Working with the Best of Them

How ACI Morgan Cohen found a home in home inspecting

November 1, 2023

Before he became a home inspector, Morgan Cohen was working as a carpenter in Boston—mostly working on old homes as part of a crew doing renovation work. “I loved that work,” he said. “I have always loved building (and taking apart) things, the craft of carpentry, and have always been interested in homes and how they work.”

Cohen’s father wasn’t a builder, but he let his son try new things—including pounding a few nails and cutting wood as a boy. He was hooked—despite the memory of when he, his father, and sister demolished the family kitchen and he stepped on a nail. “I’ll never forget that pain,” he said.

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Becoming a Home Inspector

It was when Cohen and his wife began house-hunting that the field of home inspection first entered his interests. “I was immediately hooked. It was a great way to combine many of my interests and start a company,” he said.

Cohen joined his local ASHI chapter—ASHI New England—and met Mel Chalfen, an ACI who he credits with helping him move in the right direction in those early stages. “He tore apart my reports, and of course I learned a ton,” Cohen said. “Most of the fundamental report writing we do today I learned from him. That was almost 20 years ago now, and I also met several inspectors in the ASHI New England chapter during that initial time who I’m still in contact with today and am thankful to have as colleagues.”

“A lot of people want to get into home inspection so they can ultimately do their own thing, so it can be tricky to train someone and then have them leave the company.” – Morgan Cohen

Growing the Company

Cohen founded MKC Associates Home Inspection in 2005 and has since completed more than 2,300 Massachusetts home inspections as well as commercial property inspections, property consultations, and commercial and industrial radon testing projects.

“Right now we have four inspectors in the company and myself. It is a great team, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work with everyone here,” he said. “I am proud of the team ethos, the way we work together, and the level of mutual respect and professionalism here.”

Initially the company was just Cohen. He did it all—and he didn’t really plan on expanding. At the time he had two young children and wanted to be as involved in their lives as possible. “This profession can really allow some very interesting and valuable flexibility that a lot of other professions don’t,” he said.

Cohen said he didn’t consider growing his company at first because he wanted to focus on doing the best possible work, too. “For me that meant only focusing on the inspections and not on company growth.”

But over time demand grew. He said he was lucky to get in early on things like Yelp, Angi (formerly once Angie’s List), and Google. “But mostly I found that the best way for me to grow my business was to work hard for my clients, not focus on marketing to agents, and the rest took care of itself. I tried some agent marketing, but it was never genuine, so I gave it up. The best possible agent marketing you can do is do a great job and be clearly dedicated to this work,” he said.

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Being the Best, with the Best

Cohen said real estate agents appreciate professionalism, consistency, a strong work ethic, making things right when they go wrong, and, well, a lack of drama. “I have had the opportunity to work with the best agents because the ones who appreciate these things are typically interested in their clients’ best interests. That’s been a big factor in growing the company,” he said.

He said the company grew slowly and stayed right-sized for the demand and the time in the market, which he appreciated. “To force growth, or focus specifically on growth, you have to make too many compromises. Growth can be a great thing; it just has to evolve from the nature of the business that’s growing—not just for its own sake. Lately, I have been seeing a lot of emphasis on growth and not enough on quality.”

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The Challenges

Hiring new inspectors has probably been the biggest challenge of Cohen’s career so far. New inspectors may not always understand the commitment, for example, until they’re fully immersed in the work.

“There is a huge outlay of time, resources, and trust that you have to be ready to risk when hiring,” he said. “It is a huge learning opportunity—hiring and training—but you also have to have a way to maintain the core direction and ethos of the business, and that’s hard. On top of all that, a lot of people want to get into home inspection so they can ultimately do their own thing, so it can be tricky to train someone and then have them leave the company.”

But Cohen has continued to focus on making his company a great place to work. “If an inspector is happy and the company is giving them what they need, they’re most likely to stay and contribute to the company culture. It is definitely an ongoing challenge, and one I think we do pretty well at. There are many advantages to working with a company over being a solo inspector, and if it is the right company, it can really be a good fit for a new inspector or even a seasoned inspector.”

That said, MKC also works to offer its staff as much autonomy and flexibility as possible, especially with their schedules. The company also has a strong training program, including on-site training with peers as well as report editing. “I really enjoy the training process, and it gets even more interesting when we involve our more seasoned and experienced inspectors in the training process,” he said. It also allows Cohen to stay in close communication with the team.

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Improving the Field

Cohen previously served as an education director with the ASHI New England chapter for two years and said he loved bringing people together to explore how they could improve continuing education.

He’d tell anyone entering this business to learn as much as they can—from trying new things to making connections with other inspectors. “If you have no trades experience that’s not a deal-breaker, but get some experience while you’re training to become a home inspector. That could mean working part-time, renovating your own house, or something else, but hands-on work is the best way to learn how houses work,” he said.

At the end of the day, Cohen loves working with clients—teaching them about their potential new house and ensuring they feel supported. “I am really glad to be in a profession where I work only for the client and have no other interests at stake and nothing to sell. It is truly enjoyable to be that person for your client—to be the one they can trust,” he said.

MORE TIPS FROM MKC

  • 1. Find inspectors willing to have you go to inspections with them—and take the time to learn everything you can from them (and buy them lunch).
  • 2. Get good at assimilating new information and recalling that information. You may only see a problem or a defect once while training, and you have to be ready the next time you see the issue.
  • 3. Work on your communication skills—writing and speaking—and practice with people you know before going out with new clients.
  • 4. Read sample reports from other inspectors to get a sense of what you think is good work (and what is bad work).
  • 5. Develop a framework for how you will report your findings that you can use as a fundamental structure for comment-writing (We use Observation-Analysis-Recommendation).
  • 6. Don’t rush into the profession without sufficient training; you’ll get overwhelmed, and it will be harder to build up your reputation.

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