Home Inspectors, Essential Workers during COVID-19

With the pandemic, home prices are currently on the rise, and interest rates are at an all-time low, which has caused a higher demand for inspectors at the moment.

Researching the real estate market is always unpredictable. At the start of the COVID pandemic, we didn’t foresee that our phones would be off the hook, while the economy still had not stabilized. We don’t know what the future holds, and the next months may bring uncertainty. With 9% of homeowners having mortgage forbearance in the US, the tide may change soon when their balloon payments are due, and the homes they own start foreclosing, thereby causing home prices to drop and interest rates to increase.

Unestablished inspectors may see a decrease in their businesses soon as they might not have planned for the long run. I anticipate a change in the housing market, which is the main reason why we are working on building an online presence. This housing bubble will burst soon, and the inspectors that don’t depend on marketing platforms will be the first to feel the heat. I have a 5-star rating on all the platforms that I signed up with. I even have established real-estate agents come to me first before any other inspector as their go-ahead-inspector. Most importantly, I provide optimal service, which has given me a solid footprint in the inspection business.

While the initial days of the pandemic had everyone confused about their futures, there were no major disruptions, overall, the days that followed the start increased business for us. Although there was some disruption within the industry, around mid-March at the beginning of the pandemic, and it did impact our company, I was still handling inspections. They might not have been at the same volume or scale as in the past, but the work was coming in.

While many companies had to change the way that they were working, we continued doing the same stuff we were the entire time. We did not even make changes to the way that we were functioning or the methods that we were using to communicate with our audience. At the same time, I have not worked on changing the number of hours that I work as well.

Most of the work home inspectors go through is done remotely, or at least not from our offices as we are constantly on-ground inspecting houses. I did not work remotely throughout the pandemic and was working from my office, which is actually in my house, conducting inspections whenever I got the chance. Additionally, this meant that there were no challenges or changes I had to get used to.

I am careful about the number of people I interact with, but there were no specific rules about the number of people I allow into the house. Whenever I am inspecting a house, I wear a compliant mask throughout the inspection. I also make it a point to wear gloves and boot coverings at people’s homes. We hope the houses are empty before arriving, but tenants sometimes occupy them, which makes things a little difficult.

We don’t use any specific platform other than phone calls. Our primary mode of communication is in-person meetings and only on the rare chance that a client can’t make those, we use the alternative. I usually make it a point to go through all the issues and questions they might have together on the phone but prefer putting them at ease in person.

In the US, home inspectors are considered essential workers, so we had permission to conduct business, of course, while following the proper safety protocols and rules. I conducted four inspections in mid-March as business had slowed down. I spent most of my time off calling the real estate and confirming that they were safe and healthy, and to affirm that I am there to support and assist them if they couldn’t make it to their listings or inspections.

If you are looking for an expert at home inspections, get in touch with House Pro Home Inspection Inc. I have been in this business for some time, and I assist with outdoor or indoor inspections. We assist with termite home Inspections, thermal imaging, condo inspections and co-op Inspections. I am a NY State licensed home inspector more than happy to assist my clients in any way possible. If you are looking for a better understanding of the services we provide, click here. If you want to get in touch with me for a home inspection, please click here.