Home Inspections

Are home inspections raining down on you? "No, Ma'am, I'm sorry, I'm booked all week and into next," you say as your telephone rings again in your pants pocket. Things are crazy. You need help. You are working 16 hour days. What will you do?

You will hire someone. Maybe more than one. Where do you start? Let me touch on a few points about identifying candidates and then jump to that moment when you launch someone new into the field.

You should pick carefully because it's your time you are investing, and if your candidate does not share your passion for inspecting, they will leave you when they realize that the ad online "own your own ATM machine - become a home inspector today" is not completely correct.

Start by drawing a simple flowchart. Do they have the will and the strong interest? Yes - Do they have the aptitude? This means, do they have both the technical skills that can be developed along with customer care skills plus the critical integrity and honesty? Yes - Are they willing and able to invest the learning time as an apprentice with you? Yes - Are they willing to follow a process? Yes - you get the idea. You should be identifying the things that are important to you and to your business. If this person is an administrator, then identify those required skills and competencies. Just because your cousin Alfred says he wants to work with you does not mean he will make a good candidate for your business! When you've identified three candidates for the position, take them on an inspection and see how they react.

Now you've made your decision and hired your new inspector. Now what?

Let's jump to that first day you launch your trained inspector in the field. Let's assume prior to this that your inspector went through a formal course of inspector training - either at a school, or online, and has received field training from you or has done at least 8-10 ride-alongs with you. This ensures that they have the procedural basics, the legal basics, and the report writing basics. Now you've asked your trainee to "dual" with you (as they say in pilot training) - your inspector is told to go ahead and conduct his/her inspection and report; you will be doing yours at the same time; then you will compare notes.

At the end of this inspection your trainee may be feeling overwhelmed. You should offer ample praise and sit with your trainee and go through the entire inspection, comparing notes. Did they catch anything that you didn't? Give him/her an "atta-boy" or "atta-girl" high five. What did they miss? Why? Go through a gentle but firm analysis.

After a few of these your trainee may be ready to launch out on their own inspection! Do you remember when you did your own first inspection? Think of those emotions and try to help your new inspector by assembling a quick but very important written checklist. We have all heard stories about new (and even veteran) inspectors forgetting to turn off the oven, or turn down the heat, and having to return to check on something.

This checklist is back to the basics - but you, as an experienced inspector, will identify with each and every one of these. Print out the highlights for your trainee and ask them to check these off:

• Homework: Did you find out ahead of time (the night before) where the inspection is? More than one inspector has ended up at the wrong, but similar address.

• Who is attending? Bring your thank you's and gifts.

• Is your truck or car clean? Impressions are everything.

• Are YOU clean and neat? Ask your spouse or very close friend to listen to you explain a few pages of your last report right next to them as you would with your customer; then ask them if your breath is ok. Nothing turns off a client faster than their inspector smelling as if a dead animal is trying to climb up their throat. Bring mints.

• Be early! Be early! Be early! You already know this. It's Inspector DNA.

• Have a tool checklist and make sure ahead of time you have everything you need.

• When you arrive at the home, note and write down if any lights were on; doors open or closed; temperatures set on heating or cooling zones, etc.

• Before you enter the home check your TOOL BELT to make sure all pouches and compartments are secure so that things will not flop or fall out (once my heavy rechargeable flashlight fell out of my belt and on to a hardwood floor in front of my customer; luckily no damage was done but my feeling of foolishness lasted for days); make sure things are organized and tight against your body so that nothing hits door frames, trim, lamps, etc. as you go about your inspection. This is part of the "first, do no harm" rule we learned early on.

• Have a checklist of items to check BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOME. Everything should be EXACTLY as you found it, if not neater and cleaner. The checklist should include appliances off, lights left on if they were on, doors, open or closed, locks, windows, etc.

I am talking as if no one was following you around in the home; if your clients are there, these items are doubly important. The agent will be paying attention too, and you will get high marks for being conscientious in these seemingly small details.

Last but not least, make sure you emphasize SAFETY with your new inspector trainee. Over your field training observe and make sure the trainee is making intelligent decisions about whether to get on the roof or not, ladder safety, electrical panel safety, crawlspace protection, etc. Your trainee will emulate you; make sure YOU are paying attention too.

Training a new inspector is a lot of work but it's also very rewarding and will make YOU a better inspector. Now go capture those inspections falling out of the sky!