The Neighborhood Realtor

Deep Dive on Using Home Inspections to Close More Deals — Nick Wright, KY

December 05, 2023 Matt Muscat

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The Neighborhood Realtor

Dec 05, 2023

Matt Muscat

In this episode of The Neighborhood Realtor podcast, we dive deep into the world of property inspections with a true industry expert. Our guest is not just any property inspector; he's someone who started his journey with a deal on his very first day in the industry and has since grown his brand to become synonymous with excellence in property inspections. This episode has marketing ideas for agents, inspection tips, and ways to partner with your inspector or home expert. We love talking to true entrepreneurs like Nick!

Join us as we uncover the remarkable story behind his rise to success, from humble beginnings to inspecting over 2,000 properties each year. Discover the marketing strategies he employed to set himself apart from the competition, including targeting untapped markets.

But it's not all about personal success—our guest also shares valuable insights into the latest inspection trends and how realtors can partner with inspectors to add significant value to their clients. If you're a real estate agent looking to enhance your services and provide top-notch experiences for your clients, this episode is a must-listen.

Tune in now to gain a fresh perspective on property inspections and learn how to build more meaningful partnerships in the real estate industry. Don't miss out on this episode filled with invaluable tips and stories from The Neighborhood Realtor podcast!

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The Neighborhood Realtor is proudly sponsored by Treadstone Funding and Neighborhood Loans. For more tangible tips in real estate marketing, check out Matt's book, The Tangible Action Guide for Real Estate Marketing available on Amazon.
🔑 Treadstone Funding: https://www.treadstonemortgage.com/
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🔑 Real Estate Marketing Guide: https://www.amazon.com/TAG-Tangible-Action-Guide-Marketing/dp/1698339747
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1:00:03

(upbeat music)You cangenerateas manycrappybuyerleadsonlineas youwant, butif youdon'thave thereputationwhereotheragentswant tochoose toacceptyourofferand workwith you,you'vewastedyourtime.Heyeverybody, welcometo theshow.Superexcitedtoday. Wehave a,we havekind of adifferentflavor,right?Like ifweusuallygovanillatoday,we'regoingstrawberry.I flewdown toAustin,Texas.Theseguys knowI like totravelfor a onedayconference. Ipresentedto homeinspectors,not my,not mynormalbrand.UsuallyI'mtalkingto realestateagentsandlenders.But it wasreallyinterestingbecause Ithink thehomeinspectionindustry,you know,foryears andyears andyears,it'sbeen,it's beena littlesleepy,butthere's alot of,I'velearnedthatthere's alot ofinspectionagenciesaroundthecountrythat arereallychangingthings uprightnow. AndI met,had theopportunityto meetNick andhis team, NickWright,owner ofRightChoiceProperties,especiallyinLouisville,Kentucky,and someof thesurroundingareas.And Ilearnedfromtheseguys,like Ihad somanypages ofnotesafterhearingNick andhis teamtalk ofsomeof thethings thatthey'redoing,not justto markettowardsrealtors,but someof thedirect toconsumerstuff andsome justdifferentways thatthey'vegrowntheirmarketshare in thecommunity.So Nick,welcometo theshowtoday. Thanksforjoiningus. Thankyou forhavingme, Matt. It'sapleasureto behere. Solet's, let'sjuststart. Wealwayslike tostartwith likesome realnumbersso thatpeoplecan