peotone home inspection: Safe Practices Video for you to Share
- 03/20/20 05:57 AM
Going along with my last post, here's a great video that has some smart safety tips for all parties. Feel free to share all you want.
Click here for the video.
Would you like a FREE CPE certification? What is CPE? It's called Client Protection Expert How can It Help YOU? Click this link for the course... http://www.cpecertification.com/
Watch the video below and then take the short 10-15 minute test and you will receive several free items that will benefit you and your clients as well as a certificate that you can use for your marketing. Click this link for the … (2 comments)
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peotone home inspection: What are we Doing to Stay Safe?
- 03/20/20 05:19 AM
What are we doing to stay safe?
Our priority at this time is the safety of our inspection team, their families, their relatives, their neighbors, their friends, our clients, our realtor partners, and all of their families, friends, neighbors, relatives. Basically, everyone that could possible be infected with the COVID-19 virus. With that in mind, we have instituted these rules for all inspections until we pass through this crisis.
We are requesting that only one person attend for the buyers, and best case is no one attends the inspection. We will call them in the evening after the report is sent to go … (7 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Time Can be Your Best Friend, or NOT
- 02/24/20 08:35 AM
Time can be your best friend, or NOT.
Several years ago I wrote this blog post (https://activerain.com/blogsview/4620028/think-of-all-the-things-i-can-get-done-now-) about time being spent on things that weren't helping my business move forward. There were numerous time wasters that I would catch myself doing from time to time, and even sometimes knowing I had other things to do, would still waste a few minutes here and there going back to the time wasters. I suppose just knowing there is an issue with wasting time is the first step. "Hello, my name is Scott and I'm a time waster." I should have added, … (16 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Water is Not Your Friend, Inside the Home
- 12/29/19 05:34 AM
I've said it before...Water always wins and is not your friend inside your home.
This sump pump discharge jumped out at me the minute I saw it at my Bourbonnais Illinois Home inspection.
Matted down grass. Moss growing on the wall. Large opening where the pipe exits the wall. It took every ounce of willpower to not run inside the house and look at the interior wall, joists and plywood. The house next door had an elbow directing the water down into the drain pipe away from the house.
This house was a bit different. When the pump turned on, the … (5 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Your Thoughts on my New Checklist?
- 12/15/19 06:31 AM
Thanks to Barb Todaro's post today, I thought I would ask the AR group what your thoughts are on this comparison sheet between my company and my competition. This will be available for agents to hand to their clients when they start their search for an inspection company. The typical practice is for the buyer agent (BA) to always give the client 3 names of inspectors to choose from. The logic is that if something goes wrong with the inspection, the BA liability will be reduced because the BA gave them 3 names, and it was the clients decision … (3 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Test Burn for the Fire Department??
- 12/02/19 04:42 PM
Test burn for the fire department? One of the first inspections I ever did was about 10 years ago. A woman in a very small town south of my home called to tell me the village wanted to condemn her home she was trying to sell. It was vacant but she had a potential buyer, and he would be there to walk around during the inspection with me. She wanted to prove to the village the home should not be condemned. The first thing I noticed when I pulled up to the house was there were no … (12 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Don't Wait Until the Snow Flies
- 12/01/19 08:59 AM
Did you remember to tuneup your furnace? Winter has been pretty rough in Bourbonnais, Illinois so far this year. There are a few things that are worse than a furnace acting up in the middle of the winter, but for the life of me I can't think of any right now. Your furnace needs an annual checkup and if you put it off until now, you're asking for trouble. Waiting until the snow flies means you waited about 3 months too long. Now if you're depending on something like this old furnace to keep you warm through the winter, then you might want to invest in a … (5 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Amazed Doesn't Begin to Cover it
- 11/29/19 07:51 AM
Amazed doesn't begin to cover it. I have 4 children with my wife Mary, and 2 with my ex-wife. I know people can be proud of their kids, as they should be. But there are times I have to just sit back and give thanks for the children my wife and I have, and what amazing young adults they have become. My 2 oldest children live in Delaware, so visits are not real frequent. But when we do get together, it's always the best of times. My oldest son Scott III, has a good, steady job with … (7 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Thankful for my Team
- 11/29/19 07:13 AM
Thankful for my Team. I have been inspecting homes for new home buyers for about 8 years full time. I was doing inspections part time for a few years before that. I was always a one man shop until July of 2018. I have averaged 2 inspections a day Monday through Friday for the past 2 years. Over 500 inspections each year is enough to wear anyone out. All I was doing is inspecting and writing reports, sometimes working 18 hours a day from 5AM until midnight . I was approached by a young man who I had … (6 comments)
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peotone home inspection: I Guess 8 Was Enough
- 11/19/19 12:17 PM
I guess 8 was enough. I have always been thankful to have been from a big family. I am the oldest child in our family. I always wondered why my parents had this idea that they wanted to have 8 kids. None of us have ever had the thought about why other families we know only having one or two or a couple more children. We were always the big giant Seaton family. We always had to travel around with a station wagon, or a Volkswagon van. The oddest part of the whole thing is that both of our parents … (8 comments)
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peotone home inspection: What a Difference 7 Years Makes
- 11/15/19 12:50 PM
What a difference 7 years makes. I am so grateful and thankful because for the past seven years, I have been witness to these amazing events in my family's history. Seven years ago in December, 2012 I had a heart attack and was shocked back to life twice on the ER table. This is what I almost missed. In that time, I've seen my youngest daughter graduate with her nursing degree from Olivet Nazarene University. She now works in her dream job the OR department of Riverside Medical Center. She is one of the most requested nurses … (2 comments)
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peotone home inspection: In My Past Life I.....
