Step by Step

For Paul MacNeill, process is paramount. Prior to his home inspection career, MacNeill spent many years working in manufacturing and quality. “I had a ’process mind,’ so when I started doing inspections I curated and documented a process that I followed every time I would inspect a house. Of course, sometimes if it’s raining or snowing you do it a little differently, but the process kept me from making mistakes or missing things. It kept me on track,” he said. “When I trained new people, that’s the way I trained them.”  

The 2024 John E. Cox Member of the Year Award recipient has spent most of his nearly 20 years in the home inspection profession as an ACI and contributor to the St. Louis ASHI Chapter, volunteering on multiple committees from the beginning. To be considered for the John E. Cox Member of the Year Award, an ACI must have rendered outstanding service to an ASHI chapter and to the home inspection profession over a period of years.

“Paul was one of the first ASHI inspectors in our area to become qualified and licensed to fly a drone,” said ACI Harry Morrell. “When other inspectors were considering  drones, Paul set up a drone demonstration and class on the capabilities of drones.” He brought in an FAA specialist to go over the requirements to fly a drone and become licensed. “Paul also directed our members to an FAA school on how to pass the drone pilots test for license.” 

MacNeill certainly knows how to make things happen. He worked his way through the St. Louis chapter taking on various roles—he was secretary, vice president, president, and also education chair many times. “That was one of the things I did first; I got on the education committee. I didn’t know very much, so I figured, ‘Well, that’s where I should go to learn,” he laughed. 

He also knows how to get things done. He has facilitated a number of successful seminars and monthly meetings, including the 2024 ASHI InspectionWorld on the Road, which he said he worked on with Mark Goodman. “The chapter here has treated me very well through the 20 years, and anything I can do to give back I try to do,” MacNeill said.  

Morrell pointed to the ASHI on the Road event as a high achievement. “Due to the economy and losing many members to retirements and marginal companies going out of business, the chapter education committee was the smallest in over 20-plus years. This did not bother Paul,” Morrell said. “Paul took on all the important jobs of putting on a complicated task of a three-day seminar, including food, venue, and speakers, to name just a few.” 

It was more than a year of planning and preparation. “Paul kept accurate records, including spreadsheets to show our progress and costs. This was a remarkable achievement in itself,” Morrell said. “The result was a successful seminar that attracted out-of-town and out-of-state ASHI members who we have not seen in years. As a cherry on top of the cake, Paul began setting up speakers for our monthly meeting for the rest of the year right after the ASHI on the Road seminar.” 

Getting Where He is Today

Now in his mid-70s, MacNeill initially found himself in the world of home inspections after a neighbor suggested they knew someone who might need help with their own inspection business. From there, his work evolved and he met more people. He started attending ASHI St. Louis meetings, became ASHI-certified, and even bought and ran his own small inspection business within his first couple of years. He’s since sold the business and now works for BPG out of St. Louis. Today he’s also an active ASHI School instructor. 

Here is more from our recent conversation with MacNeill about what he’s learned over the years in the industry. 

What was the first business you owned like? 

It was a small business. For two to three years we worked on word of mouth and the quality of what we did, and it was very successful. We did very well. It took care of feeding three families. 

You mentioned your home inspection process. Can you share some of the steps? 

I always encourage the client to be there. That gives you an opportunity to educate the client and also set expectations. It also gives you an opportunity to ask what their concerns are as well as build a relationship with them. That’s an important thing to have happen. I always try to do that. 

I always start in the kitchen. I work my way through the main floor, then do the second floor, then the basement, and then outside with the roof. By the time I get outside I already have a pretty good idea where all the penetrations of the roof would be, if there was any movement in the interior walls where to look on the outside, that kind of thing. I always look at it like a system. It all comes together to make a home. It’s not just electrical, you have an electrical system, but that is part of the home.

How did you go from a small company to being part of BPG, with dozens of inspectors in your area? 

It’s big. In the beginning, I wanted to run my own business. BPG had approached me, but I didn’t want to do it then; I wanted to do my own thing. As you get a little older, sometimes you don’t want to do every single thing—handling your own insurance and so forth. So I went to work for BPG in St. Louis, and now I do inspections with them. I also do a lot of interior thermal work with the infrared camera and use drones for roof inspections and do EIFS (exterior insulation finishing systems).

