American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc.Whether you are looking for your first home or want to remain a responsible homeowner, it’s essential to know about the condition of your and its different systems. When looking at homes to buy or just continuing maintenance on your home, one of the critical areas to keep an eye on is the roof.
There’s something about print. Call me old-fashioned, but words mean more to me when I see them in print, curling the pages back around the spine and turning page after page. No, you won’t find an eReader in my house, just tons of books and magazines. It’s a bit of a problem, I admit.
Pandemic buying: It’s a term coined by the media to describe consumers’ changed purchasing habits during the coronavirus health crisis. From a surge of online shopping to runs on toilet paper, Americans have spent money in both practical and unexpected ways to cope with an uncertain time. Among the industries that COVID-19 has spurred: swimming pools.
The housing market has never been so competitive and so tough for buyers in the last 50 years. As of April, the inventory of homes for sale at the end of the month remained at near historic lows—1.16 million homes, 20% below the level one year ago, and equivalent to just two months of the month’s sales, way below the desired five to six months of supply.
Creativity has been a driving force for many service businesses throughout the past year, and the home inspection sector was no different. To gain insight on how ASHI members have pivoted in 2020 into 2021 and parse some expert advice for our readers, Sedgwick spoke with Greg Bradle, ASHI Inspector (member since 2017) and owner of Lucent Home Inspections, about how he’s taken his services to the next level in recent years.
While the most popular roofing material has not changed (hello, asphalt shingles), other types of roofing are seeing growth in some areas of the country. We talked to Maciek Rupar, technical services director for the National Roofing Contractors Association, about different types of roofing materials, and what home inspectors should look for.
When Eric Swiatek started Green Leaf Home Inspections in 2018, he’d been working for HUD for more than 17 years. He was looking for a change of career, and while he’d never really considered going into business for himself, he saw an opportunity to start home inspecting and went for it. “Initially I performed inspections as a side business, but things grew so quickly I resigned from my federal position at the start of 2020 and was fortunate enough to perform 410 inspections last year,” he said.
When you join a Committee or the Board, you gain access to…
Being approved for a mortgage is the first hurdle many homebuyers will have to become homeowners. While this is a big success in itself, this is just one of the costs you will have to account for as you take on the responsibility of homeownership. If you had rented before buying the home, your monthly rent might have included the costs of taxes, property repairs, and even some utilities.
Your success starts here with ASHI. Join the best in the Home Inspection industry – Become an ASHI Member today.