My grandmother was “Frying Pan Mary”- I’d stop by to see her (I loved her dearly) after a prolonged absence and she’d threaten me with a ten-inch skillet then give me a big hug. . . . and fed me a good Deutche meal - “I’d rather pay food bills than doctor bills” was her mantra, and she was a nurse . . .
I had a good excuse for not staying in touch . . . (in my mind, anyway)-
I was teaching SCUBA in the Keys to flight stewardesses (early 1970’s) and G’ma was way up in Jersey. As Robin Williams once quipped. "God gave man a brain and a p#n!s but only enough blood to operate one at a time!
Well, that was long ago & far away . . .
Anyway, like my long-overdue visit to “Nanny”, it’s past time to publicly check in with some of my long-term friends since 2003 and some friends I’ve yet to meet.
Frankly, I’ve been busier this year than any other of the past 7-8. Some of it is because we’ve “risen to the top” in our area (www.cdaInspectors.com) and partly to innovative marketing. So, let me ask you guys-
Do you give out a copy of Ben’s Maintenance Book to every client?
To every agent at the inspection? (oops, running low on our last order of 6 cases . . I need to contact HQ!)
Do you contact your local RE school & offer to talk about the Inspections part of the class?
Do you mention that only NACHI requires that you pass an exam before sending $ in?
That joining other ***'ns is like joining BASSMASTERS? You get a fancy decal, but it does not make you a professional fisherman?
DO you find out who is teaching the USDA loan classes, & offer to teach the insp section free? That’s a recurring revenue stream.
Do you find out who is teaching the First Time Home Buyers Classes, ditto ditto?
Do you sign up all the above (plus your clients) into your subscription to John Onofrey’s Home Hints eNews, thereby “bopping” (hi, Russel!) them every month?
Are you IAC2 certified, offering mold / radon inspections (mold is gold, and you ARE protecting your client!)?
Have you linked up with local mold remediators, offering pre & post cleanup testing? One local guy will ONLY take jobs that I’ve sampled to establish baseline, then insist I test again upon completion. Keeps his ***** out of court, every time. AND, He’s a retired mil vet . . knows his stuff.
Do you call your clients & agent the next AM, to ensure they’ve rec’d the report & see if they have any questions?
Do you use Home Inspector Pro? I used my own Word Doc for nearly 5 years till I found it. Sign up with Dominic and I’ll send you my own HIP template . . . “Write it like you stole it!”
Is your home page set to:
http://www.nachi.org/whats_new.htm ?
Mine’s been set there for . . . well, this is the 8th year.
Do you check the message board? I checked it every night for 4 years, then 3x week for the next 2 years, and (sorry, Nanny!) been 2dambizy to check it regularly lately.
For those of you who ain’t working, well . . . maybe you ain’t working. Being a HI is perhaps the greatest Labor of Love one can imagine, and it takes a full 24/7 dedication to that love in order to thrive. I guess I’ve been lucky . . .even when I lived in Colo (about the time Nick moved out from PA), I didn’t get TV reception. Out here, a few rifle shots from Canada, I still don’t. So I don’t have inane distractions. I work my work, then play a NetFlix movie. Determine your priorities: TV, or free NACHI online education? Only you know what is important to you.
Me, I’m happy that the most momentous decision in my past ten years has been to join NACHI, become chapter president (CO and ID), become IAC2 qualified, and attain Certified Master Inspector status.
I’d love to hear YOUR success stories!
Blessings . . .
Russ (at) cdaInspector.com
I have a few surprised coming out for you shortly!
:shock: