Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Why That "Perfect" Flip Is A NIGHTMARE (Jake Bowling Warning)
43 Plays1 month ago
A fresh coat of paint can hide a lot of sins, and in this episode, home inspector Jake Bowling pulls back the curtain on what sellers don't want you to see.
Host Matt Rhine sits down with the owner of White Oak Home Services to expose the terrifying reality of "flipped" homes—including one property where severe structural termite damage was completely hidden behind new wood. Jake explains why the industry standard of "representative sampling" is failing buyers and why he insists on testing every single outlet and switch to protect his clients. From the silent dangers of radon gas to the costly mistakes of skipping sewer scopes, this episode is a masterclass on how to protect your biggest investment from becoming a money pit.
📍 Serving Baltimore, Towson, and surrounding Maryland areas
🏡 Matt Rhine Group | Real Estate Experts
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode is sponsored by First Home Mortgage.
00:00:08
Speaker
where sometimes you've really got to look. so Some people are deceitful. I did one where they pinned up all new wood, like it was like plywood. yeah And I was like, that's suspicious. So I pull it down. I don't care.
00:00:20
Speaker
I'll pull, I rip it down. Nothing but termite damage. The entire main structural beam had been chewed through all the way across. And they they just encapsulated and completely hit it. And then i was like, all right, now what else needs to be found? I don't abide by that at all. I test every outlet, every light switch, every fixture in the home. If it operates, turns on. right Even if it sits there, I'm looking at it.
00:00:50
Speaker
Hi, everybody. This is Matt Ryan on another episode of All Roads Lead to Real Estate. And I have a guest here who I am exceptionally embarrassed to admit. Just a moment ago, he informed me a couple of years ago you were on the podcast when we had just started. I have been here before. you And boy, does this that's implies a few things about how horrible my memory is and how crazy busy we both probably are. Hey, busy is good. Well, welcome back. I was going to welcome you for the first time, but now i'm go to have to welcome you a second time. And um man, time flies. That's all I have to say about that.
00:01:24
Speaker
Yeah, it does. A lot has happened in the past couple of years. A lot has happened. And there's a reason why I wanted to invite you here. And I think... I guess we'll get right into it, while have anything, now that you're a veteran of the podcast here, Jake. The person that have here is Jake Bolling, and he came, I guess, originally as a licensed home inspector. Now, you've branched out in a lot of ways. That's what a lot has changed. And I will tell you, one of the consistencies that it's never changed for me are people's reluctance to either ask questions related to the home itself, the process, and all of the things and the half-truths about the process. And the reason why it is so valuable to have a home inspector in a conversation like this is I want to alleviate some of the initial concerns people have
00:02:19
Speaker
and you are uniquely positioned for that. It's a reason why I refer you. I've used you personally. I recommend you to clients. It's a whole thing. So you're at the top of our referral list. So congratulations, Jake. Thank you, thank you. I do appreciate that. And and Jake is the owner-operator of a home inspection company, um and it's called White Oak.
00:02:36
Speaker
And White Oak's website is whiteoakhs.com. I'm assuming that's home services? Yep. So, whiteoakhs.com. And so, what makes Jake unique is that he used to work for a larger firm, a good firm. I still use that firm. And Jake was one of the standouts at at the company, and I really enjoyed working with you. And and your perspective is is a little different because you're also a licensed Maryland home improvement contractor.
00:03:03
Speaker
And you have license also to do HVAC. yep And so you have a ah better, I think, general, wider perspective than some other agent, not agents, but other inspectors I've worked with.
00:03:16
Speaker
and And so i think today we need to go through some things that I think are the are the the items that people want to know about. I want to save people money because some of these things that that we get into could so easily be avoided.
00:03:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think a lot of the fear can be avoided. I think that's my um my biggest goal is just to inform you on the house. So many inspectors just come through, i want to throw all the knowledge at you, tell you all the defects, scare the heck out of people.
00:03:43
Speaker
I'd say most of the times I see a deal go to failure or to not go to close is yeah at the inspection. It can be. and so you know I'll say, I've been to so many home inspections, it's it's easy. I have to like stop myself from trying to answer questions a licensed home inspector should answer because I'm not licensed in that department. No, but you know not. You know enough to be dangerous.
00:04:05
Speaker
That's the scary part. I know just enough, but I know the education that you guys have to consistently do. not Not only that, but it's your reps. You just already finished two or three today, and we're recording at three in the afternoon. Yeah, I had two inspections this morning. yeah that was my I have six this week. yeahs It's been good, but you know I'm in a lot of homes. You're in a lot of homes. so um so Basically, Jake, what I would like to go through and what I'm hopeful to do is to dispel some of these traditional concerns people have. I want to walk through what a home inspection is and what it's not. and um I know, because I'm a big ah believer in leveraging artificial intelligence and all these platforms that everybody's starting right to get more experience with- AI is wonderful. AI can be wonderful and terrifying at the same time because I have people coming to me trying to educate me on what we should do. and I'm like, just so you know, ChatGPT isn't always right every time. It's often wrong, especially when you get specific. Right. and so I think we need to use it as a tool. so I want to get into that, but also understand. I think it it should help you make a better decision, but ask better questions is how I would think about it. Yeah, it's a wonderful tool, but you got to be a little careful with it for sure. you got to be careful with Especially, ah there's apps now that you can walk through the home and do a home inspection with AI.
00:05:22
Speaker
Oh, wow. And that's terrifying. Yeah. saw that online and I'm like, okay, so that's how you miss 80% of things wrong with the home, but go right ahead. Well, and I say asterisks next to all these things because I think what is available today is not going to be what the quality is going to look like in five years, for example. Oh, Give it time and it'll be crazy. We're all replaced eventually, but not yet. We still have some a little bit of value. Hopefully, I'm safe. Hopefully, I'm safe. We're safe for now. so so Jake, before I get into the nitty gritty, which I think people will be find fascinating that are either considering buying or selling, but um just the process in general. but I want to first go over a little bit about who you are. I know you're a Baltimore native. so Just tell everybody kind of where where you're from and a little bit of your backstory. Yeah, born and raised Baltimore area, mostly Bel Air growing up, and then moved to Parkville for several years. um Went to John Carroll High School. That's a local school. a lot of people know that one. yeah um Started college, decided it wasn't for me. yeah
00:06:23
Speaker
There was no ROI on that one. yeah So I dropped out, went to trade school, ah was in HVAC for about six years, got my journeyman's in that. And then I moved to home inspecting and then I was a home inspector for probably about a year and a half and then decided to get my contractor's license. Right. Because I saw a lot of the work that was being done. Yes. And it was kind of terrifying. and I was like, hey, i can I can do a better job than that. Yeah. um So then I got my MHIC license, started doing that on the side while working for a larger home inspecting firm.
00:06:52
Speaker
Then finally got to a big enough size where i was like, all right, time to go out on my own. right So I've been doing home inspecting and general contracting for the past year. yeah and It's been good. But ah some of the sort other certifications I have, have septic inspecting certified, well yields, pre-drywall, so that's like structural before all the insulation drywall goes up for new builds, um mold certified, radon certified.
