
kurt
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Everything posted by kurt
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How many out there recommend, or even think about, condition of the building sewer? This has become a surprisingly common defect in my work area (inner City Chicago). Everything is terra cotta clay tile around here; that's the problem. The number of sewers all blown apart by tree roots, building settlement, or general aging is quite large. Just curious........ I've gotten to the point where I advise the videoscope on about 75% of the properties I inspect.
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Kurt, I hope they learned their lesson and the presentation at the convention is clear and not just a lot of smoke and mirrors. This is their last chance to pull in the members that are still on the fence. So true, oh brother.... Although, for me, the big draw of InspectionWorld is the chance to hang out w/a bunch of my chums in this goofy business. Branding on, branding off, I don't really care. Some of my best friends in the world were met through ASHI; branding doesn't change that even one little itty bit.
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It is an unfortunate fact of the business that most HI's price their service based upon what the other geek is charging. It's very similar to homebuilding, remodeling, & the trades in general. Nobody does the math to figure out what it really costs to do a home inspection. There is a zen buddhist concept of remaining above the fray, i.e., if one acts w/pure intention & without longing for desired result, magic happens. Or something like that. Marketing efforts can be surprisingly similar. If one focuses on the process, & does not allow personal frustrations to cloud the pursuit, interesting results accrue. Maybe I've been hanging around so long I don't have to think about it; there are so many realtors that hate my guts and have blackballed me (without much success), I don't really care what anyone thinks, or perceives, about my "ethical" standards. I just try to do good jobs; the other stuff takes care of itself.
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I think Scott is right w/ his analogy; the surface temp of various objects can be different than the ambient. In many cases, it may not matter. I can think of two instances where the trusty old Raytek didn't tell me what I needed to know. I was shooting registers to verify function; the sucker was hot, I thought it was OK. What I wasn't checking was volume of air flow; heck, just stand in the door, shoot the register, move on to the next room. I got to pay for an additional air return on that job, since the room was not heating adequately. The other instance was taking temp splits on an AC; I shot the metal grill above the AC condenser instead of measuring air temp. Maybe it was the sun on the grill, maybe it was me, I don't know. What I do know is that I had a bad measurement, & a resulting inaccurate assessment of the condition. The longer I inspect, the larger the bag of unused fancy tools gets.
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Pete, all worthwhile thoughts & ideas, but what one charges, grosses, nets, or otherwise gets to walk away with has nothing to do w/ realtors, non-association w/ realtors, or anything other than a practical sense of business economics & the intelligence to act on that practical intelligence. I used to teach a class to home builders (I'm a home builder) about margin, profit, how to calculate those things, & how to apply them to ones' business. Most of the folks in the class would listen quietly for several days & then ask "that's all well & good, but how do we make more money?". Most folks didn't get it. Charge what you're worth; people pay it. It has nothing to do w/anything other than intelligent business practice. You will probably even be surprised that there are realtors out there that understand, & steer clients to you. Not many, but it's a big world, & the idea that any group can be painted w/ a single brush is not nice, un-American, & bad business.
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Richard, you're cracking me up[:-smile_green]. Thanks for not posting pictures, & hope the system is clean & in sound condition.
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In a larger vein, we will all know what this branding thing is in just one little weeks time. Let's check back in when we all actually know what it is.
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That was me.[:-bouncy] I was trying to quote Dennis, & somehow my post came up w/ his name on it. That "3rd quote" was mine! Brian, you've been agreeing w/ me all this time.[:-eyebrows]. I think it was some sort of glitch w/ the software; when editing my post, I think I deleted the "quote" signals, & it all ended up looking like Dennis post. Hmmmm........
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Yes, there is a correlation, albeit one that cannot be trusted or confirmed w/out testing the air temp. Whether or not it is actually within a degree or two requires testing the air temp. This would be fine if "close enough" was what one needed; in many instances, it would be fine. There are lots of ways that laser thermometers can be a great help, & there are a few ways that they can mislead and/or misinterpret results. If you want to know air temp, a $4 thermometer will tell you.
