets, watches, etc.) • Call your local Poison Control Center, (1-800-222-1222), on the way to hospital. Very Bad Ideas • DO NOT try and suck the venom out of the wound with your mouth. • DO NOT apply a tourniquet to the bite area. • DO NOT cover the bite area with ice. • DO NOT cut open the bite wound to try and get the venom out. • DO NOT attempt to catch the snake. Get to the hospital. The large majority of encounters with wildlife pass without any incident. Of the small fraction of human-wildlife encounters ending in conflict, many of them could have been avoided had the person known highly specialized business exist striving to turn conflict into conservation. Walk the Enlightened Path This sounds simple enough, but only place your hands and feet where you can clearly see. If it’s dark, you need to stop, get a
flashlight and illuminate the area before proceeding. Whether it’s a snake, low-hanging nail, or broken flooring, every step needs to be taken carefully. Masks, Booties, and Body Suits Wearing the proper personal protective equipment (mask/respirator, Tyvek® suit, booties, etc.) is extremely important for your own personal safety, but also that of your client(s). Outside of live snakes and other pest hazards, when entering a place like an attic or crawlspace, there is no telling what microscopic hazards might be disturbed. If animal urine/feces are disturbed, there’s very serious risk of inhaling aerosolized viral or bacterial pathogens. Asbestos is another big concern in attics and crawlspaces. When inspecting an attic or crawlspace, make sure you always put a mask on before opening the door. Before entering and immediately after exiting a potentially ‘dirty’ space, set up an area to contain any mess. Consider laying down a thin piece of plastic wrap to help quickly clean up any debris. It shows a high degree of professionalism to make these small changes to your standard operating procedures. It is very easy to do and people will notice the extra effort! WRE
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