getyourcredibilityandhopefullytheystickaroundfor theshow. Andthenwe'regoing togo intoyouroriginstory andthenwe'regoing togo intokind ofwhatyou'redoingright nowtoprovidepeoplekind ofthe, the,thecontextof wherewe'regoingtoday. SoNick,how, whatkind ofproductionare youguysdoing?How manypropertyinspectionsdid youdo in a2023? Weare ontrack forend of2023 tohit justover 2000propertyinspections,includingresidentialandcommercialproperties.So we'resuperexcitedaboutthat forthisyear. Soobviously,you know,propertyinspectorshave alittlebit morebandwidththan yourtypicalrealtor,right?Like so,so highproducingrealtorthat weusuallyhave onthe show,they'redoingbetweena hundredand 500sales peryear.Maybelendersare doingbetween200 and athousandsales per yearfor thehomeinspectionindustry,2000, howmanyinspectorsdoes ittake tofacilitatethatlevel ofbusinesswithstilldeliveringthequalitythat youall give?We havegrownthis yearto sevenfull-timeinspectors.Well, onepart-time,but yeah.So it'sseveninspectorsto beable totake onthat,thatproductivity.And it'sjustprovidingus thatquickturnaroundservicewith the,with thestaffthat wehave onboard.So, Imean,those aresomeprettybignumbers.And Iimagineyouprobablyhave thenumberonemarketshare foranyinspectionagency inyour, inyourgeneralarea. Socongratson,congratsonthatgrowth.Thankyou.Thankyou. Sohow theheck didyou endup inthis, inthisindustry?So Imean, weall gotinto itin weirddifferentways, buthow didyou endup in ourlovelyrealestateinspectionindustry?So mypersonalbackgroundiscommercialconstruction.Mygrandparentsare mygrandfathersand mydad allinconstructiongrowingup. Soit's kindof in myheadto getinto theconstructionworld outofschool.But in2015, Ihad achange inmy careerand mywifeat thetime putthe ideain myhead tobecome ahomeinspectorand neverbeen anentrepreneurormarketeroranythinglike thatbefore. Iwas allaboutcorporate,corporatebusiness.But2015, Ijustdecidedto take aleap andstart myown LLCand startourinspectioncompany.Gotlicensedandaccreditedby theend of2015 andlaunchedit likelate2015. Andit's allgoneuphillfromthere.One ofthethings weweretalkingearlierthatfascinatedme, and Ithinkit's areallygood tieinto anyrealestateagentthatreallywants todo it, isthatbetweentheday thatyour wifeput thisidea inyour headand theday thatyou didyourfirsthomeinspection,it was aridiculouslyshortwindow oftime.Tell me,what alldid youdo andwhat wasthe timeframe?Because Ithinkpeopleneed to hearthis. SoI'll justtell thewholestory. Somy wife,she was ahairstylistat thetime. Iactuallygot laidoff froma smallfamilyownedbusinessandwasdevastated.Nothing Idid oranything.They toldme itwasn't myfault andstuff,butshe hadactuallycame homethe sameday thatI gotlaid off.And shehad cut awoman'shairthat dayas along-termclient ofhers, herand herhusbandowned ahomeinspectionbusiness.And theyweretalkingabout howgreat ofa homeinspectorI wouldbe. Andshe camehome thatday and Ibrokethe newsto her.And shewas like,what asmallworldactuallytalked tothiswomantoday.Andshethoughtyou'd bea greathomeinspector.And Iliterallygot onGoogleimmediatelyandGoogledtraits ofa homeinspector.And itdescribedmy entirecareerandbackgroundto tea.And I waslike,this islike aperfectcookiecutterdescriptionof likemy entirecareerthus far.And lightclickedon in myhead. AndI waslike, I'mjustgoing totake theleap anddo this.Came upwith ourLLC name,sketchedout alogo thatevening.Thefollowingday,reachedout to amarketingcompanyand hadthemdesignthe logoand stuffandactuallyfound aschool togetaccreditedfor beinga homeinspectorstartedthefollowingweek. SoI thinkI gotlaid offon aThursdayandstartedtheschoolthefollowinglikeWednesday,completedthatschool ina week ortwo thatit tookand