00:07:17
Speaker
Pretty much if it's in a home, i have some kind of certification for it. Right. Well, I mean, and I give you all the credit in the world. ah It's hard enough to be a ah you know a home inspector because it's challenging. I'm there, and some of the questions you get asked, i always say it's the parents. If there's a parent involved, boy, is that challenging. Oh yeah, when dad shows up, it's a good time. but It can be challenging because it's like the type of questions you get can be really interesting um and aggressive at times. but sos You're dealing with people, not just homes, and that is everyone yeah doesn't understand that. Dealing with people is probably the the best and worst part of it. um I love looking at homes. I can be at that home all day long, but I don't have to convey information to that home without terrifying them. yeah without alarming them or anything like that. I'd just like to say I'm giving you a thorough evaluation of the home. It's like a physical, except the house can't lie yeah about and things it's been neglecting. ah so that's That's pretty much it. yeah so you know so There are times where we have to waive a formal inspection in advance. so Even in those instances, I still have people do a home inspection. I know you've done them for some of my clients.
00:08:25
Speaker
Because if you have 10 offers and you have to be super competitive, there are signs that you can do like go through when you're walking and touring a home that can determine... You can't negate the risk altogether ever right when you skip an inspection. And quite frankly, and you'll admit this, even with an inspection, you can't possibly say that it nothing will ever go wrong. um right That's not true either. Yeah. so i mean When people wave inspections, it always does concern me a little bit, but I am an inspector. But for certain homes, it is you just do what you got to do. But getting that inspection is key because we'll go through it with fine tooth comb. yeah We're going to look at everything, even give you all the little maintenance recommendations. And that way you just get a thorough evaluation of your home. It's unbiased. That way you know everything, every outlet that's not functioning, every little crack where moisture can enter the home, or lifted shingle, all that. Yeah, it's a very large report. There's photos of of every aspect, so you don't have to remember anything because oftentimes buyers, they're there, they're overwhelmed. That's the first thing I say actually. It's like, hey, i'm going to throw a lot of information at you, yeah but there's going to pictures and descriptions of everything I say to you. It'll all be in that report.
00:09:31
Speaker
Don't worry about it. I call it the anti-listing photos because the listing photos are wide angle, glossy, and beautiful. These are close-ups of every imperfection. Yeah, I'm only going to show you the things that are, in quotation marks, wrong yes with the home. But I don't even like to say that. I just like to say things that need to be fixed or maintenance or adjusted. Right. Yeah, majority of the time, it's not a deal necessarily killer, but occasionally that's true.
00:09:55
Speaker
but um But even if you... What I was saying is in the event you do choose to waive it to get the home that you want, if it's super competitive, you still I still recommend you get a home inspection immediately after settlement so you have this list, because I think of it the same way you do. That it's like a physical for your home. You should do it once in a while. The sad part is nobody does this unless they're transacting. At least I've never met someone. I would love to you know get on the market of telling everyone, saying, hey, everyone should get a home inspection every couple years, because i mean you should, if you're especially if you're not super handy. um I've done it for a couple people, but people only really think about it when comes time for sale.
00:10:30
Speaker
It's like testing your water quality or some of these other systems. you know you don't Most people aren't on top of it necessarily unless it's ah an actual issue. You have enough issues, right? With state of day, we all have our own problems. Absolutely. so I still recommend you do it, and then you then you know the order of operation, what to do for your home, and so forth. so um so that's That's great. and One of the aspects i just that that I love about you, i already hinted at it and you've described it, it's that a lot of larger companies that have a ton of employees, you might have one or two studs, if you will, that are there inside the company, but then you have a lot of other, what I call like junior inspectors. and I'm getting old here, so I've done this too many darn years. When I go in and I immediately can tell that this person doesn't have a ton of experience, and they're the quote unquote inspector, I get really scared. and Yeah, i mean, that inspector can make or break a home.
00:11:20
Speaker
like A little story was when my dad was selling his house, our house did not have that many things wrong with it. It was a 2002, but some inspector came in flexing his knowledge, terrified the buyer, canceled the sale, yeah all that good all the nine yards. But yeah I mean, it's it's your delivery. So that's why I try to be as unbiased as possible. I'm not there to put any emotion into anything. and right I'm just there to describe what's going on and I'll even tell you how to fix it.
00:11:44
Speaker
I can't tell you a price necessarily because there's some gray areas with that, but I can tell you exactly how who needs to fix it, how to fix it, um and if it's a major issue or not. And that was one of the questions I actually don't know this answer related to because you have all these licenses and you have multiple businesses now, which I congratulate you for. I love entrepreneurs and the struggle is real, but I love it. It's always there, but I mean, the joy is better. Yeah, so so what are you allowed to do and not do? For example, one of the things I hate about majority of, for example, the chimney inspection companies, they are the same inspectors that then say, oh, by the way, here's a quote for $7,200. I can fix it. How do you deal with that? no so There are some legalities around that. so If I inspect the home, I have to i would have to wait 12 months to do any repairs on the home, but I just have a flat standard. I don't do any work on any home I've inspected, just so there's no gray area and there's no overlap.
00:12:41
Speaker
um But a lot of times i get homes that people want to get a home inspection for presale. ah so that's i'll Explain what that means. so A lot of times, especially if the home is a little nicer or if people really want to good get good value for the home, they will do a home inspection before they list it for sale.
00:12:57
Speaker
Okay. ah So that way we can find all the defects, find all the issues that would get called out on an inspection, um and get those addressed ahead of time, so then you can get the full value of the home. And some people just like to make sure they're passing down a good home. Right. But that can be a little bit of a gray area, so that's not... I have two different things. I can do a full pre-list- That scares me, by the way. Yeah. That's not something I typically recommend. Do you know why a listing agent might not always recommend that? That's a disclosure nightmare. It's a disclosure. We are required by law if the seller and or the agent, or either one of us, right know about something, you have to disclose it. so get The act of getting an inspection, and I will say, as good as you are, there are others. I say like an appraisal. If you get three appraisals on your home, you're going three different values. oh That's the way that works. Every time. if i have three home inspections on my property, I will get three very different reports. Same house.
00:13:48
Speaker
And so that's what always concerned me. I love the idea of it. And I've seen people do like certified pre-owned home. Yeah. Yeah, it sounds so So don't do any of that. I have had asked people to have me do an inspection and throw a warranty on it. No shot. yeah There's too many variables on that, but a lot of nicer homes, or actually it's usually older older people selling their home who just want to make sure their home is in good condition sure to sell it. I come through. um If I do a full presale inspection where I do the entire inspection like i would ah like a purchase, I can't do any of the work. Got But I can also, I have a different service where I say, let me do a little bit of a walkthrough.
00:14:24
Speaker
Got it. These are some issues that I see in the home. If you take care of them, then I can do it, but it's not a full inspection. Got it. So you kind of got to dance that fine line, and I just haven't really been doing that dance. Luckily, I've been very busy with ah home inspecting, um so I'm just fully booked out with that for a little bit right now.
