Looking Forward

People and Places: Now

Now, many of the houses that are inspected are vacant and owned by a bank. All areas are being looked at and most of  my clients are young first time buyers that have chosen not to move out of the area. Buyers know that there are problems with the house and hire us to explain how severe the problems are and how and if it can be fixed.

 

Inspections: Now

When digital  cameras came out and the report system I use added the ability to attach pictures, things changed quickly. I now devote most of my time, at the house, to inspecting and interacting with my clients. The only interruption is when I snap a picture. The pictures are my notes and any concerns that go into the report usually have a picture attached. 99.9% of all reports are emailed out by the next day.

To allow more quality time to my clients, I Inspect only one house per day. I stay until I have answered any and all my clients questions. If there is something I don’t know, I have plenty of time to go back to the office and research it on the internet and include the answer in the report or via email.

Because of the slowdown in the real estate business, in 2008 I took a year long sabbatical to get a degree in Building Preservation and Restoration. I have always enjoyed looking at, reading about, and working on old buildings and decided that the time was right to legitimize my interest with a title. As my association with ASHI and its Code of  Ethics prohibits me from working on houses that I inspect for one year, I call myself an “Old House Consultant” and give out free advice to buyers of old houses. Newer house buyers don’t get short-changed though, as there are plenty of things to talk about in newer houses.

The Future:

Newer computers, newer tools, and the complete elimination of paper. Toying with the idea of voice recognition software and handheld computers with built-in cameras to do the report as we walk through the house, downloading to the client’s iPad or Android as we go.  Marketing to the public and interested parties (real estate agents, bankers, title companies) through the internet and other social media. The last, to be done by someone much younger and much more digitally savvy than me.

Now, back to the future!

 

P.S.  The picture of the statue of Abraham Lincoln was inserted to practice adding pictures to this blog. I took the pic on a trip out west to collect my son and his things. He (my son, not Abe) was getting out of the Air Force in Idaho and moving to Florida to attend school.

The statue can be found at exit 323 along I-80 east of Laramie, Wyoming. It was erected in 1959 to note the highest point along the Lincoln Highway, a highway that was conceived in 1913 to connect New York, NY with San Francisco, CA. Besides Old Houses, the Lincoln Highway is another one of my interests.   Read more about the Lincoln here: http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org

 

Ezra

 

 

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