thentook mynationalexam. Iwaslicensedwithinprobablythreemonths, Iwouldsay. Andwhen wewerespeakingearlier,I wastalkingaboutlikeimmediatelyjuststartedworkingmy sphereofinfluenceof familyandfriends Iknewin theindustryrightafterthat. Andhow likeonce you,once youhad yourlicense,how longbeforeyouhad yourfirstdeal? Dayone.Duringtheprocessof theschoolandtrainingandeverything,I wasputtingtheputtingthe wordout thereto myspherethat I'min theprocessof doingthis.I will belicensedvery soonandstuff.Just wantto letyou allknow. I'dlove theopportunitytoget somebusinessfrom you.And thenday onethat Iwaslicensed,I waslikelettingpeopleknow. Andactually,I think Ihad oneor twoinspectionsthe veryfirst dayI hadlaunchedit. So Ithinkthisis huge,right? Solikeobviouslytheinspectionsaredifferentthanshowingsomeone30houses andgetting asale,right?Like veryfewrealtorsaregetting acloseddeal ontheirfirstday. Butwhatdoesmatchover toreallyany salesindustryis thatyou tookthe timewhen youweretraining,which isin theorylike deadtime, andyoumarketedto yoursphereand kepttheminformedand madethem partof yourprocess.You kindof gotyou madethem feelinvestedand yougot themexcitedabout it.I thinkthis issomethingthatrealtorscould dobetter.This issomethingthatlenderscould dobetter aswell.Becausewhenwe'retraining,whenwe'redoingthings,it'sallencompassing.And wefeellike, oh,we can'tgo tomarketuntilwe'refullydone.But thenwhathappensis youget doneand thenyou sitaroundtwiddlingyourthumbsfor alongperiod oftime toget thosefirstcoupleclients.And thatis thetoughpart. Insomecompanies,real estate,especiallysome ofthe big,bigbrokerages,it canalmost belikedeath bytrainingbecauseyou gothroughhundredsandhundredsof hoursoftraining.And thenyou maybehave someknowledge,but norealworldknowledge,but youstilldon'thave apaycheckcomingin. And Ithinkthat'swhy thefailurerate isso highforcommissionsalespeoplebecausetheynever getthe ballrollingand theyneverfeelconfidentenough inorder togo outand putthemselvesoutthere. SoI guessthat'slessonone. Thefasteryou cando thatwithconfidence,fasteryou'regoing toget thatfirstdeal inanyindustrythatyou'rein. Ilovethat.So howdid youbuildthattrust?You werenew. Soyou hadexperienceinconstruction.You wereveryknowledgeable. Yoursphereknewthat. Buthow didyou, whatwere yourtacticsto go outanddevelopbusinesstobusinessrelationships?Obviouslyfor you,that'sprobablyrealtors.That'sprobablylenders,insuranceagents, a littlebit ofdirect toconsumer.Obviouslyrealtorsneed tobuildrelationshipswith allkinds ofindustryconnectionsto getleads.But howdid youdo that? Becauseit'seasier said than done.So Ireally,from dayone, Iwas liketrying tolet myexperienceshine asacontractorin thepast. Ithinkthat goesa longway inthe homeinspectionindustry,havingthathands-onknowledge,hands-onexperience.So likeI've hadthat onall ofourmarketingmaterials,like 15yearsexperienceincommercialresidentialconstruction.I have topause youthere. Ihave topause youtherebecause this is something I've beentalkingabout foryears. Iwanteverysalespersonto stoptalkingabout thefact thatthey'renew.Stopsayingthat youhave twomonths ofexperience.Let'smarketyour pastexperienceand findsomethingthat'srelated.My firstday inrealestatemarketing,I'mpresentingaboutrealestatemarketingat abrokerageand Ihave oneday ofexperience.No, I hadjustgone tocollegefor sevenyears formarketing.I hadsevenyears ofmarketingexperience.I saidsevenyears ofmarketingand realestateexperience.Six yearsand 364days inmarketing,oneday inrealestate.You didthat. Idid that. Itclearlyworked.So ifyou'relistening,make sureto usethat pastexperience,whateverit was,customerservice,sales,realestate,homeexperience.Maybe