00:14:41
Speaker
Yeah, well, I i think the home inspection um ah area is is ripe because I think there's there's quite a few of them out there, but I don't know ah a lot that I feel passionately that I would want to recommend. So I think part of my job and any real estate agent that thinks, yeah highly of their services and what they provide to their client. you Part of, I think, my responsibility is to find professionals that I would use myself that I think are super knowledgeable, know their stuff, and are going to be able to convey it in a way that actually protects the client. and Some of these companies are so... I've seen so many horrible reports, and if people don't understand how serious I am about that, it's like sometimes you see it and it's criminal because people will choose, for example, to back out of a home that otherwise would be ideal Especially in a competitive market, which we find ourselves in now, the best of homes again, now we're in 2026, it's crazy competitive for the great homes. So it's like you could potentially lose an otherwise great house because someone didn't explain to you that it's a you know an $800 typical repair that is not the end of the world, you're good. you know Whereas sometimes it it legitimately is horrible and you need to be notified, but sometimes it's nothing. It's funny. I have to say, I feel bad when I know I'm about to say some information that might potentially kill the deal. and Then I'll think about it for probably like 10 minutes. All right, how do I want to word this? So it doesn't just scare them. They don't go running. Let me just address what's going on, yeah tell them what they need to be fixed, and then you can negotiate it. yeah Because that's where a lot of people get scared. They'll be at the home inspection. They'll see a lot of things come up, maybe a couple expensive things. I'm like, it's all right.
00:16:16
Speaker
Go to the negotiation table. Don't just run away because you saw a couple issues. Sit on them for a night or two. Yeah. And then talk to your agent, try to negotiate that out because sometimes you never know. That seller might be just willing to fix whatever that is. I'll tell you, you this is an a little weird thing. I had i i sold a home um years ago to someone and at the time the inspection went perfectly fine, all good. There was all virtually nothing we asked for. You recently did an inspection, same house, and I you know saw a different report come out of you than I saw before, because I remember, and you called out the electrical panel where the previous inspection company did not, and sure enough, we had an electrician come in to verify the panel, and it needed to be replaced. It was a true safety safety hazard, and the first inspector never noticed it, never noted it.
00:17:04
Speaker
it Does that make sense? was such a better and was it better protection for that new buyer. Well, I'm glad I caught it. Yeah. um As I try to catch everything, but you can't always. But I mean, things have changed over time, so I don't know when that house, when you had that previous piece inspection, but it also heavily depends on your inspector. um I've taken probably eight to 10 electrical courses. I met with an electrical company and I followed him for two days. That was especially when I was thinking about becoming electrician after I left HVAC. So I have a little bit more experience. I've worked in electrical panels. yeah I knew that one specifically because I went to replace um a breaker when I'm installing an HVAC unit. And I was like, oh, I got noted by the HVAC manufacturer that we can't put the breaker in this panel because... So I have a little bit more knowledge because I've worked in the panels.
00:17:51
Speaker
So yeah, if you have an inspector that's either new or doesn't like to do continuing education, doesn't like to check up on new codes or things that have been put out, they're going to be a little bit behind. Yeah, and and so yeah, this is all what it comes down to and as a consumer, if you're if you're listening, like You can't know all of these things, right? So you have to you hope and right you're relying on the expertise of someone that supposedly does this every day. Some people think they do know everything. And those are some of my favorite clients. I'm sure. Mine too. It can be good and bad because you get someone who's been a contractor their whole life and they might be the best carpenter in the entire world, but that doesn't mean you understand the electrical systems, right yeah the plumbing system, the HVAC. So they'll be hyper fixated on what they do. right And I'll be like, all right, you do that. You look at those things. I'm going look too, but I'll let i'll just tell you you're looking. for a little while, and I'm going to go look at some of the other important items. so yeah It's give and take with those people, but I always appreciate because they care. so Even if they're being annoying, even if they're being overbearing, and the inspection is the time to do that. you know You're not going to get another time to thoroughly go through the house and ask every single question you have. right That's why when I do my walkthroughs, every stage, so outside, basement, middle floor, top floor, i i am I'm asking, well do you have any questions? I was about to ask this question, you led right into it. So i want to kind of have you expand on that because if you've never bought a home or if you bought one, it was a long time ago, they might not be aware exactly what a home inspection is and what it's not.
00:19:18
Speaker
And so explain to someone, if I had hired you, I have a house under contract, what is the process look like? What do you do when you arrive? And walk me through what that experience would be. So, start to finish, when I get up, i'm walking up to the property, I'm looking at vegetation, ground drainage, the whole exterior.
00:19:35
Speaker
um And then I'll start looking at the siding, um going through everything, checking if there's any gaps or cracks into the home, because moisture is, the I'd say, the number one issue with homes. You get moisture entering the home, you're going to have a problem somewhere. Right. So, got to make sure the house is completely sealed. Take a look at the age of your HVAC system, because that's on the outside. Take a look at the cooling system, and then I always get on the roof. a lot of these drone i mean A lot of these companies are going drone only. yeah I think that is a very dangerous game. um I have a very nice drone. Yeah, I know you do. yeah I can see very well, but you can't see enough. You have to get on that shingle, or at least put a ladder at the eave so you can at least take a look at it. But I'm getting up on the roof, making sure there's no issues up there, because that's quite costly. Sure. If there is... And then enter the home, I do a full lap of the home, so take a walk through every room, get my bearings, as I like to say, and then I start in the basement.
00:20:25
Speaker
I usually like to start at the electrical panel. I'm taking the cover panel off. I'm looking inside because there's a lot- So typically start in the lowest level. Oh yeah yeah. Well, some people have different philosophies on that. I like to start bottom up because I have walked into a home and almost walked to the floor. Got it. That makes sense. So you know it' was like, all right. And a lot of the problems you'll see are in the basement. So that's why I like to start down there, work my way up through the home. I'm checking the electrical system, plumbing systems, HVAC system. Pretty much if it moves, operates, or does anything in the home, I'm looking at it. So after we get out of the basement, go upstairs- And can I can i highlight one thing there? What is the standard code in Maryland for a home inspector? Do they do exactly what you just described? Is that the standard? Absolutely not. um and I actually know several inspectors who I disagree with. They would do what we call is a representative sample. That's the word the phrase I was looking for. yeahp And I hate that phrase. um I will never use that phrase. I will never live by that in any way, shape, or form. So what that means is some inspectors, they'll come through and they'll test two outlets, one window through the room. Right.
00:21:27
Speaker
You're not going to find everything. It's almost always, there's like one outlet, one window. But in what i've been what's been described to me, that is what you're required to do as an inspector. that true? Yes, that's required. I like to say that's the minimum. yeah yeah um But i mean I don't abide by that at all. I test every outlet, every light switch, every fixture in the home. If it operates, turns on, even if it sits there, I'm looking at it. so It does take roughly about two to three hours. Honestly, a little bit more time that I've been out on my own. I've gotten much more thorough. yeah
00:21:59
Speaker
um I guess just because it's my company. Oh, yeah because my my name's gone back the yeah. My name on the line, but it also, I schedule myself differently than I did at the previous job I had. I give myself a lot more time. yeah ah So I'm always there early. you know you can't yeah You can't beat me there. I'm there minimum 30 minutes early every time.
00:22:17
Speaker
um But it it can be a little extensive, but I mean, I test everything. And that's that I actually enjoy it. Well, I don't want to cut you off because you were saying after the basement, you got to that that second level, the main level typically. Yep.
00:22:29
Speaker
So the basement's where you find of your issues. So that's where you can see, especially I love an exposed basement yeah because I can see all the plumbing lines, see all the electrical wiring, see ever all the nitty gritty. But after we get out of the basement, usually I'll get some things running in the kitchen. you know I'll start the oven, and make sure it preheats. I got a little tester because you'd be surprised how many ovens never get up to temperature. yeah yeah Just a little fun fact, I've had six in the past month. oh wow That did not get up to temperature, so check your oven. yeah um Run the dishwasher, and then I usually start testing all the outlets on the floor, all the lights, all the windows. If it has tilt function, we're checking the tilt function. um and Then run water at every fixture for usually at least a whole minute, because you don't you might not find that leak immediately. And then maybe make our way to the bathrooms.
