Maybe they swoop in and steal away your best referring agents. Or maybe they’re a detriment to the industry, not to mention their customers, with poor or unethical home inspection practices. Shady home inspectors do no one any favors, not even themselves in the long run. In areas with professional regulation plus licensing and continuing…
When the air is cleaner, the whole family feels better. That’s only one of the many benefits of keeping up with the easiest, quickest HVAC maintenance there is. Unfortunately, homeowners don’t always change the filter on time. Changing the air filter on a furnace, air conditioner, heat pump or any forced air system keeps the…
Hurricane Harvey caused widespread destruction and left many homes borderline, unsafe, or completely destroyed. Then a team of drone pilot experts offered their services, making damage maps and insurance claim information more accurate and improving safety for rescue and insurance workers on the ground. Drones are becoming the norm for home inspections. Before long, they…
With fall in the air, many homeowners are preparing to cover window-mount air conditioners and central units until warm weather comes around again. But is the AC really worth saving? Just because it cycles on and off doesn’t mean it does its job. An outdated air conditioning system costs homeowners in efficiency, function and hard-earned…
All of the tools, skills, and gadgets in the world can’t take the place of good old-fashioned customer service. Unfortunately, it seems like taking care of customers is a dying concept in the 21st Century. A few businesses get it, but many don’t. That leaves customers feeling underappreciated and worse, taken advantage of. Neither of…
The blame game doesn’t seem to end after kindergarten. Humans by nature look for ways to shift blame when something runs afoul of plans. In the real estate industry, a certified home inspector sometimes takes on more than their fair share. Your job is to tell the unvarnished truth about the condition of a house.…
When you’re just starting out as a newly certified home inspector, managing the business side of things isn’t terribly complicated. As your business grows, organization becomes increasingly more important. The clock is ticking toward the end of 2017 and the New Year will be here before you know it. Get your business in order now…
Hurricane season hasn’t been kind to the sunshine state this year, especially in the southern part of the state. Once all of the flooding subsides and cleanup begins, new home defects can surface in their wake. What might you find in your work as a certified home inspector? Here are 7 of the most common…
Without knowledge of home systems and their myriad potential defects, you couldn’t perform an inspection. But without communication skills, you couldn’t complete the most important part of the job, which is the report. Some states require home inspection training and some don’t. But none of them require you to learn how to communicate effectively. Here’s…
It’s February, it’s freezing outside, and someone somewhere is running late for work. Imagine their unhappy surprise when the shower faucet only releases a trickle of water or worse—nothing at all. Frozen pipes are the wintertime bane of a homeowner’s existence. For the most part, newer homes with don’t have a widespread problem. But in…