- 10/26/19 05:27 AM
In my past life I learned early on many the rights and wrongs of a home. I learned to have an eye for details. My Dad is an architect, so I was always wanting to be an architect. There was just one problem, I was not really good at math, or algebra. I worked at my dad's office as the copy machine boy for a few years putting spec books together and making blueprints. I remember taking off in the station wagon really early on Sunday mornings with my dad and we would just drive around town looking at … (9 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Dryer Vent Safety- Again
- 09/19/19 07:15 AM
How many times do people need to be reminded about dryer vents? Never too many is the answer. There are even clever commercials now from Farmer's Insurance Group showing a 17 foot tall ball of lint and the teacher torches the ball with a flame thrower to remind viewers how flammable the dryer lint can be.
One reason there are so many of these accordion type dryer vents still being used today is that the major appliance installation companies insist on showing up to install your new dryer with a new package of flexible dryer vent. It's so much easier to just … (5 comments)
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peotone home inspection: 10 Years and Still Growing
- 07/18/19 07:25 AM
10 years and still growing. Hard to believe it's nearly ten years in business as a full time home inspector. But I've enjoyed every minute and can't wait for what's to come.
2009- At this time in 2009 I was working for another company in the building materials industry and had completed less than 20 inspections, total in 2 1/2 years. I was frustrated as a territory manage for that company and requested a demotion to prevent my brain from exploding from the ignorance of dealing with stupid sales and regional managers. The extra time I was going to have by not working … (5 comments)
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peotone home inspection: This Might be Our Big Break
- 06/08/19 06:12 AM
This might be our big break. That's the conversation my wife and I were having after an odd phone call in the fall of 2000. We were friends with a family and their children attending the same school as our kids and one of their daughters also went to the same ballet classes as our oldest daughter. We didn't see them much outside of school and ballet, as the father was disabled. They lived in the formerly fancy pants part of town called Briarcliff. The new hot spot for higher end houses was outside of town about 2 miles … (9 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Don't be Like the South Pole
- 03/24/19 06:52 AM
I was born Booker T. Smartwell, but my friends all call me Book Smart. One of them painted this picture of me in art class. Funny thing is, I don't smoke and I hate books. In fact, I can barely read past the third grade level. Any big words you find in my story you are reading are because I use a book that has a whole bunch of big … (5 comments)
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peotone home inspection: I Think This Home Inspection Thing Might Work Out
- 02/28/19 08:26 PM
I Think This Home Inspection Thing Might Work Out. I used to have a very steady and enjoyable job before I was a home inspector. I worked for Georgia Pacific Corporation which became Bluelinx. Most people thinks that's a railroad. It's not, it's a building materials distributor. I sold building materials to contractor lumber yards in Illinois and Indiana. Blulinx gave their outside salesmen every tool needed to be successful. In 2001 I was asked to join a group that serviced Home Depot stores. It was a new challenge and one I accepted. Late in 2006 there were rumors that the … (8 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Why is it my Fault?
- 02/28/19 07:54 PM
Why is it my Fault? I ask myself this question every once in a while after a home inspection has "caused" the deal to go south. The story is similar in every case this has happened. Buyer calls and schedules their home inspection. Buyer says it's their first home. Buyer shows up at the home inspection. Buyer gets the report for the home inspection. Buyer agent that was NOT at the inspection, didn't see me explaining to the buyers that most of the items were small but easy to repair items is furious because I must have said something to the … (4 comments)
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peotone home inspection: Winter is not Coming, It's here and it's Mad
- 01/28/19 07:56 AM
Winter is not Coming, It's here and it's Mad
Old Man Winter is here and he's here with a vengeance. It's Furnace Time! Winter was pretty rough in Bourbonnais, Illinois last year and it's even worse this year. There are a few things that are worse than a furnace acting up in the middle of the winter, but for the life of me I can't think of any right now. Your furnace needs an annual checkup and if you put it off until now, you're asking for trouble. Waiting until the snow flies means you waited about 3 months too long. Now if you're depending on something like … (1 comments)
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peotone home inspection: When You Have to Shoot, Shoot. Don't Talk
- 12/15/18 05:57 AM
When You Have to Shoot, Shoot. Don't Talk. This could also be titled... There's no time like the present. It could also be titled Be Prepared.
The best time to do something is now.
How many times in your life did you have an opportunity to do something, but maybe had reservations about how it would turn out? Were you thinking about what other people would think or would they criticize your plan or tell you why it won't work? Did you waste valuable time and effort trying to convince yourself and others why it was a good plan, instead of taking … (8 comments)
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Going along with my last post, here's a great video that has some smart safety tips for all parties. Feel free to share all you want. 
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