Conversation with a home inspector
Thom Culpepper and I have been working together for sometime and I respect the quality of his work. I found his comments on home inspecting of interest.
Thom, how did youbecome an inspector in the first place?
My wife and I discussed starting a business, but we bothbiology majors at the time and then I went to nursing school. At the time, we had several rentals, we had"flipped" houses and liked Real Estate, but I was not interested inselling it. A friend talked to us abouthis business as a home inspector and so I decided to make it happen!
You must love this job, because whenever you do an inspection for me,you seem to be having so much fun.
I love most aspects of it, however I love to learn andresearch and there is a great deal of that in this business. My boss is the greatest as well!!
Right, I love minetoo. Being your own boss does reduce thearguments. So, what tips would you givepotential homeowners who are thinking ahead and want to prepare to sell?
I would say that if the house is 10 years or older, aninspection before selling could save thousands of dollars and be a greatmarketing tool.
Wow, great point buthow can you save money?
An inspection can reminda homeowner of issues they got used to and forgot. I’m sure you do this too, but people tellthemselves “I’ll get to that repair later" and sometimes it never happens.
You’re right, I’vedone it. Sometime, after the Buyers giveyou their list of requests you don’t have time to do much but hire the firstcompany you find to fix things, surprises aren’t good in a home sale.
So, an inspection provides Sellers with a list of issues to focuson to prepare the house for sale. As yousaid, knowing what to expect can be a tremendous relief!
How about tips fornew homeowners?
Home buyers should think of an inspection as a short terminvestment. A $350 inspection can yield areturn of possibly $500 to $5,000 in repairs in a month; you can’t do that on WallStreet. Buyers should shop for a homeinspector based on the Inspector’s knowledge and experience; not on whichinspector charge’s the least amount. Whysave $15 and risk losing $5,000! Homeinspections are also tax deductible, so why not get the best and save the most?
I agree. I encourage my Buyers to shop the market forall their services; but I try to help them make sure they are shopping forquality over cost. How do inspectors getcertified to do this work?
We must attend an accredited school accepted by the state,and accomplish 30 co-inspections with a certified inspector. Then we must take a national test, and gothrough a state background check. Ourinspections are sent to the state for review to make sure they meet thestandards of the state.
So you really must meet some exacting standards. I would bet you have lots of fun andinteresting experiences doing your inspections.
The most fun is seeing, well, let’s call them unusual andcreative fixes to household problems. I photographed and placed some of these onmy website! Once, I had an Anthropologist follow me around for 2½ hours filming me.
How bizarre!
Yes, it kind of threw me off a bit.
I’ve seen your blogtoo, there’s a lot of excellent information there.
Yes, I have been writing blogs for homeowners aboutdifferent home related topics for quite a while. I’m now preparing to place home maintenancevideos on the website as well. I wantmore people informed --it saves money and energy down the road!
Well thanks Thom,this has been great. If you’d like more information feel free to contactThom
ThomCulpepper
TLCProfessional Inspections, Inc.
Cell; (520)991-1717
e-mail;TLCinspections@msn.com
Web Site: http://www.TLCproinspections.com
http://www.tlcproinspections.com/newsite/photo_gallery/
Blog;www.TLCpro.wordpress.com