Can you imagine what the home inspection industry was like in 1999? Everything was right there for the taking. You could register just about any home inspection-related website URL that you wanted. Whatever company name you could think of was there for the taking. Saw a territory that you wanted to work in? All you had to do was start marketing and it was yours. Wanted to add an exciting new service to your home inspection offerings, like maybe termite inspections or foundation elevation surveys? Just buy the equipment you needed and there you were, the only inspector in your state offering that service. If only we could go back in time and capitalize on all those opportunities.
Back at the turn of the century, the home industry was ripe for the taking. Now, it seems like everything that could be done has already been thought of. Video pipe inspections; done. Termite certificates; done. Mold, lead paint, and radon testing; done. 360 videos; done. Is there really any meat left on that bone?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes, there’s plenty of room left for us to grow. We may believe that everything’s already been thought of, but we’d be wrong. Instead of time traveling back to 1999, imagine for a moment if we traveled 25 years into the future. What kind of ingenious things will inspectors be doing then?
Will inspection software be embedded into our glasses, enabling us to insert a picture of moisture damage directly into a report just by staring at it? Will we even be using pictures, or will clients look over their report using VR, virtually walking around the house with us pointing out areas of concern? Will real estate agents still be recommending us, or will being a real estate agent still be a thing? Will we even need to walk around a house, or will everything we need to know be accessible online?
There are lots of changes coming to our industry. Some will be good for everyone involved, and some, not so much.
Back in 1999, the possibilities were endless. Someone blessed with the gift of foresight would have had free reign to build a home inspection empire. The opportunity to build our own home inspection empire is still there; we just need to discern what’s coming next and ride the wave.
Or even better, build a wave-making machine and ride a wave of our own creation.
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Thanks, Joe