youwere astay-at-homemom andyoumarketthat likehomeexperience, likemanaginga home,whateverit is,you needto figureout acreativeway tomarketthat in atrustworthyway torelate topeople. Ilovethat.Nick,sorry Icut youoff, butI had tolikedwell onthat.You aregood. No,I meanthat istrulylike Ithink howI soldpeople atthebeginningwas justlike mypersonality, justbeingoverlyfriendlyand stufflikethat, butalso justestablishingmycredibilitywith themandgivingthem apeace ofmind thatthey knowthat Iknow whatI wastalkingaboutwhen I'mbeing athome andeverything.So I knowyoumentionedthatmaybelet's saya yearafter youstarted,youstartedto runinto aproblemwithcapacity.I thinkthat's anissuethateveryonein ourindustry,assumingthat theydosomethingright,whetheronpurposeor bygettinglucky,runsinto. Sowalk usthrough,you builta levelofsuccess,and thenwhathappened?I got tothe pointas asinglemaninspectionfirmwhere Iwasbookedoutliterallytwo tothreeweeks inadvancedoing 17,18inspectionsa week bymyself.And thatdoesn'twork foranyrealtoras allthementorslisteningknow,so howdid you,you gotto thatpointafteryour, howdid youfix it?Well, Imean atthe timewhen Istarted,I thinklike theturnaroundtime bythe timeyou'reundercontractto get aninspection,you had15 days,which itworked atthe time,but themarketstartedchangingand itgot downto whereyou had14 days,10 days,sevendays,and thenCOVIDhappened.And youhad somepeoplewritingin theircontracts.We needaninspectiondone in48 hoursorsomething,but withmycapacity,it got tothe pointwhere Iwasactuallyliketurningaway workand Irealizedthat andI waslike, Ido notwant tolose myclienteleorrealtorsoranythinglike thatbecause Ican't getto themin adecentamount oftime.So Ithink itwas abouttwo yearsin,almostgettingburnt outdoing itall bymyself.And I waslike timetoonboardsomebody.I hired afamilyfriendthat I'veknown foryearsand hehad beeninconstructionandeverythingas well.And thenhe got tothe pointwhere hewas fullyatcapacityas welland itjust keptclicking.And I waslike,okay, Ihired mybrother-in-lawat thatpoint andall threeof us gotto that.So what'slike thenumber,like whatpercentcapacitydoes yourcalendarneed tobe atbeforeyou startinterviewing?So thisyear wejoined anawesomegroupcalledInspectorEmpireBuilder. They'vegot someawesomesystemsandtrainingto helpus growand scaleourbusiness,butlearninga lotthisyear,stuffthat Ishouldhave beendoingyearsago. Butwhenwe're atnow, we'rerealizingat 75 to80%capacityeachweek,we needto lookatonboardinganotherinspector.And aninspectionbusinessis kindofseasonalas well.So wetake thatintoaccount.Like ofcourse,theholidays,November,December,not toomanypeopleare outhouseshoppingandstuff. Sowith theslowertimerightnow,weactuallydid justonboardsomebodyelsebecausewe are at80%capacityfor theweek,but justgearingup forthe newyear andspringtimecomingup. And Ithinkwe'retalkingaboutbringingonanotherone inpreparationforspringtime.Realestatehas a lotofcontracts.I wantthispodcastto have asocialcontractas well.Here'swhat Ineed fromyou. Ifyou'relisteningto theshow andyou getsomethingvaluableout ofit, oryou hearsomethingthat youthinkthat'sawesome,I wantyou tosend me aDM onInstagram,or if youfind myemail,send itthat way.The morefeedbackthat Iget helpsme to puttogetherbettershows andattractbetterguests.So Ithink fora realestateagent,for asalesprofessionalin ourindustry,what Ithink youneed todo first,we talkall the timeabouthaving atimeblock. Ifyou firststartwith yourtimeblock ofmarketing,sales,andadministrativeactivitiesthat youhave toget done,like yournon-negotiables,you havethosehours inyourcalendar,and thenyou haveanother20 hourstimeblockedout forshowings,forlistingappointments,for