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No, they don't measure air temp; they measure the temperature of the object that the conditioned air is contacting. That isn't going to give you the air temp. Use them for measuring temperature of just about everything other than air.
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It is thread drift, but barely. Branding discussion inevitably leads to discussion of marketing to realtors which inevitably leads to IHINA proclaiming that which IHINA proclaims. I'll back off; it's only discussion, albeit important discussion, at least for me. It's hard for me to let sanctimony glide by unchallenged; I'll work on it. Brian tends to miss the point of the ethical quandry; it isn't "fine", but it is common. Too common. Common as dirt. Enacting laws to enforce the perceived ethical lapses of a profession is always well intended, but usually of little practical use in protecting the masses. We could look to the continuing ethical lapses of the securities industry as some reasonable evidence of the value our protective laws. Education tends to work better; an informed public is the best defense against coersion by unethical antagonists.
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Home Inspector Licensing
kurt replied to Michael Brown's topic in Home Inspection Licensing and Pending/Legislation
That is an astute observation, getting into that "human nature" thing. The simple reality is that there is going to be (shortly) too many home inspectors for the available job market. (Too many schools cranking out too many applicants for too few positions; ouch.) -
Ya know, what I really like about Mikes joint is that smartass-ism's are developing into a fine art; that is seriously lacking @ the other inspector forums. What w/ all the goofiness & general insults & humiliations of the average inspectors day (today some realtor actually scolded me for talking about garage door openers), I like to kick back @ the end of the day w/ some good old smartass talk. (When the realtor was finished, I acted all hurt, sideled up next to her, grabbed her & planted a big kiss on her right cheek before she knew what I was doing. It probably coulda got me arrested, but my customer & everyone else laughed, I came off the raconteur/bon vivant, & the bitch couldn't do anything else w/out revealing her true bitchiness. Life is good.)
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I can only confirm what I hear from them that goes there. What I heard is that NACHI is going to change its name to Kurt-Mitenbuler-(the-inspector-there-is-no-singer)-is-the-biggest-jerk-around-club. [%|] I heard there's an entire conference over there devoted to bashing those meatball moderators @ the ASHI forum. If I'm wrong, I just wasted a lot of money on T shirts. IHINA will undoubtedly be around for the long haul. There are too many disgruntled civilians that have been jacked around by too many realtors; no lack of pissed off civilians wanting to express ire @ realtors. Kind of like the stockbrokers, the hack doctors, the shyster attorneys, the shill HI's, the sit on their thumbs public educators, the bureaucrats, the politicians, the ......... If there is a worthless pack of professionals, there will be an organization devoted to opposing them. It's the American way, & I'll fight anyone who sez otherwise [:-irked]
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Technically, I could sign on, pay the $50, & be a member; I don't solicit realtors. Then again, what if I do? Maybe we can get a good volume deal on big TV's........ I think being an IHINA member requires devotion to a cause; I just wanna inspect buildings......
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I think that it is only "visible" to IHINA members or those w/ administrative controls or Moderators. It's still here (or there?).
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It's all a matter of perception; if one believes the realtors to be the "gatekeepers", then they are. If one simply runs their business & makes smart decisions, there is no gatekeeper other than oneself. Inspector fees are "suppressed" because of all the other goofy inspectors who don't understand the basic fundamentals of pricing their product. When one simply provides a good service & charges accordingly, a magic thing happens; people pay. All this focus on how "realtors are keeping us down" is pathetic; I've got several realtors who keep me up, & tell their clients to pay because I'm worth it. This argument is dangerously self fulfilling, like the "poor" brother in the ghetto who can't get out because "big brother" is keeping the thumb on them. I live in a freakin' ghetto, & I get to see the brothers who take charge & get goin', in addition to the stoners who don't. It ain't about gatekeepers, it's about personal initiative, intelligence, hard work, & perseverance.