00:23:16
Speaker
I'm filling that tub up all the way, letting it sit for 45 minutes. yeah you know If I can, running every fixture. I take pictures of every fixture running because I get a lot of callbacks. Well, thankfully none since I've been out on my own. yeah But if people being like, hey, I don't know if this work.
00:23:29
Speaker
So I changed my report. So if there's a fixture, if it can run water, I have a picture of it running in in the report. That's smart. So that way you know, because I get a lot of investors too. yeah And that way they can get a good feel of the space of the bathroom. So I try to put pictures of everything. I have pictures of every shut off, electrical, gas, water. um i have pictures of the roof.
00:23:50
Speaker
I have pictures of every bathroom, every fixture, ah pictures of every appliance. So if there's an appliance in the home, obviously I test it, but I also put a nice picture of it. Because I have had several times where people will swap out the appliances.
00:24:04
Speaker
I've done jobs where I do the inspection. They have nice new appliances in there. yeah Person moves in a month or two later, different appliances, older appliances. Sure. I mean, an unfortunate amount of times. so Yeah. I see that sometimes. And and and so after you get down this the first floor, that's when you you kind of end up at the higher level, at the top level is where you finish up and then go to the attic after that, I suppose. Yep. So love I love getting in attics. I know you do. Yes. I don't know what it is. I love crawling around in there. I like trying to find all the hidden stuff. yeah I like trying to find anything, because I like to... I'm not going to lie, like to impress a little bit, be like, I found this all the way in the back corner, all the way over there. I like you to know I'm being thorough. i I dig it, because especially when he gets hot over the summer, as I sweat and I'm like...
00:24:47
Speaker
you know disgusting, and I'm like so trying to be quasi-professional, and I'm like, i'm like life life choices were made. and I'm here, and it's 103 degrees or whatever, 110 degrees, and I'm crawling through this attic. and i'm just like You want to complain, but I'm like, thank God I'm not stuck in the cubicle where I could have been you know when I was so thinking about my possibilities. have a little bit of a different perspective, I guess. My perspective is, thank God I'm only in here for 15 minutes. oh yeah I used to do HVAC installs. I'd be in that 120-degree attic for six hours. Oh, God. Or or roughly, yeah installing systems up there, redoing duct work, all that. So my my theory is, thank God I'm only in here for 15 minutes. It's not that bad. Yeah.
00:25:26
Speaker
And I always keep extra shirts, because if it's summertime, I'll probably sweat. them That's so funny. Well, all right. Well, um so you kind of walked us through what that's like, and then at the end, what I really like is that you come through and you summarize top to bottom. I think the walkthrough is the most important part. that's the walkthrough. That's the finale. That's where if someone can't attend a three hour plus home inspection, they have work, the whatever, you attend that last half hour to an hour.
00:25:50
Speaker
Just so they can they can see the entirety of your summary and that walkthrough. and Because you go room by room. Yeah. I want to show you the whole home. I mean, I guess something I should have mentioned as well is I give you a call ahead of time before the inspection. See if you have any concerns about the property, if there were any problem areas that you noticed. Yeah. um Because a lot of times people will fixate on one thing.
00:26:10
Speaker
you know Yeah. I saw a little bit of moisture in the in the basement and that's all they're thinking about. The whole time. The whole time. So usually I like to tell people, hey, give me a two hours or so, an hour or two. You can come early, but I'm going to be doing my thing. Give me some time so that way when you get there, I can give you information. Because that walkthrough is I truly think it's one of the most important parts of this sale, because yeah that's where you get a good feel for the home, and that's where you feel confident or terrified. yeah so I like to start outside. I mean i go through the entire home. if yeah if i fat If it's going to be on the report, I'm going to tell you about it. um and I try to be as emotionless as possible, and I always try to have a smile yeah yeah during it, because I'm not telling you any of the good stuff. I'm telling you all the maintenance stuff, all the quote-unquote problems, and sometimes it overwhelms people, even if it's just a lot of maintenance. Even if I told you 20 things, but it's going to cost less than $2,000, it's okay. yeah so That's why I try my best to do at the walkthrough to just educate. Because your reports, and by the way, the reports of most inspectors, will have will point out the things that are critical. these are that You have a massive hole in your roof structure. like
00:27:20
Speaker
You have to address this. There's active water coming in. Those are critical, right? And then you have others that are keep an eye on it, but there's nothing technically wrong. It's just maybe an aging system or in my report, i i try eye color code it. So I have blue for ah maintenance, minor items, orange is recommendations, red is major defect.
00:27:40
Speaker
So that way it doesn't scare you. So if you see a comment and it's in nice, light, pretty blue, you go, okay, you just got to take care of it. But if it's in bright, dark red, you're like, oh yeah all right, maybe it's a little different. So I have noticed that has helped people. I don't get as many terrified calls. yeah Because a previous employer, I felt like everything just kind of seemed a little scary. yeah how everything was worded, so I really worked on how I word everything. Because whenever I report in a defect or a recommendation, I describe what it is, I describe what it could cause, and then I describe how to fix it or who needs to fix it. So that way you have... It takes me a little longer, but that way you have all the information information there, and you don't need to freak out and call me to be like, okay, well, what could this cause? yeah Well, what happens if I don't address this? Who and who needs to fix this? Because a lot of people will just give you general contractor.
00:28:27
Speaker
But I'll point you a little bit more narrow and specific and say you need either roofer, electrician, plumber, that kind of stuff. Yeah. And I think that's... I like to say where where you stop your job is is pointing out all the facts. You're like the fact guy. And so most inspectors, are if they've been doing it long enough, recognize they shouldn't be giving people quotes because if they say it's 800 bucks, it turns out to be 18,000. Yeah. pricing pricing is a dangerous game, but I get it. And you know it's hard because other states do offer pricing.
00:28:55
Speaker
um It's really common in the South that they will give you estimates right next to it, but I just can't. I am a contractor. I know what that price should be, but that doesn't mean- that's the issue is like, I know my contractors too and what they typically charge, but you call ah a big kitchen contracting company that specializes and has a beautiful showroom.
00:29:15
Speaker
It could be triple or more. Pricing varies too much in contracting work. So I get it. And that's why I don't throw out prices, because I'll give you a fair price, but that doesn't mean the other two people you call are going to give you a fair price. yeah Or you might call someone who's super cheap and they do terrible work. and if So i don't I don't like to give out prices. I'll give you a ballpark, but I won't write it then Well, you know it's interesting. I have a client that's moving from Maryland and going to Scotland, and she's in the middle of this. She just bought this interesting, weird castle. It has a moat. It's a whole situation. though it's it's It's fabulous. It's ah it's perfect for her However, um it's a totally different situation. Did you know over there, was news to me, before you list your home, it's required to have a full inspection. I like that.
00:29:59
Speaker
And it's required. So there's none of this, I'm going to waive everything and pray everything works out. Like in this situation, you have a full report provided to anyone that comes in. I think that should be required for any flip. Oh my God, flip flips are terrible. yeah I had a couple this week where we got probably about 45 minutes into the inspection. was like, let me show you a couple things. And they left before I even finished my, before I even finished. i was like, I'm going to stay and finish so you'll get that full report. And i know you know I'll go through everything, but they walked away immediately.