listings,for theancillarywork thatpops upthat'sdealrelated.The samenumberapplies.For Nick, hementioned80% and75%.You're a realestateagent andyou lookat yourcalendartwo weeksout andyou'realready80%bookedwith allthatotherwork,it's timeto hirean admin.Werecommendstartingwith thetransactioncoordinator,moving onto anassistant,like afull-timeassistant.And thenafterthat, ifyou'restill at80%,stillprofitable,thosepeopleare busy,then youstart toaddbuyer'sagentsandthingslikethat. Butyou needto havethatmetricahead oftime sothat youcan spotthatbeforeit's toolate. Theminuteyoustartgettingtoooverlybooked,you can'thelpclientsandyou'rereferringit outfor ameager30%, it'stoo lateat thatpoint.That washonestlysomethingIstruggledwith,being asolo LLCowner.And itwas mybaby. Ididn'twant toletthingsgo. And Iwas like,I coulddo allthis, Icould doit all. Igot tothe pointI wasgettingso burntout andoverwork.And oneof thegreatestthings Ilearnedgrowingthroughourprocessis todelegate. Onceyou getto acertainpoint,startdelegating,find yourtransactioncoordinatoror anadmin orwhatever,thelittlestuffthat youcan hireout orsubcontractout orwhatever,do thatand takethat offyourplate soyou canshine anddo theimportantthingsthat youneed tobeworkingon.I lovethat. Sowe get toanotherpoint andwe get tolike,it's acrowdedmarket,right? Sohow manyotherinspectorsdo youthink arein yourmarket? Ijokinglysaw onsocialthat youguyscall itKentucky-anna,which Ithoughtwasclever.Yeah,it's amix ofKentuckyandSouthernIndiana.It's alltheLouisvilleMetro isa large,largemetroarea,SouthernIndiana.There's acouplelargercitiesdirectlyacrossthe riverfromthere. Sothey callitKentucky-anna. Butin ourmarketalone, Iwouldguessthatthere'sprobably,I wouldguesshonestly,over 200inspectorsin ourareaprobably.And howmanytransactionsdo youthink arehappeningin amonth?For otherinspectors?Bill, like,yeah, howmanypropertyinspectionsdo you thinkare takingplaceeachmonth in yourmarket?Oh, Ithinkright nowI waslookingat themarkettheotherday. Ithink wecurrentlyhavearoundlike8,000homeslisted,monthlytransactions,probablythree to4,000maybe. So200 plusinspectors,not everyhome hasaninspectionperformed,which isunfortunate.I mean,there's alot ofcompetition.I thinkRealtorsarefeelingthatright nowtoo. It'sa verycrowdedmarket.There'sprobably10,000Realtorsfor those8,000homes.And thetop 1% isprobablydoing a10th ofthatbusinessor 50thof thatbusiness.So how doyou standout in acrowdedmarket?What areyouruniquesellingpropositions?So I'vealwaysfrom dayone,we'vetakenpride inourmarketing,networking,stufflikethat.I thinkanyentrepreneurorRealtor,anybody,they needto dothatstuff. Ispoke toan agentyesterday,had acoffeemeetingwith himand I waslike,"Hey, areyou goingto thiseventnextweek?"And he'slike,"Oh, I don'treallylike todo thatkind ofstuff."And I'mlike,"Man, you gotto getyourselfoutthere." Iwas like,"Even ifit's aroom fullofRealtors,I waslike, "Gooutthere,make yourpresenceknown." Iwas like,"Get yourname outthere,but getyourbrand infront ofpeople."And I waslike,"You'llgrow yourbusinesseven ifit's withyourdirectcompetitorsandstuff."But wetake alot ofpride ingettingourselvesout therein frontof theRealtors,in frontof theconsumers.We go tolots ofnetworkingevents,tons of socialmediastuff.We're alwaysdoinggiveaways,contests,stufflikethat. ButI thinkhavingtheawarenessofourcompanyand beingseenkeeps usgrowing.If you'renot outthere,notgettingyourname outthere,you'renot goingto continueto growat all.Well, Ilike thattoo,becausepart ofanysalesperson'sjob is tobuildthatbrandawareness,not justforthemselvesand formarketing.I thinkthat'sthe bigmisnomer.Peoplethinklike,"Oh, Ineed tobuild abrand so thatI can