What Does Professionalism Really Mean In Home Inspections

One inspector shows up and suddenly the promised radon test or sewer scope becomes “extra” or simply “we’re not doing that.” That moment is more than annoying, it can cost buyers time, leverage, and peace of mind. Jim and Laura share a recent Dayton story that highlights a simple standard too many contractors forget: do what you said you’d do, for the price you agreed to, with the equipment you promised to bring.

We dig into what professional home inspection service looks like when it’s done right: setting expectations before the appointment, being honest about travel limits, and keeping the client’s needs at the center. You’ll hear how we think about value beyond a basic inspection, including radon testing, mold testing, VOC and indoor air quality testing, chimney scope, and sewer scope, plus why being a true one stop shop only matters if you can execute without excuses.

Then we get practical about the tricky stuff buyers ask about, especially pools and hot tubs. A winterized pool can’t be fully evaluated the same way, and de winterizing too early can cause freeze damage. We talk through when pool service records help more than a quick look, the real cost of filling a pool for an inspection, and the not so glamorous side of hot tub chemical balance.

If you’re a home buyer or agent who wants clear answers without drama, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with someone shopping for a home, and leave a review, what’s one inspection red flag you refuse to ignore?

Transcript

A Botched Inspection In Dayton

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Let people know what we do.

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everybody, Jim and Laura here.

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Hello everyone.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Alright, so last week I went to Dayton, did an inspection. I was not the first home inspection person there. No, you were not.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

You were the second.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

There was another company who was who'd been there the week before or a few days before.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

They got remained nameless.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Yeah, but they got their asses fired. Yes, they did. And I you I heard it was because they didn't want to do the sewer scope or or they didn't bring their equipment to do it.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

You heard it was a radon, which was they refused, so they refused to come back out to pick up their monitor, so they just refused to place it in the first place. So like there's there's a couple different things apparently that company did not do.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

They went out there, did was doing the inspection and said, Hey, we're not doing this. We're not gonna drop off the thing you we agreed to do for you, but if we do it we're gonna charge you extra$50.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Instead of, you know, one of the things that we're gonna do.

Honesty Up Front With Services

SPEAKER_00 1:04

And the buyer's like screw y'all, yeah, yes. Forget that. You guys said you do this, now you're not not doing it, and and you're gonna you wanna try to charge me extra money on top of what we had already agreed in the inspection agreement, because inspection agreements are supposed to be signed before you go out there. So anyway, we went out there, or I did, placed, placed the radon, did the uh sewer scope, but it just amazes me, and and I got all done that that day. I mean radon's two days, but but yeah, that that's a normal process. Went back out, picked up that radon monitor already. Life is good, and and I picked up three other radon monitors that day, and then play and then placed another test somewhere else. So we we've been busy, but it kind of blows my mind how often you'll hear of companies say they'll do something, but then with that once they get out there, they're gonna drop the ball or change things a little bit to try and get trying to eke out more money out of the clients, or I don't know, maybe they're just too lazy to drive back to Dayton to get to get their their radon test.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

If you're not gonna do it, don't say you're going to.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Well, we've done that before. Like I say, Cleveland, like listen, we can go up there and do an inspection.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

But we can't do the radon. But we tell them up front. Like we don't sit here and play games with them and go, listen. You know, we'll we'll come up and we'll do the radon and we'll do all this, and then we get up there and we're like, ah, psych, we're not gonna do the radon. You need to find someone else. That's unprofessional.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

I it it it screams a little bit of desperation. That goes go go go do this part, and then if it doesn't pay, at least we got this part done.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Right. And and that's that's not what the client wants, that's not what their need was. You you need to take care of the client.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

There's some groups on Facebook where I'll see uh somebody will say, Hey, I need a home inspector. Who who do you recommend? And you'll see like a couple companies. It seems to be constantly the same companies going, me, me, then they'll name themselves re like repeatedly on the same post.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Oh, that's sad. And I'm like, it it it seems desperate. I understand you need to get your name out there. That's cool. Maybe say, hey, we we have openings this week. And that's nothing wrong with that, but man, just it's a scream desperation jumping. Which I get, I get it's it's it's it's a weird year so far. We're up this year above last year.

Desperation Marketing And Trust

SPEAKER_02 3:33

We've had some better weeks this year than we've had in years, so doing much better.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Yes, now habitation investigation is the way to go for a home inspection in Ohio. Trusted licensed home inspectors for your needs from radon to mold to warranty for a grade home inspection, you really can't go. Visit home inspections in Ohio.com.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

You always need to be able to keep uh time slots available, which we're we're looking at.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

We're having problems with. We're we can use a hire, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

We can use uh another home inspector. So if you know a home inspector that wants to join uh habitational investigation, please send them our way because we can use somebody. We definitely could. We want somebody licensed, Columbus, Dayton area, Delaware, Lewis Center, somewhere around we're gonna get a majority of their work. That's fine.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

That that that is going, and we have been busy in Dayton, which is we have been insanely busy in Dayton, which is yeah, crazy to me.