00:30:31
Speaker
Yeah. And that, well, that's a PSA right there. So just because it looks shiny and new, if it's a my favorite is buying what I lovingly refer to as grandma's house. Yes. That has been maintained maintained the right way. If something was broke, she hired the appropriate contractor. That's how I like to refer to it it versus someone that flipped it ah in six weeks. If it's nice and shiny and all white, that tells you to get an inspection. yeah Especially, I mean, new builds. I do a lot of new build inspections, yeah a lot of pre-drive inspections, and a lot of either flips or renovations. I like to say there's a big difference. I will i will tell them if there's if it was a flip or if it was a renovation. If it was a renovation, it was done really well. They pulled permits. Everything looks great. it's good quality. If everything was slapped up, hidden, and yeah no permits, then it's a flip. so I have a little bit of a difference in the terminology. i haven't I didn't know the distinction there, but I will say where my what I comfortably can say is that I've attended and walked through so many of these properties and inspections that even I, the non-inspector should be able to distinguish between the ones that you need to run from. Because sometimes it's quite obvious and I can save them the money and the heartache of of going through this process. love when it's obvious.
00:31:42
Speaker
I do love when it's obvious. Oftentimes it is. It's not always, but sometimes it it really is. I just did one where sometimes you've really got to look. so Some people are deceitful. I did one where they pinned up all new wood, like it was like plywood, yeah and I was like, that's suspicious. So I pull it down. I don't care. yeah op will I rip it down, nothing but termite damage. The entire main structural beam had been chewed through. all the way across, and they they just encapsulated and completely hid it. And then i was like, all right, now what else needs to be found? They hid aluminum wiring to the point where like they put copper coming out of the panel, and then in the junction boxes, that's where it met aluminum. oh So I'm checking junction boxes, I'm checking everything. like The second you hide something from me, that house is going to get the most thorough inspection you could possibly imagine. I'm looking at everything. It's like a challenge for me at that point. And then I did end up finding... like I think it was 92 total defects, because my average is usually between 25 to 35 things like on the report that I have listed. That one had 92.
00:32:46
Speaker
Wow, that ah that that scares me a little bit. but By the way, sometimes ah there are reputations. We live in a community right and near and outside around Baltimore that its ah it is a small place. and ah there People have reputations for a reason often. I can just see who's listing it and or who did the work. and I've started to pick up on that. I have started to pick up on that. I didn't realize that as much at first, but I'm like, ah ah the last one this guy listed was pretty bad. Let me take a little thorough more thorough look. Yeah, so don't want to scare people entirely away from fully renovated properties that are like, quote unquote, flipped. No, sometimes it's phenomenal. Sometimes it's done really well.
00:33:25
Speaker
But yeah, just be more careful. Yeah, especially since everybody's doing it nowadays. right That's why everybody's a contractor, not everybody's licensed. Right. Well, let's go through. so I want to then go through what some of these other things are people should consider. and I'm going to list them, and then I want to go back over them. so One is radon testing. Everybody asks about radon testing. One is about sewer scoping. One is a well yield and a water quality test. and so There's others, but I first want to go over radon testing. Explain what that is.
00:33:56
Speaker
and ah how you would describe it to somebody if they were during an inspection. Yeah, of course. so Radon is just a gas that is naturally emitted from the ground. um It comes up and it can cause different types of cancer and be a little bit of an allergen as well. so If you have asthma, it can be a problem. um Especially, it's it's more susceptible to people who are younger and older. So, if you've got a lot of kids in the house, definitely a radon test, because that radon gas over time, it's one of those things that takes a lot of time. It takes a couple years of exposure for you to really start to notice anything, but you can develop lung cancer. um It can start to cause brain issues. Actually, they're starting to find out that it's starting to develop brain issues and stuff like that. So, it's ah it's a slow killer. You would never notice it in a home. You'll never smell it. You'll never see it. So, that's why it's really important to get tested for it. And certain areas are more hot spots. So, it really does depend where you live. and In Maryland, guys, if you're listening to this and you're in Maryland, like we are a hotspot. yeah and and so it's It's something we should be concerned with. and If you lived in the same home for 25 years and never heard of it before, get the test done.
00:34:56
Speaker
so It is more of a problem in unfinished basements because pretty much the main way of preventing it is just sealing your floor and your home so none of that radon gas can make its way from the ground into your home. so If you do test it and it is high,
00:35:12
Speaker
It's not the end of the world by any stretch of the means. Usually you just need to put a radon system in, which is a fan system that goes underground, pulls the air, takes it above the home. So it's not the end of the world, but it's a simple, easy test. Usually it's 180 bucks. So it's there. professionally. do it professionally. do it professionally. can get a $20 kit at Home Depot as well. Please be wary of the test at your home kits. You want one, because my systems, they have to be recalibrated every year. I got to send it to a lab. It's done professionally. It should run for a minimum of 48 hours. Usually sits for 12 hours, runs for 48, gets that thorough test. The professional ones, because you might not think about this at home, but during transaction, I've had sellers say they're going to do the little kits. I've had people try to hand the kits and say, hey, the seller, can you put it out and I'll collect it. Guys, they can be manipulated. I've seen them where they take them outside, where it's fresh air and it's not encapsulated. So therefore, of course, it's going to come back zero and it's safe. Whereas my unit has a motion detector on it.
00:36:09
Speaker
So from the second I put it down, if it's moved, it'll tell me how many feet it's been moved. It'll tell me the elevation it's been moved. So I know if that test has been tampered with, which is another pretty big thing because people try to hide it. yeah I can tell. I've had people, I didn't move I'm like, okay, well, it had high radon, then you put it next to the window for for a day and a half, and then it didn't, and it came back. so well ah we I grew up on a dairy farm in Howard County, and we never tested it because we've I'm multi-generational in the same home. It's also one of those things that it hasn't been as apparent. There hasn't been as many studies, information, yeah not as much knowledge about it until really 2010 moving forward. so Especially the older people. I've had a lot of older older people tell me they don't believe in it. I'm like, that's great, but we have scientific data that it that tells us it's 100% there. And you're older, so it might not affect you too much now, you might not care.
00:36:57
Speaker
yeah But if you've got little munchkins running around, little kids, you want to be extra safe. You want to make sure they don't have any lung issues going forward, that kind of stuff. So it's just one of those silent gases that you just want to make sure you don't have in the home. yeah But if you do have it in the home, it's very manageable.
00:37:11
Speaker
Yeah. so It is on average they run... Because there's lots of companies that specialize in radon mitigation. so The average, they run somewhere from $1,000 to $1,500 most of the time. so It's not free, but it's also relative to the risk that it can mitigate. absolutely I think it's maybe the best value you can possibly- It's definitely worth it.
00:37:30
Speaker
It's always worth it i mean Health is wealth. everybody Everybody will agree with that, at least I hope. yeah but ah Yeah. I always recommend people get it tested. You can check the maps. There are maps. I mean, they're not 100% accurate. Just get it tested, people. Just get it tested. And then you just testing it once doesn't mean that it doesn't occur down the road, right? Correct, yeah. So it's recommended to do every two years. um That can be a little...