getbusier."But theotherside ofit is ifyou're inthe typeofbusinesswhere youneedsomeoneelse tohaveconfidencein you,that'sthereason tobuild thebrand.You needto havethatbrand sothat theRealtorthatdidn'tchoose touse youfor the homeinspection,the oneon theotherside of thetransaction,they seerightchoice onthere andthey haveconfidence.I thinkRealtorsneed torememberhow thisworkstoo,becauseyou'reonly asgood asyour lasttransactionand thepeoplethat areout thereand theirnames are in thecommunity,even iftheydidn'tdo themostsales,otheragentswill bemorelikely toacceptyouroffer.That is50% of thegame. Youcangenerateas manycrappybuyerleadsonline asyou want,but ifyou don'thave thereputationwhereotheragentswant tochoose toacceptyouroffer andwork withyou,you'vewastedyourtime.I lovethat youhave theexactsameexamplein yourindustry.What aresome ofyourotheruniquevalueprepositionsthatmaybeotherpeople inyourindustryor yourmarketaren'tofferingrightnow? Weare verygood withtechnology,inspectortooltechnology,stufflikethat,our softwaretop ofthe linetechnology.Try tomake itall asuserfriendlyaspossible. I'veseen tonsof ourcompetitorstuff, alot ofhomeinspectors.When Igot intotheindustry,more oldschoolstuck tothestandardsofpracticeandstuff. Iwas like,I want todo betterthanthat andtry toevolvewhateverI thoughta homeinspectorwas or ahomeinspectionis. Iwantedto makeit like aninteractiveexperiencewith theclient. Alot ofhomeinspectors,when Igot intoit,they'relike, I don'twantanybodythere. I don'twant theRealtorthere. I don't want theclientthere. Ijust wantto do myjob andget outof there,send thereport. Ichose togo aboutit adifferentway. Iwas like,I want tobe alearningexperiencefor theRealtor,for theclient. Iwant toteachthemthingswhilewe'reinspecting,show themthedefectsanddeficienciesthat wefound andexplaineven howto repairsome of thatstuff.Now,we're atthe pointwith ourinspectorswhenthey'reon siteandstuff,we'reshowingtheclientwheremainwatershutoffsare.If thehusbandor wifewere notat homeat thetime,bothpeopleknow howto goshut thewateroff inthe caseof anemergency.We showthem howto changetheirfurnacefilters,stufflikethat.Just typicalstuff youshouldknow howto dothat youraveragepersonmay ormay notknow.Just loveteachingandansweringquestions.Whenwe'refinishedwith theinspection,we sitdownwith theclientand theagent onsitebecausewe want toeducatethe agentas wellto makethembetterwhen outshowingproperties.They'remoreknowledgeableandexperienced.I thinkthat's agreatsellingpropositionforRealtorsas wellto learnand knowwhat weknow.Whenyou'reoutshowing aproperty,you maysee a30-year-oldAC unitoutsideorsomethingand thatRealtorknowsin theirhead,"Oh, thiscouldcost$6,000,$7,000.We needto takethis intoaccountwhenmakingouroffer andstufflikethat."You justblew mymind onthis onebecausemy wheelsarespinningrightnow onideas forwhat ourcompanycan offerto ourclientsin thefuture.Here's mytakeawayrightnow. Ifyou're aRealtorlisteningto thisrightnow, callyour homeinspector, yourlocalhomeinspectorwho youpartnerwith andhave thempartnerwith themongettingthe topfivelist ofbasichome-relatedskillsthat youcouldgive toyourclients,educationthat youlearnedfrom theinspectorthatyou'regoing totake, putinwriting,put invideo. Maybeit'svideowith yourhandyinspector.You'regoing togive thatto everysingleclientwhen theybuy ahouse toempowerthem. Ifyou're aRealtor,addingthatextra setof valueisabsolutelyhuge. Ithinkwhen mywife andI boughtour firsthouse, wewere 22,we haveno ideawhat we'redoing. Wewere justliving in anapartmentand ourfurnacetotallywent outthe firstcold dayof theyear.Called myRealtor.Realtorforwardedme to theinspector. Theinspectorcame by,took