What We Offer And How We Work

SPEAKER_00 4:46

So anyway, some companies will drop the ball, and we make every effort to never drop the ball. Never ever. In fact, we do more things than most other home inspection companies do.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

I think that's from our social work background. And a lot of our inspectors feel the same way about taking care of clients, so it works well.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Well, the way we we would find inspectors is they'd have to have like a service mentality.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

I mean, because you this and this this is where you're you're taking care of the client. Every client is gonna be a little bit different. They all have concerns about the house or the Some have more skills than others. Yeah, some have more concerns, fewer skills than than others, but just because you you're skilled doesn't mean you want to take on the work of a banged up house.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Right.

Pools And Hot Tubs In Real Life

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So they want to know information about the house, and that's how that's how we provide services doing um thorough inspection, taking our time doing it, get the report out later on that same day, usually that that night, and then of course we can do radon, mold testing, VOC, air quality testing. We do chimney scope, sewer scope. Yes, yep. We are pretty much your one-stop shop for pretty much everything you would need.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Except for septic inspections.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yeah, except we don't do that. That's a county health department, they'll tell you who they recommend for that. We could even do hot tub and pools, but the pool, dude, it has to be de-winterized. I had somebody want me to do an inspection the other day, it was still winterized.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

The cover's still on it, the pipes no water in the pipes.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Um, if there was water in the pipes, I don't know, dude. It got down. It would have been free. It got down like 20, 29 degrees the other day. That's how you that's how you break filters.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

By having them full of water when they freeze and expand. Just like the water expands and pushes can push in your foundation, it can pop out a filter on a pool and cause lots of damage.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

The best thing to do for a full pool is to see who winterized it if a company came out and did it and talk to them and get their records on the pool because they've probably serviced it. So that's that's your in your best interest.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Oh, yeah, because they and they have records of how they're doing it. Now, people are servicing themselves, the homeowners, I get it. I do too. It's not it wouldn't be rocket science to do that, but it matters do you have the equipment and the time and the desire to do it, especially if you're selling your house. Do you really at this time of year do you really want to de-winterize your pool and then you're never going to use it yourself?

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Well, and then not only that, but like it's not cheap to haul water in to fill it up. Whether you're on, you know, like a well water or something, you're you're most people have fire trucks haul in water to fill up their pool.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah, how much we had somebody who filled a pool up just so we can inspect it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

It was between 500 and a thousand, but I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Okay, to fill the pool up.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

To fill the pool up, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Okay. So it it is.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

It's because the client was freaking out about it and they decided that they would go ahead and fill it up.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah. So to me, a pool is like one of the things you you love the day you get it, and you love the day that you get rid of the thing because it's just a maintenance issue.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

But you never even knew how to do the hot tub. So you are so good at it. You are so good at it. I know.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

I I admit I did have trouble maintaining the chemical balance in the hot tub, which is why the next one we get is gonna be salt water. It's gonna be saltwater. In fact, we should start looking for it. We should start looking for one. I know you want one.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

I want one for wintertime where I can sit out in the snow.

Staying Neutral And Keeping Perspective

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yes. That was that was the best. That was so cool. In the hot tub while it's snowing outside. And you're just sitting there nice and warm, here comes snow come down your face. So nice. That was that was cool. So, anyway, if you are a home buyer or an agent and you need inspections done, like you're not doing the silly stuff of waving the home inspection, give habitation investigation a call because we we will not drop the ball. We try and get everything done quickly for the parties involved, and and that that's about it, really. We do thorough job, and we're not gonna screw anybody anybody over. We don't man, we're we're not like Chicken Lille, we're not gonna scream the sky is falling, the sky is falling. The foundation is caving when it's just a little crack.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

So we'll keep things in perspective.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

We're we're not going to get hired if we're drama queens and we're going and making mountains out of molehills. It it is what it is. You let the client make the decision. They're the ones that knows their skills, the they know their friends, they know who they can bribe with beer and pizza to come and help do stuff. Yes, you know, that it is what it is, and that's exactly what we tell people. This is what's going on. You guys need to make your choice, talk it over with your agent.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Home inspectors truly are the neutral party in the whole real estate transaction. So we got paid to inspect. We don't get paid based upon if it sells or not.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Right.

Wrap Up And Final Invite

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Truly impartial. So I think that's it for this one. Thank you, everybody.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Bye. Bye bye.