00:37:52
Speaker
That's a lot. That's on the safer side. I use just every five is what I recommend, especially if you do any major renovations. If you do any altering of the basement, any altering of the floor material, that's when you want check. Because if you had a fully finished basement or you had carpet down, because carpet traps a lot of it as well. If you had carpet down and you remove that and now it's concrete again, your radon levels can rise significantly. So encapsulation is always the best way. So if you want to not have any radon issues, just finish your basement. It'll help. It won't get rid of them, but it will help. Well, and once again, if you waive inspections in order to be competitive, this is one of the other reasons you must get home inspection is because I would prefer a professionally tested piece of mind in general because you could fix it.
00:38:34
Speaker
It's very straightforward to fix. It's one-day fix. It's easy to fix, so yeah so why take the risk? Why take the risk? so Okay, so that's radon in a nutshell. So um help me understand what a a sewer scope is. Yeah, that's where we open up your main sewer line, put a camera down the line, make sure there's no breaks, bellies, issues, backups, clogs, all that good stuff. So um sometimes I've started, actually I'll start in the plumbing vents ah for a full solar scope, start on the roof, work all the way down because I've found a lot of blockages in those recently. So that's a new thing I've been doing. You don't have to do it. I just like to do it because it gives me another excuse to get on the roof. I love getting on the roof. yeah um But usually it's from the inside interior clean out. You'll open that up, send a camera down um and go all the way to the county connection because that's your responsibility. So from county connection, which is usually the street line. So if you're on a main road, it's going to be in the middle of the street. From county connection back to your home, that's all on you. So if there is any breaks, blockages, or even if it's just an older pipe material You want to get that sewer scope because that can be costly if there are any issues. Yeah. um and it can yeah And once again, it can back up inside of your home. I've had it happen to clients. I've had it happen at my properties. And that's not fun. That's a relatively easy fix to a disaster. Yeah, it gets very expensive very quick. yeah Even just getting someone to take care of it is going to cost you a lot of money because of the hazard there. So, sewer line is very important. I like to say you wouldn't buy a car without looking under the engine yeah or under the hood, is what I should say, looking at the engine. So, get that line scoped. It's not that expensive or at minimum- Do you only do a camera scope or do you do any other version? So, pretty much a camera scope is the only reasonable one for a home inspection. If you wanted to get really thorough, you could have a plumbing company come out there and they could they could graph it. They could tell you exactly where it is on your property. You don't need that for a home inspection. Got it. inspection is pretty much just like, hey, is everything flowing? Are there any issues with the line? Is the line material in decent shape? Is it a newer material? Is it older? Again, you just want to know. Because if you have cast iron, I've seen terracotta drain lines still in the city. You want to know because then you're going to be a lot more prone to backups and issues. Right. and This is another public service announcement. If you're in the Baltimore region and you have public sewer, you can get a company. You want explain who I always recommend? and yeah you i recommend I recommend them too. And truthfully, if you have no issues with the plumbing ah lines and all that, I usually will push people towards getting the um insurance, home serve. yeah ah Company guys is home serve. Check it out. yeah
00:41:08
Speaker
Just because it's it's a little easier. I mean, if you really want to know, that's fine. But if it looks like your plumbing lines have been updated, you have PVC in the home, everything's flowing perfectly, you don't have any indicators that there are any issues, I usually just recommend going with the insurance because then you also don't have disclosure. Yeah. it's a little bit of a fine line you have to dance. Right. um but ah You're referring to pre-listing.
00:41:30
Speaker
No, I'm talking home the inspection as well. See, I recommend it every time, every... No, I'm sorry. I misspoke. I don't recommend the sewer scope every time. Oh, I assume I recommend the sewer line sewer line insurance every time. It's not always necessary to get the sewer scope. And then if there is a minor issue, and I tell you, yeah even if it's a minor belly in the line or a very so very minor crack, that's not going to cause you any issues for 10 plus years.
00:41:55
Speaker
You now have to tell the insurance company, and that has to be fixed. before they'll do anything. So the key here, so this is once again disclosure law, and any attorney will tell you this, that once you know something, you can't unknow it, right? So if you have the insurance in place, you can have it in place, it takes a 30-day grace period. So once you do that, you could then at that point do an inspection if you chose. In fact, HomeServe will pay for the inspection. Sorry, buddy, that's cut out of Jake's pocket here. But the HomeServe will actually pay for the inspection to happen, and if they find something, They will warranty it and they guarantee their warranty is up to $10,000 per incident. I've had it save clients- And it's $0 deductible. On average, guys, this cost depends on the policy and if you can call them and you get a discount usually when you call them, up to 50%, it's like $6 a month $12 a month is the coverage. Yeah. I mean, it's nothing to add on your insurance. For a no deductible $10,000, it's a no brainer.
00:42:51
Speaker
Yeah, and that's why I push people towards it. I know it's like ah it's like one more thing to sell, one more thing to put to the list. Yeah, and sure, it's money out of my pocket, but yeah truthfully, it's what's best for you.
00:43:01
Speaker
and And that's what I'm trying to do at all times. So, if you don't need to spend that $300 for me to open up your sewer line and take a look at it when the house was built in 2018, everything's flowing perfectly, yeah there's not a single issue, it's PVC. yeah get the insurance and be in color yeah and call it a day, have the peace of mind. So that way, if you do have a little bit of an issue, it's taken care of and at at a much lower cost than it would be if I did the sewer scope, you found the information, sat on it for eight years, and then you have to do it your own. you' youre stay exact You're spending triple if not more. right
00:43:35
Speaker
and so All right, so the next thing would be a well yield. So guys, if you're not on public water and sewer, you're going to go into a different category. That's when you look at your well, which is private water. And so explain what that would look like. So what does ah what is a well yield and then what is typically like a water quality test? What does that mean? Yeah, so a well yield is just ah testing the efficiency of your well.
00:43:57
Speaker
So, from the tank, we'll drain the tank, check your well tank, tank pressure, all that, make sure everything's in good working order with your system, depending what you have. Because sometimes they have well tank with the filtration system. So, I look at the filtration system, look at the well tank, try to give you the age, the size, because that's something you have to replace every so often as well. a lot of people don't think about that.
00:44:17
Speaker
I have seen well tanks from the 70s. And I'm like, hey, you need to get someone out here. So it's just one of those things. I'll give you all the tank information, but the well yield itself is just seeing how many gallons per minute that well is providing to the And that's done very scientific manner, isn't it? Explain to me how that It is done in a... It's technically scientific, but it looks silly. Yeah. Pretty much you're just taking a hose straight from the well and filling a five-gallon bucket and timing it. And then you input your data, it does calculations, it gives you how many gallons per minute the well is producing. Well, I must say, this is not you. You are fit. You just came from the gym, the whole thing. But let me tell you a little something.
00:44:56
Speaker
The largest company, I'm not going to say who they are, that does this exact test, that that that's all they do. it's I call it, it's not a five-gallon bucket like the test. They time it based on many cigarettes they can have while they're listening to the radio at full blast, pounding cigarettes in the front yard. that ah That type of stuff infuriates me, but that's just another pet peeve mine. but like It's funny because it's so true. Yeah, it is. and it It'll look silly, but it's giving you the gallons per minute for your well, which is actually really important yeah because anything less than two, it requires a contractor. Two gallons minute. Two gallons per minute per minute requires a contractor to immediately come out and see what you can do to try and get that up. That's the minimum. What is the minimum to build nowadays?
