Back in Business

Margaret Monprode loves home improvement. She’s watched This Old House from the time it first aired. When she finally decided in the late ’90s that she wanted to run her own business, she thought, why not give home inspecting a shot?

“I was always my father’s helper on chores and home maintenance stuff. And my husband and I were relatively thorough DIYers.”

Today Monprode is the president of South Carolina ASHI and company vice president at Buyers’ Inspection Group—the oldest and once largest home inspection company in South Carolina. She’s been an ASHI Certified Inspector since 2015.

The Journey

Monprode and her husband lived in Alabama in the late ’90s when she made the decision to try inspecting. She learned what was needed to get licensed in the state and began studying to get her residential homebuilder’s license. After she earned that license, she purchased an AmeriSpec franchise.

She completed the AmeriSpec training program and entered business with a friend. However, timing would have it that around the time their business began to be profitable, Monprode’s husband’s company transferred them to Michigan. “I had small children, and he traveled all the time, so it wasn’t practical for me to work. I took a really long break.”

She let her licenses expire. The family lived in Michigan for 10 years before her husband’s company transferred them to South Carolina. “I immediately wished I hadn’t let my licenses expire because now my kids were old enough that I could’ve gone back to work and South Carolina would have reciprocated with Alabama.”

But she was ready to get back into the game. She took a part-time office job in the home inspection company where she still works today—Buyers’ Inspection Group. She’s worked in their office doing everything from customer service to proofing reports, but now she’s a 50% owner. “I had mentioned to one of the partners that if he ever decided to retire or sell out I’d be interested in buying in,” she said.

Soon she was joining her current business partner Steve Porter and never looked back. “I bought in at a 50% share of Buyers’ Inspection Group, and I’ve been active since. I had to get relicensed and basically reapprentice, starting from scratch in 2015, but here I am.

The Benefits of the Business

Monprode loves exploring houses. “I’ve only ever met one house I didn’t like,” she laughed.

She loves figuring out an old home’s problems, and she equally enjoys teaching people about them. She’s the kind of home inspector who takes her time talking with clients. “The goal is to let buyers and homeowners know what needs to be better. What can be improved? What can be safer?”

The variety is fun, too, she said. “I like that it’s different every day. I’m in a different part of the community, a different kind of house.”

It’s also physically active, and that’s a bonus. “I like to say it’s my free gym and yoga class. You’re down on your knees; you’re ducking over and under ductwork.

Today

Monprode aims to do one home inspection a day from her company in Greenville, South Carolina, though occasionally she will do two. The company has four inspectors.

She said it’s the business, not the work, that is most challenging. Things like having the proper insurance policies and making sure all of the inspectors are following the same protocols when onsite are crucial.

Whenever they get a complaint, which happens sometimes whether deserved or not, they immediately turn it over to InspectorPro, she said.

Monprode said these days most people know what to inspect from home inspections, but South Carolina doesn’t require corrections; the only requirement is that a seller not lie. It’s important to educate any homebuyers coming in from out of state of this fact, as it may differ from where someone lived previously. “Sometimes you have to change expectations,” she said. “They [sellers] have to fill out a disclosure statement stating what they know about the property.”

The Future

These days Monprode is seeing more women in the industry, and that makes her happy. No one even gives it a second thought when a woman ACI shows up to complete the inspection now, she said.

Moving forward she hopes more inspectors will get involved in local ASHI chapters.

“I think it’s important to meet in person once in a while in a professional setting to discuss pros and cons of everything happening around us locally in our industry.”