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Has anyone, ever, found a house w/ K&T that wasn't full of jackwired silly crap splices and all manner of other problems? It's only OK if it is in its original pristine condition, not if it has been altered. I grew up w/ the stuff, work on it all the time, & am finally @ the point where I don't cut any slack. It's ancient, outdated, likely dangerous if we could see all the various things that we can never see in the walls, ceilings, & junction boxes, & it's time to rewire. W/ the average home price hitting stratospheric levels nationwide, is spending a couple grand to have new wiring really something that anyone wants to gamble on? I think there is resistance because it is hard to find a sparky who wants to do the work, it is invasive, it requires thought & planning, and several other things in short supply in the trades nowadays. In an inspection world that has deemed AFCI's as necessary in brand new BR's w/ outlets every 12', GFCI protection throughout the entire house, electrical service cables that are >10' above grade, neutrals & grounds that are seperated after the main disconnect, no double taps unless the device is made for 2 wire connections, proper polarity receps, grounded outlets & fixtures, etc., etc., etc...., how can anyone argue for K&T? Yes, even the esteemed Dougie H. sez it's OK, but you can't trust people from California about something like this. [}}>>]
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George, I'm glad you found your way over to O'Handleys joint. You're definitely a [:-banghead] on occasion, but brilliant people often are. I was a major Branding basher initially; not so now. Too much has been stated about Branding that simply isn't based in reality. There is no single "focus" on realtor marketing; realtors are definitely included in the marketing mix, but there are several other directions. I haven't advertised to a realtor in >15 years; it's repulsive to think about. Then again, business is repulsive; I ain't in this for artistic fulfillment fer chrissakes. I have my own little marketing plan to bounce off the ASHI branding thingiemabob, & it absolutely includes realtors. Face it, we aren't the deal; the realtors are the deal. We are the fact finders; a single component of the deal. If you want to be a component of the deal, percentages say it is smart to (at least) let the deal people know you are there. Someday, when people finally wise up & start using the internet to its full potential in real estate transactions, realtors will fade away, albeit slowly. Until then, ignoring realtors in a marketing plan is childish. Focusing on them exclusively is wrong, stupid, & several other distasteful things, but excluding them is not business, it is something else. Maybe relegion, which makes no room for anything other than itself. The art direction in the campaign is quite nice; it's stuff that would catch my eye in a magazine & make me interested, & I am almost immune to advertising. The advertising folks out of Indianapolis are pretty sharp; I think folks will be surprised. And finally, back to business; I'm hedging my bets & playing poker by laying down the additional $250. Folding my cards & watching others play is not good business; what if it works on a grand scale? If it does, I plan on being somewhere in the lineup, not watching it crest by me. If it doesn't work, I'm out $250, which stings, but I can only wish I wasted $250 every year on stupid crap. On the horses, I'm always in for the $2 Quinnella; long shot, but if it hits, nice payoff. Branding is the same way. Small bet, decent odds. Place your bets.
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Home Inspector Licensing
kurt replied to Michael Brown's topic in Home Inspection Licensing and Pending/Legislation
Licensing in Illinois has been only positive, in my experience. While it is an "artificial" endorsement, it has created all the sorts of desired effects in my customers. I have not had my statements questioned by the spin doctors due to my not having any license to operate as an HI. Inspection agreements are required by the licensing act, so I no longer have to go through the 45 minute explanation of the contract. I've raised my prices and blamed the State for complicating things [:-bouncy]. So far, it is all relatively inoccuous. For those facing licensing, don't panic; I've seen nothing but benefit. -
Good question, impossible to answer in binary fashion (at least for me, anyway). The branding thing is not a bad idea, and in certain context, is a good idea for the organization. The single objection I have @ this time is the absurd amount of funding being lavished on the consultants and on the "rollout" @ InspectionWorld; I would rather the money be spent on actual advertising, not creating "buzz". I could go into detail, but am not inspired enough to do so. I could see very clearly where the campaign could benefit membership by alerting civilians to the benefits of ASHI membership. OTOH, it could be a bust; we'll get to see just what is going on in a year or so. My largest concern is policing of the membership; if we are selling the idea of competency, we better be able to deliver. Just how we deliver is a very large question, as yet unanswered.
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Ya gotta say it; this is one of the most unique & nice sites on the web. Nice job, O'Handley.
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I think I was responding to the TAREI history; things have been getting changed around a little.
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Paul, Nice little history. Hope it never happens here!