What is one of the keys to succeeding in this work?

All through the years, I think what’s been successful to me is one, trying to build a relationship with the client. You have to be honest, be truthful, and tell it like it is, but don’t be an alarmist. Look at it like, ‘Would you sell this home to your daughter, or what would you want fixed? Some agents wouldn’t use me, but maybe that’s not the kind of agent I want to work with anyway. 

Why drones? 

I have my FAA license, I’m a certified thermographer, and I’ve been flying drones for at least 10 years now. They’re pretty effective and very safe. The one I did the other day—the pitch of the roof was 12/12. That’s not something any inspector should walk.  Sometimes it’s a three-story building with a flat roof. How do you get on it? It’s cheaper for the client for you to use a drone—and much safer obviously. We look at not only whether it’s cost-effective but safer.

The thermal and the drone are add-ons, but the thermal will find moisture or issues that many times are hidden. That could prevent a callback in two or three months from a client who’s unhappy with something that showed up later.

What are the benefits of ancillary services? 

You need to provide a radon test, to have the ability to do radon and get yourself certified to do that so you know what you’re doing. The second thing would be to have a contact with another company that can do a gas inspection and a sewer lateral. These days, those are the minimum any inspection company should have. 

Then you can get into, ‘Hey, I’m inspecting and this roof is a 12/12 pitch, so I can’t do it.’ I can’t see it from the ground, or it’s a tile roof. Those kinds of things. Then, if you’re so minded, get yourself licensed by the FAA and buy a drone. They’re not that expensive anymore. Do a little practice and take all those pictures; sometimes I’ll take 50 pictures on a roof and then study those pictures for any condition. 

You can become a one-stop shop, or you can subcontract to people and focus on your core strengths and expertise. Through the years I’ve gotten my FAA license, I’m a certified thermographer, and I have EIFS certification. I’m a believer in education. There are times that it will benefit you. 

For example, your radon monitors—make sure they’re calibrated. Years ago I met this high-volume agent. All I gave him was my card. Six months later he called me and said his regular guy’s radon monitor was out of calibration. He asked if I’d taken the training and was certified. “Yep.” Was my monitor calibrated? “Absolutely.” I set up a radon test for him, and then I worked with him for three or four years after that. You just never know when having your ducks in a row will benefit you. People rely on you when they’re making one of the biggest economic decisions of their life.

What have been some of the biggest challenges? 

As an older inspector, social media has been the biggest challenge. Knowing what’s the right one and how to keep yourself relevant with it. That’s a challenge for senior inspectors. A lot of the younger inspectors have a better time with it, and I think that benefits them. Having a website is the minimum, the basics that you need. 

What keeps you doing this work?

I like helping people. I like educating clients when they’re buying their homes, and I feel like I’m protecting the industry by continuing to educate inspectors in the St. Louis chapter. We want to have qualified, educated inspectors and keep that ASHI brand top shelf. We have monthly meetings, we have a seminar coming up. We keep trying to find quality education. That’s one aspect. 

The other aspect is I really enjoy working with people. You have to have that. You need to be there with a smile on your face and happy you’re working with people. And be honest. It’s nice; I rarely get a callback. I try to have my reports stand on their own. If I got a callback with a question about my report, I would take a look at my wording. “Why did I say it that way? What made them not understand what I said?” Because it’s not that there was a problem; they just didn’t understand what I meant. 

Advice for other inspectors? 

If you get a call from a client, number one—call them back as soon as possible. And always call them back with your report in front of you, not from memory. If you’re driving, say, “Let me look at the report I sent you, and I’ll call you back when I get back to the office.” Don’t ignore them. And if you made a mistake, admit to it and take care of it. The only person who never made a mistake is the person who never did anything.

What’s next? 

I have been doing this for about 20 years. I’m slowing down a little bit; I’m down to one a day, but I’m not prepared to 100% quit.

I was very fortunate that I ended up in St. Louis through the years and the St. Louis Chapter. The St. Louis Chapter is very strong. There are a lot of good people who worked through the years; some of them are past presidents of ASHI who worked to build a great chapter. I benefited from that, and I’m appreciative of that.