alook atthe homehe hadjustinspecteda monthago,found theissue,told mewhat todo. I waslike,"Okay,we gotthis."But itwas allthosetrustedpeople.If you'rea Realtorlistening,I thinkyouneed tofigureout howto addthatextrahomevalue to yourclientsand thenmarketit.Becauseif youmarketthat, Iguaranteeyou're going tobe in thetop.You're going tobe in averyshortlist ofagentsofferingthoseservicestoclientsrightnow. Ithink wetalkaboutcontentandeducation.I know,Nick, youguyscrush iton socialmediawitheducation.If you'rea realestateagent,we don'tneed to justeducatepeople onhow greatof a timeit is tobuy.We needtoeducatethem onthingsabouthouses.Talk toyourinspector,get someideas. Ifyou'renotworkingwith aninspectorthat'swillingto dothat, Iguarantee.I know acouple ofin-goingrepresentativesthat are,you canreach outto me.There'ssomepeople inthe IEPnetwork.But Ithinkit's ahuge,hugeopportunity.Yeah. Ifthatinspectorwantsyourbusiness,reach outto them.We taketime. Wedoprobably25 ofthese ayear, butwe hostandconduct amockinspectionwherewe'llreach outto abrokerageand wesay, "Doyou allhave avacantlistingcurrentlythat wecan takeyourwholebrokerageto?" Weinvitethem tocome foranabbreviatedinspection,but weshow themtheentirething,point outdefectsand stuffthat theycan lookfor,typicalthings tolook for.Everybodywalksawaylike, "Ohmy God,we justlearnedso muchfrom thisand we'reallbetterfor itnow." Butit's areallycoolexperienceand Ihighlyrecommendany agentreach outto theirinspectorand askto getsome helpwiththat.NeighborhoodRealtorpodcastisproudlymadepossibleby thesupportof oursponsors,TreadstoneFundingandNeighborhoodAlarms,twoamazingMidwestmortgagecompaniesthat nowhaveofficesallaroundthecountry.If you'rea realestateagentlookingtopartnerwith anamazinglender,DM me atMattMuskey88and I'llconnectyou withsomeonein yourmarket.If you'rea lenderand youwant tojoin therightmortgagecompany,DM me andI'llconnectyou aswell.Let'stalkabout theactualinspectionindustryand let'sgive theRealtorslisteningsometips.I'm like,what'schangedin theinspectionindustry?What'scoming?Whatthings dopeopleneed towatch outfor? Iknowthere'stechnology.I knowthere'ssome newtypes ofinspectionsthatforliabilityreasons,we needto startthinkingaboutoffering. Whatcouldgive usthe quickthreeminuteupdate? Technologyandstuff,we'rereallyadaptinga lot ofmoderntechnologystuffthat'snotnecessarilypart of astandardinspection.Our guyshavethermalimagingcameras.We havesewercamerasthat wecan do avisualinspectionof yoursewerlinegoingfromthe hometo thestreet. Aresituations,walk methroughin whatsituationsdoes thatneedto bedone in anormalhomeinspection?Believeit ornot, andI knowRealtorshate tohear,but werecommendit oneverysingleproperty.Some ofthe worstones thatwe'veencounteredon thesewerscopesactuallywerebrand newconstructionhomes.They putthe pipesin theground,backfillthe dirtandstuff,and theymay havenotcompacteditcompletelyandstuff.You gotthatequipmentrunningaroundthehouse. Wefoundbrokendamagepipes,collapsedpipes onbrand newhomes,believeit ornot. I'llgive youa shoutout onthat one.I'm in GrandRapids,Michigan,and in myneighborhoodofbeautifulnew buildhomes,70% ofthe homeshad pipesunderneaththehomes.Withinthreemonthsof movingin, thepipeswerecrunched,clogged, andeverythingfrom all thelandscapingwork andheavyequipmentthat wason there.Almostevery twohomes hada shared$10,000bill toget thosefixed. Iwish wewouldhave hada pipesewertypeinspectionon thatbecausewe would havehad thebill topay forit. Yeah,no, ithappenedon ournewconstructionhome aswell. Ithink itwas thebeginningof thesecondyear oflivingthere.Our sideyardstartedgettingvery wetand Ihad asewerscopeperformedand ourpipe