paul ferrari

Hi guys , still working on a way to make the Inspectors gig work, in the mean time, studying what i can, and trying to look at any properties i deal with at work through the eyes of an inspector. Yesterday while in a 1400sf office condo we own and have leased out, i noticed an interesting plumbing modification the tenant has done. This space has 4 offices, 2 with small hand sinks, we had them installed for a old Dr tenant 10 years ago, professionally installed, all permits pulled. All drain and supply lines are copper, i seem to remember the plumber back when we did it, said it had to be all copper in the this commercial building. What i found yesterday was a new sink, in the far back closet of the this space, they made a small kitchen. Knowing there is NO way to get a normal drain over there, i had to look and see what they did, and found they put a 5 gallon bucket in the cab underneath for the sink to drain into, in the bucket was sump pump, which is pumping 50' up and across the ceiling and tapped into the the existing copper drain. I know that setup is 110% wrong. To feed this sink they tapped into the existing copper using sharkbite fitting and ran PEX through the drop ceiling down to the new kitchen sink to feed it. I'm pretty sure the execution and install are not to code, What about the PEX, is it not allowed in a commercial space like the plumber told me years ago? Thanks

What I really see happening, is my current job will end in a year or 2 or 3, So getting licensed, and experienced for a new job while getting paid at the old one is the true goal I guess.

Thanks everyone, the beauty of my situation will be, that i will use the inspection business as a way to bring in more revenue to my bosses company, we have always operated under the simple premise "to increase revenue, we must reduce costs and or increase what comes in", Any way we can. He is on board with me learning and doing a new task, like inspections, whether it focuses on commercial or residential will work itself out, while doing my present job and still getting paid if it can increase profit. In realty i need no money from the inspection business to live, it just needs to bring in enough to cover increased insurance and marketing costs. I am sure we will come to an arrangement that gives me a little of each inspection as a bonus once costs are covered. The real payment to me is the ability to learn, fine tune a new skill and build a new revenue stream, that if I'm successful , i have in my pocket if he ever decides to get completely out of the game. If we keep running the way we do now it gives me extra money and another good reason to get out of the office doing stuff i like. I already know i like construction, renovation, building science problem solving all that good stuff, so why not put it to use. want to know how nerdy i get on this stuff, i just bought a FLIR C5 camera to examine the insulation and weatherization of a couple of our condo units at work, I'm even going through my house and went through all my neighbors houses, pointing out all there issues...I'm great fun at a party.😂 I'm fascinated by the infrared technology, and lucky that one of FLIR's headquarters is located right in my town Billerica, my brother in law works for them, so i got a nice discount and a crash course on thermography to boot.

Thanks Marc, appreciate the info. You would think it’s a conflict of interest if realtors are recommending inspectors, unless it’s a buyers agent. I have also been fairly involved with residential properties, mostly with repair and renovation....and I watch a lot of this old house...😂 j/k

Hello everyone, thank you for this fantastic forum, it’s a great resource for us aspiring home inspectors. I have been lurking for a while, and am now saying hi as I get serious about becoming a licensed home inspector. A little about me, my name is Paul Ferrari, I live in Billerica Ma, I have worked for the same company for 35 years, we are a small commercial real estate company, our main focus for many years was the petroleum and convenience store industry. Owning, managing, renovating, repairing and rebuilding properties. Along with those, we acquired other properties as well, small strip malls, office condos, residential condos, and single family homes. I have had many positions while here, from operations, marketing, environmental compliance, remediation, and construction, repair and renovation. As the owner has gotten older, he has sold off many of the properties, to the point where we are just a small 3 person company with a few properties left. A perfect amount to keep me busy, but with plenty of flexible time to do another job. He will keep those and run like this until it doesn’t sense, which I don’t see happening for quite a while. I’m looking to get into the Home inspection side of the business for an extra revenue stream now, but more importantly one I could do the next 15 years or so if I find I enjoy it. I’m the kind of guy now who reads the Journal of Light construction and Professional Remodeler for fun, so I’m pretty sure this is right up my alley. I have spent a lot of time looking at as much info as I can on the ASHI of New England site already. I’d appreciate any thoughts, suggestions and words of wisdom you guys could share, wether you think a training course is worthwhile or not, finding someone to mentor with, should I work on passing the test first?, stuff like that. Thanks, happy holidays.