00:45:37
Speaker
I think it jumped to four. Is it? Yeah. So in in the county, I believe it's one gallon a minute. Right. so It's the bare minimum. It depends where you are. Yeah. So certain counties have different regulations. Howard County is different from Harford and Baltimore County. all Sometimes I'm telling you, it's hard to get a lot of pressure in these spaces. Yeah, it is. And then there's ways around it. you They're expensive, but you have to get these big holding tanks and you have to pressurization system. That's a whole nother ball all game. Yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker
yeah But you should be aware of the point of this podcast today is to be aware of these challenges. You might still want to buy, right? But you need to be aware what you get yourself into. So I do know the requirement for four gallons is if you have a tank too. So that's that's pressure coming from the tank. So if you have a big holding tank, that tank itself needs to produce gallons. Well, new construction now, you're going to have to have a sprinkler system.
00:46:20
Speaker
And so nowadays- yeah Some of those tanks are crazy. I just saw a 1,500 gallon tank yeah for a house. Wow. That's big. It was gigantic. It's the size of this wall. Yeah. you know so I mean, that's a whole nother thing. doubles a swimming pool.
00:46:33
Speaker
Yeah. So you really want to have anything above four. Anything below four, you're going to run into some some issues if you're running a lot of appliances at one time. And that's why you need to know how many gallons per minute you can have. So if you have a lower gallons per minute for that well yield, you're not going to be taking three showers at the same time running your washing machine and your dishwasher without a hiccup.
00:46:53
Speaker
Unless you know what you're doing and and have a system in place to counteract it, like a holding tank yeah or some other So again, it just comes back to educating the client on what they're buying. So if you do have a slightly lower gallon per minute, you just need to know ahead of time, hey, i just need to be a little cognitive of my water usage. And coming back to what I do for a living, the sales part, you need to be aware because resale will...
00:47:15
Speaker
absolutely be affected. So if you buy it without that knowledge- FHA is starting to require it. Yeah. So certain loan programs, the Federal Housing Administration, FHA, they require it. If you have a VA loan, if you're veteran and you use that loan product, they're going to be requiring it. And I like it. Sure, it's another cost and I get paid more, so of course I like it. But no, truly I like it because I think it's one of those things you really need to know about your home. Same with the septic system. If you're buying a house and it has a septic system, you better get it inspected. I have done plenty of inspections where they're like, oh, I don't need the septic inspected. Yes, you do. If that septic fails, you're looking at sometimes between $30,000 to $50,000, depending on the home. And the reason why, Jake, I know you know it, but for those that aren't totally aware of this, it's because the rules about what you can do and what type of system that you can put in can vary dramatically based on location. So some of these systems are really expensive. Now, I grew up on a farm. already mentioned that. So that's like a hole in the ground with concrete box in there. Yeah. Farms are little easier. If you have the space, it's easy. If you have no space and you're at sea level, you're spending a pretty penny. So once again, so there are certain things like outlets. There's certain things it's easy to fix, right? Even a panel, it's not inexpensive necessarily, a couple thousand, but-
00:48:32
Speaker
It's easy to be done, relatively speaking. What you're describing, it can be really, really expensive and or prevent you from selling all in the future. Yeah, it can prevent you from selling. It can prevent you from living comfortably in any way, shape, or form. If that system fails and you get back up into the home and you now have a surprise bill for 20 to 30, even more thousand dollars, you might not be happy and might have to live with it for a little while. Yep. And so then we also, in addition to that, we do water quality testing. Yeah. That's a really important one. And that also required in certain loan programs, but explain what that is. I wish more people did water quality testing, especially in the city. Yeah. was going say, should I'm on public water here? You should.
00:49:09
Speaker
It's just one of those things. It's not expensive. yeah um You get it tested. it'll give you It'll tell you everything that's in your water, and it'll recommend if you need a filtration system or not. yeah So FHA, VA, certain loan types require it. um And especially if you have a well, get it tested. Yeah. no matter what A well's a no brainer, but I'm telling you virtually nobody does public Nobody does it, but I recommend it a lot. And I even tell people, you can get a local test. You can pay for me to send it to a lab. You can send it to a lab yourself, or you can go get a local water test. And they are actually decent enough compared to like the radon ones. The water test, it's just test your water. If you're drinking it yeah every day, you should- well A lot of these know and these companies that are water quality companies, that's all they do. so They're not a home inspection company like you, but that's that's what they do. They will actually either do it for completely for free, or they're going to subsidize it so it's almost free for you a test. If they're selling you something. There you go. There it is.
00:50:03
Speaker
Most of the time, that you need a softener. There's always some way to enhance your public water supply. Yeah, we just put a reverse osmosis system in our home just because the water was a little bit- For the entirety of the home or just- For entirety of the home. Oh, wow. so i mean Luckily, can install it. I just ordered it. i didn't have to pay for install, so it helps a little bit, um but it made a big difference. I noticed a significant difference in taste immediately ah from it. and then just don't like You don't miss the minerality? No, I don't miss that metallic taste. And that was what I had. i like Even though the home is all PEX, which is plastic yeah um supply lines, I still just... I was like, something's a little off with this water. When it got tested, they were like, yeah, you should get a filtration system.
00:50:44
Speaker
So really anywhere. I mean, it's your drinking water. You're drinking it every day. I do a three-stage filtration, but I decided against RO because I've tested both. And I think RO taste... like this pristine- It does have a different taste. has a different taste. And everybody's different. I like that taste. It strips everything out. I want the minerals. My favorite water ever is the spring water that comes from a natural source that's really, really high in minerals. So the RO system I have adds minerals back. Ah, see how that's the- It has another Those are the good systems. So that is important. So you don't want to remove everything. Yeah. But there are lot of systems now come with a little mineral filter. So it'll go through there and add it and you change it every month fine. What I tasted had nothing. It was stripped out and I was like, this can't even be healthy. A lot of at-sync ones do that. But I mean, yeah, get your water tested. It's just something simple. It's not expensive. It's really easy to do. And then you know the quality of your water. You know for peace of mind for however long you're living there, do I have clean water or should I maybe think about ways to get cleaner water into the home?
00:51:43
Speaker
and All the things we're discussing today, this is you know I know I have listeners that tell me they they check out our podcast and they're in the business. Sometimes they're newer in the business. and I would say to any newer agent or someone considering this as a career, I think you should and attend at least, i don't I don't know a specific number, maybe 20, 30, 40 home inspections before you sell a house.
00:52:06
Speaker
I don't know how else to describe- I wish- I wish realtors would do that. I love your team. I love working here with your team because you force them to do that. Yes. They're going to inspections. Yeah. they They don't have an option. I mean, they do, but I know what you mean. they they are They're at every inspection and they're knowledgeable.
00:52:22
Speaker
and i I mean, I deal with it all the time, but it it's honestly infuriating yeah when I deal with an agent who knows absolutely nothing about a home and I'm going over things and I'll be describing something that can be pretty serious and they'll be like, oh, it's fine. And I'm like,
00:52:35
Speaker
yeah not No, it's not. yeah But there's then there's also, there's always going to be the agents that just want the sale. yeah So I've had to protect a couple clients from that. I've had to pull people aside and be like, hey, he keeps saying this isn't an issue, but you're looking at like $40,000 worth repairs. That's here or there. but yeah Well, I say, as once again to the agents, you should be building a referral-based business. and i don't I don't care necessarily about an individual sale because that's not... One sale, especially this stage of my career, is not doing anything for me. It shouldn't, hopefully. It's not doing anything for me anymore. so like One sale isn't making or breaking my life or my family's life. so It's more about the relationship you build with a client. You want to build a client that that would prefer to refer you, and if you get them in a situation where six months later, they're going, oh my God, look what I got into, that is not a way to build a referral-based business. It's quite the opposite.