hadcollapseddirectlyoutsidethehouse.Let'stalkaboutrentalproperties.Whatextrainspectionsneed tobe donein those?I've reada lot inthe newsrecentlyand Iknow wejokedabout ita littlebit, butjust someseriousstuff.What dorealtorsneed toknow? Icame upwith theidea lastyear. We'retrying toevolveand standoutfrom ourcompetitionstuff. Ithought arental orAirbnbinspectionwasnecessary.I toldyouearlier,I waswatchingthe newslastnight andthey weretalkingaboutmultipleAirbnblawsuitsgoing oncurrentlywithcarbonmonoxidedeaths.I'm like,that justcompletelysolidifiedit in mymindthat thiswas agooddecision.Whatwe'reofferingwith thatis moreof asafetycomplianceinspection.It's aninspectionwe'll gothroughand justmake sureyou'vegot yoursmokedetector,carbonmonoxidedetector,fireextinguishers,like anexit planposted. Juststuffwhere ifyou haveyourattendantor ashort-termrentercomingin,somebodycan't getinjuredoraccidentallydieorsomethinglike thatand thenyou'reliablefor it. It'sgoing tohelpreduceliabilitywithpropertyowners,propertymanagementcompanies.I justthinkit's agreatserviceas well.I lovethat. Youmentionedwhat'scoming inthefuture.One ofthebiggestfearswhenpeoplebuy,Ijokinglycall themusedhouses,likenon-newbuilds,is thatyou justdon'tknowwhat'sbehindthosewalls.Even thebestinspectorscurrentlycan'ttell youwhat theycan't seewithoutdestroyingthathome.What doyou thinkis comingin thefuture?Well,currentlywe haveto adhereto anon-invasiveinspection.It's avisualinspection.Thetechnologyis therealready,I think.It's justgoing tobe amatter oftimeuntilI'm afirmbelieverwe'regoing tohave sometype ofhandheldcamera orsomething.Theinfrared'salreadythere andyou canactuallyseebehindwalls,see coldhotspots. Ithinkwe'rejustgoing tohavesomethingwhere youcould doa wholehousescan. We weretalkingabout theother daywhere youhave asmarthomewhereyourfurnace,your airconditioner,yourelectricpanelsalltied intosome typeof thingwith anapp. Ifsomethingwere togo wrong,itnotifiesyou andtells youwhat'sgoing onwith yourhome. Idon'tthinkwe're toofar awayfromhomes andtechnologybeinglikethat. Ifwe candetectcancerthemomentit'spresentin thebody,why can'twe knowthatthere's a smallbehindthe wall? Itdoesn'tseem thattoo farfetched.Well,Nick,this wasawesome.I thinkwe got alot ofvaluefromlearningon somecrossoverthingsthat workin bothindustries,but alsosometangibletips thatrealtorscan takehome.Ifsomeonewants toconnectwith aninspectorwho trulyknowstheirstuff orhas anygeneralquestionson how togrow abusinessbeing anentrepreneur,how couldthey geta hold ofyou?Well,telleverybody.Make therightchoice,first ofall. Youcan findus onInstagram,Facebook.Our tagis atyourrightchoice.Look usup onthere. Wegot someawesomecontentandstuff.We've gottwo greatmarketingpeople onstaff. They'realwaysout theremaking uslooklike rockstars andgivingappreciationto thosethat keepus fed.Well,I'll giveyou onefinalshoutout. Youguys have anabsolutelystellarsocialmediapresencethat'scomingfrom me.I thinkif you'rein realestateand mostof thepeoplethatyou'refollowingare alsootherrealtors,check outRightChoiceHomeInspectionon socialmedia,becausesome ofthethingsthat theyarepostingarethingsthat youcan copy,you cansteal,and makeyour own.I thinksometimeswe justneed tolook atslightlydifferentindustriesin orderto findcontentthat youcan makeoriginalfor yourmarket.Everybody,thanksfortuning intoday.Please,please,pleasetake amoment.Leave areviewfor us on thepodcaststore sowe canget moregreatguestslike Nick.Everyone, thanksfortuning intoday.Thanksforhavingme.

The Neighborhood Realtor

Deep Dive on Using Home Inspections to Close More Deals — Nick Wright, KY

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