Mike Holmes invasion

[Gregory Patterson]

New species invading the Canadian home inspection business. Scary.

Greg

Celebrity renovator Mikes Holmes to open home inspection business
By: THE CANADIAN PRESS
27/02/2009 6:50 AM | Comments (0)

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TORONTO - Celebrity renovator Mike Holmes is launching his own home inspection business.
The beefy contractor, known for unearthing renovation horror stories on the defunct HGTV series "Holmes on Homes," will launch Mike Holmes Inspections in the southwestern Ontario communities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Cambridge.
Holmes says many homeowners have emailed and written him complaining about the quality of their home inspections.
He says his company will offer inspections, energy audits and "will provide homeowners with the facts, not just an opinion."
A spokeswoman says business opens Monday and depending on how it's received, could be extended to the rest of the country.
Holmes' next TV endeavour is the two-part documentary, "Holmes in New Orleans," airing April 7 and 8 on Global. It documents the rebuilding of a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
It'll be followed by a six-part mini-series on HGTV starting April 9.
His popular series, "Holmes on Homes," wrapped last year and was known for uncovering sloppy and dangerous renovations done by incompetent or dishonest contractors.
A spokeswoman says Holmes' recently began production on a new show to be called, "The Holmes Inspection." It's about people who've been victimized by a bad home inspection and is expected to hit the air in the fall.

[wblakey]

Well I have to say, it will be interesting to see how he organizes this, and who he hires to do his inspections, because surely he isn't going to be crawling around attics for $300 ...

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

http://www.nachi.org/forum/f52/new-a...omorrow-37699/

[Gerry Pallotta]

No his inspections will be closer to the $1000.00 mark. And his inspector is an OAHI guy by the name of Darren Johnston out of London, Ont.

[jbehling]

Originally Posted by gpallotta

No his inspections will be closer to the $1000.00 mark. And his inspector is an OAHI guy by the name of Darren Johnston out of London, Ont.

Darren is from Guelph, and a really good guy.

As far as Mike is concerned, well, good luck on geting people to pay over a $1000 for a home inspection.

[Brian Jones]

Another marketing ploy by the most over-marketed person in Canada.. Mike Holmes has absolutely no training from any HI school; has probably never conducted a proper inspection to a set SOP; has knocked inspectors the whole time his show was on the air.
I watched his show once, that was enough for me....any idiot can find defects when you rip out walls.
Now apparently, Mike isnt good enough to do the inspections himself, he has to hire others to do the job that carries his name.....interesting. The article states that Mike had received numerous emails from persons dis-satisfied with their inspections....of course he would, when he's constantly trashing the inspection industry as a whole.
Methinks he's just trying to cash in on havoc he created!

I feel sorry for the the mans clients. They're going to be paying top dollar, thinking Holmes will be doing the inspection since his name is on the contract. I can say one good thing though....his pricing structure is near where it should be.

[dcook1]

This was posted on his site in reply to someone asking if he will provide his own training.

This is in no way to put Mike down. I have seen his efforts to rectify some pretty shoddy work and commend him for his efforts..... BUT..
How would they? Mike has not taken a real home inspection course himself. It is easy to put down others in the industry when you are not part of it. But if you join a particular industry, you should be taking a recognized course.
If you or I no matter how smart we are, were to open an business of being an electrician, how long would we last? Yo need to have a proper education for any kind of business you want to run. Now if he has Darren do all the inspections until he takes the courses needed to, to call himself an inspector that is great. Just to start and go out as a know it all would not be a wise decision. And a real professional would be part of a recognized association. And be able to post the acronyms behind your name so people can realize you do know what you are talking about, it is totally different from a TV show.

However bottom line is,,, even if he has some or most of the needed knowledge, for Mike to start his "Home Inspector Training" would just be foolish as well as arrogant. This would be a newbie training school. Mike needs the experience of being an inspector himself first.

[wblakey]

I think one of the worst things about his show is that he is continually bashing contractors and home inspectors anonymously. He has to do this to avoid being sued, but it plays to the worst type of conduct that is present in any competitive industry - bashing your competition.

Any home inspector who has been in the business long enough will be called in to re-inspect a house where defects have been missed. The worst of us take this as an opportunity to slam-dunk the competition. But in doing so, do you know all of the details of the situation when the first inspector went through the house?

Similarly with Holmes. He charges in like the knight in white armour but we never really know what the situation was with the previous contractor.

It's TV folks, semi-reality at best.

[George A. H. Luck]

"The worst of us take this as an opportunity to slam-dunk the competition. But in doing so, do you know all of the details of the situation when the first inspector went through the house?"

If I find out a the time of booking that it is a re-inspect, I politely refuse. I don't think that this industry needs inspectors tearing it down from inside while we have human rectums like Holmes tearing it down from the outside. It is just bad for all of us.
As far as Holmes goes, anyone who has had any experience with video knows how the art of editing can save the host's . . . . . foundation. Don't expect to see any dissenting opinions on his new show. Homes is always right.

[ahannan]

Originally Posted by jbehling

Darren is from Guelph, and a really good guy.

As far as Mike is concerned, well, good luck on geting people to pay over a $1000 for a home inspection.

Does not start at a $1000. Their standard starts at $595 for a 2500 sq ft & $925 for one that includes infrared/thermal camera. Here is their service/price schedule:

http://www.holmesonhomes.com/makeitr...s/services.php

I wish they did start at a $1000 though. We could all be "lowballers" at $800!

Seriously, I like their fee schedule. It's alot closer to where it needs to be.

[Wayne Schreiber]

It says $595+GST for a single family home without any extras.

That is significantly more expensive than anyone else in this area.

[Gerry Pallotta]

I like how on his website he has a section to purchase his Holmes approved products and video's. Now that is marketing.

[Wayne Schreiber]

His concept is not the least bit new.

Bob Vila did exactly the same thing in the early 90s.

Bob had a successful home renovation show, and turned it into a huge marketing machine.

We had "Bob Vila Certified" contractors, tools, machinery, and videos popping up all over the place.

[jkogel]

Originally Posted by gpallotta

I like how on his website he has a section to purchase his Holmes approved products and video's. Now that is marketing.

But no HI franchise for sale yet?? Maybe next year, when they've tested the reporting software. Keep that guy in Ontario!

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by wschreiber

It says $595+GST for a single family home without any extras.

That is significantly more expensive than anyone else in this area.

Wanna be rich and famous????

Raise your rates to $695 + GST for a single family home without any extras....and offer to re-inspect any Mike Holmes inspected house for free. If you fail to find something his inspector missed, you will buy the client a bottle of champaigne to drink as they watch their next "Mike Holmes Show".