00:53:26
Speaker
My entire business is based off relationships. I try my absolute best ah to do get develop a really good relationship with every home buyer. That's why I tell every every person who I do an inspection for, I say, even if you move in, six months after you move in, call me. yeah If you have a question about the home, I'll help you figure it out. I'll come over and look at it. I've done that multiple times. There was a Miss Chris, she's 78 years old. She called me. she like couldn't Her hose bib was leaking. She couldn't find it. I did the home inspection her eight months ago. I drove out last week, shut it off for her.
00:53:56
Speaker
I love doing that kind of stuff. yeah But a lot of home inspectors are taillight warranty. yeah Well, and one thing at some point I want to get your assistance with, and my other inspectors that I've consistently used, i I would love, and tell me if this is even possible, when you go through a home, and this might be too specific for some people because they might not care about this particular question, but um I would love to have all of the details of the appliances, the approximate ages of systems, because I want to create an app which nowadays with all these AI tools, even a dummy like me can create an experience I think i know where you're going and I've thought about this. And because i was like, how much value could that be? Because i always want to be relevant to a consumer, to a client after the sale for the next five to seven years before they move again. Something I've been working on is it's like a home binder. It's kind of like that. So I give, mean, with my inspection, i give you the age of everything. Average age, you rough age of your roof. But it's stuck in this report. It's stuck in the... and you got to filter through it. Yeah. Something I've been flirting with, I don't really know how I would promote it or go about it, is I want to give you like a shortened list where it's age of your roof, age of your HVAC system, age of water heater, age of all your appliances with a picture of like the serial numbers and the appliances in there.
00:55:14
Speaker
I would love to do that. already got it. I know enough to know it's going to be... If we don't do it together right now, Jake, someone's going to do it. Someone's doing it. If thought about it, someone's doing What AI is going to do is they're going to connect a language model that has access to all these details. The key is to marry that with someone's individual home because it will know everything about that electrical panel that may or may not need to be replaced. You'll have photos of the inside. You'll have all the raw data. That is key because without data, it's not of much value. Oh, I- But you could ask it questions. I could literally talk to my app and say, I need to buy new XYZ for my home. Will it fit? Or what type? Was it a gas dryer for my... I don't know. What kind of water heater do have? Yeah, that's the issue. I could. I would just have to find something that could then maybe go through my reports and pool important information. It could. You'll report and then someone can interact with it and speak it in a natural language. I would love to do that. I would love to give people a home binder too. Something that can say, here's all the important stuff. Here's where all your main shutoffs are. All the important things to know. Here's where your hose bib shutoffs are. Here's the age of everything.
00:56:19
Speaker
This is just a little cheat sheet of everything you should know about the hu We're going to do it, Jake, because I'm going to get it so they can literally talk to it. so In the days of going in and trying to find the page of where this thing is, no one wants that stuff. Everyone has attention spans of five-year-olds. Oh, yeah. i trust I want the answer immediately. Oh, so many times on walkthroughs, I'm like hey, this is important. yeah Come back in. Put your phone down. Yeah, reel it in. so Yeah, so going work on that, Jake. So the next time I forget that you've been here, we're going to come back and we're going talk about how we built this app. We're probably on an island somewhere. We've been retired because how successful that app is going to
00:56:54
Speaker
But we'll talk about what we can see from our island retreat. Yeah, because I mean, even on the walkthroughs, it's like, because I already do that. I already... i my like am my After I finish the walkthrough, I do like a little summary, just because also I try to put the good information in your head at the end, so you're not leaving freaked out. i'll be like, hey, you have a newer system, and newer roof, newer this. Those are the big ticket items. Keep that in your mind, and then go through the list. so and you know i i want to wrap it up here, but what I would want to say is not only like the highlights we just discussed, you don't have to remember um honestly any of the things we just said. It's a matter of who you have that can accurately and diligently go through the home. and The key part, the reason I refer you isn't just because I believe you're a good inspector. i actually know others that are
00:57:38
Speaker
very similar in terms of their qualifications um in a lot of those respects, but it's how you deliver the information because i don't care what you know necessarily unless you also can deliver it in a manner yeah that is going to be received well and you can get your thoughts across. and I'm telling you, that is the biggest difference because there's there's enough other inspectors that are It's worth everything. It's very important. It is very important. I i do not want to scare anybody. i just want to educate you. I just want to tell you what's going on in the home and that it can be fixed. And cover my tail. Actually inspect the house. Because if you miss it, no matter... They all think that when we... I recommend several inspectors every time, never just one, because I want to i want to do it in an ethical way. and and But the thing is, they all refer to you, or any of the inspectors, as my inspector. So then if something's missed, it's yeah Matt's fault. Absolutely. And you know you want to make sure that people don't feel that way, and I want to protect them.
00:58:35
Speaker
Yeah. And that's why I try to tell people, it'll be like, hey, if you have an issue, call me. yeah It's not going to be everything. it I can't go through everything in the home. I can't be here for 12 hours, but I went through 95% of the home. yeah So if you find that 1%, give me a call. yeah I'll come out. We'll figure it out. We'll make it right. Well, well Jake, you're doing your thing, and I'm proud of you for for starting your own company, your own brand. It's White Oak Home Services, so whiteoakhs.com. I know you've got your social media. You're getting that on point. and Yeah, I'm trying to get the videos going. It's hard. You do your day job all day, and you're like, oh, and I have to... like
00:59:07
Speaker
I forget every time. The inspection I had this morning, was like, I should have taken a video of that electrical panel, but I forget. All people care about is the horror stories. That's all. No one wants to say, hey, look how beautiful this panel is. No, the opposite. Look at this. Everything's screwed up. I've been trying to get Instagram going a little bit more, trying to get the reels, but we're working on it. It's building.
00:59:26
Speaker
It's building. so There you go. Well, I appreciate you coming today, and I eventually will have you back, ah hopefully, and we'll discuss... I'm not kidding. We're gonna figure that app out. I'd love to. It'd be such a good product, and I think everyone would want it.
00:59:39
Speaker
I would. I think an interactive way to speak about and to your home, the only people that have that knowledge would be the agent that helped you buy it and the inspector that combed through it. Let's marry all of that, and then they can add in as they own the home, any receipts for improvements. They can add details as they go. Even resale value, you have all that information too. It's not a full inspection, you can say, here, look, I have all the information about the entire home. I've it 10 years. Carfax for the home. Yeah, everything I've ever done and it's transparent. I think that would be fantastic.
01:00:10
Speaker
We'll have to get on it. Yeah, no one else listened to this. This is all copyrighted. Raul, make sure we have this patented and copyrighted, please. ah We'll be on that. Well, thanks again, Jake. Thanks again, Jake, for joining me.
01:00:22
Speaker
Happy to be here. Until next time.
01:00:26
Speaker
And big thank you to our sponsor, First Home Mortgage. You can check them out at firsthome.com.