21 Questions Challenge Accepted

Questions  

 
     1.  We all go on vacation to get away from it all and have a great time, but I want to know, what vacation day was your worst? My wife Mary and I got married in October 1981. Went to Mexico with plans to stop in Dallas for a few days to visit her Aunt Erika and Uncle Imants. 2 days after arriving in Dallas my wife got really sick. I was fine until.... I was with Imants at the Kennedy Memorial and that's when it hit me. We spent the next 5 days in bed violently ill and had to delay our return home an extra week.

     2.  What would be your bucket list vacation or, if you have already taken it, tell us about it?  Pictures encouraged. Already did it. Twice. Boundary Waters in Canada. Canoe only, no powered boats. Crazy good fishing and the starriest sky you could ever see. 

     3.  If your ActiveRain friends were to visit you, would you prepare dinner for them or would you take them to the best pizza joint in town?  What would you make or where would you go? If you're not a vegetarian, you will love the idea when you leave. Or you'll starve. We make a really good meatless taco bar and you won't be able to tell if you're eating meat or not.

     
     4.  We all know that Canadian bacon and pineapple are the best toppings for any pizza.  If you can’t have those toppings on your pizza, what would you choose? OK, so those toppings are gross. Never ever on a pizza. Ours is a vegetarian pizza with mushrooms, black olives, onions, green peppers. 

     5.  What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Pralines and Cream. or anything with black cherry.

     6.  What is your beverage of choice with dinner; beer, wine, iced tea, a cocktail, or …..? Used to be beer, but have switched in the last few years to apple ciders. Angry Orchard, Redds, Stella Cidre.

     7.  Do you prefer going to a concert, the theater, or a big sporting event?  Who or what would you be watching? If saying my favorite could make it happen, I'd love to go to Lambeau Field and see a Packers game when the temp is 5 degrees. Get the real frozen tundra experience.

     8.  There are so many great festivals across the country.  Is there a special one in your area? Pictures are encouraged. The best event by far in our area is the Merchant Street music fest. 3 stages, dozens of local and regional bands and great food vendors. Add in an art festival and it's truly a great 2 days of fun.

     9.  What is your greatest sporting accomplishment, hitting a hole in one, bowling a perfect game, hitting the game winning shot, etc.?  If you do not enjoy athletics, what is your greatest accomplishment? I wasn't a very good baseball player, but I could coach the heck out of girls softball. My greatest team took the champion team from Dairy Queen to the final out in the title game. Our best player was out with stomach flu. We ended losing by 1 run. The opposing coach also coached college women's softball and had won division championships. Dairy Queen had clobbered us just 2 weeks earlier before the tournament. The other coach came up to me after the game, shook my hand and said "I don't know what you said, or how you did it, but after the game 2 weeks ago, I thought there was no way we could lose. This was one of the best coached games I have ever seen." I'll never forget that.

     10.  Are you a pet person?  If so, names and pictures are a must! My wife is, I'm just so so. Terribly sad event many years ago and I don't want to relive that pain again.

     11.  What is your favorite thing to collect, or do you prefer to keep things simple and clutter free? Or what is your decorating style? Hot Wheels, baseball cards, Beatles stuff, and books. My wife has an amazing Barbie collection.

     12.  What job did you have just prior to making the switch to real estate and has it helped you in your real estate career?  (Courtesy of Jeff Dowler, CRS) I sold lumber and building materials for 32 years. Definately helped in my home inspection career. Especially when I was taking the licensing class.

     13.  When you are writing on ActiveRain, who is your audience and why did you choose them for your audience? (Courtesy of Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400) I always write for buyers and agents. Get to know me and my humor and you'll probably say, "that guy is pretty funny. And smart too."

     14.  What makes you the real estate agent Home inspector of choice in your area? Experience, commitment to excellence on every inspection, involvement with the community through charities, but mainly it's the buyer protection warranties we include free with every inspection.

     15.  What is the most outrageous action that a client has ever asked you to perform? Someone was in such a hurry because their contingency period was over that day that they asked me to do the inspection in the dark. Huh? I know I have a flashlight but that's not gonna happen. 

     16.  We show a lot of homes in our profession.  What is the most interesting home or, item in a home, that you have encountered? I pulled up to a house. Seller walks out to meet me as he's leaving. He says the water heater is leaking and boiler is broken. I don't even have to go in the basement because he has the plumber coming in 3 days to fix them so don't even bother going in the basement. Hmmm, sort of odd because there's more in a basement than just a water heater and boiler. So not surprised to find a fully active pot growing operation in the ......wait for it......BASEMENT. Craziest part is the house was raided 2 days later by local drug agents. I'm pretty sure he blamed me. Good looking crop for sure.

     17.  What are your three favorite neighborhoods in your area and what makes them special?  Are you lucky enough to live in one of those neighborhoods? Briarcliff Estates, Riverview and Belle-Aire. We lived in Belle-Aire for 18 years, raised our family there and it's a nice 70's style subdivision great for new families and downsizing. Riverview is the old part of Kankakee, IL and has really beautiful old 1900ish homes and even has 2 Frank Lloyd Wright homes. In fact, the very first Prairie Style Wright home is the Bradley house in Kankakee. We now live in Briarcliff Estates in Borubonnais, IL and have for 22 years. Lots of trees, no sidewalks, just trails through the woods, several ponds and very close to a nice local park called Perry Farm with playground, a pavillion, Children's Museum and bike and walking trails, right next to the Kankakee River.

     18.  We all love client testimonials, but is there one that really made you feel special?  We would love to see it. They all make me feel special, but the ones I really like are the ones that mention my lead inspector Luke, since my goal was to train him to do the majority of the inspections someday, those reviews just reinforce what a good job he does and makes it easier for me to do less on the job inspecting and more running a business. 

     19.  What is your favorite volunteer work or charity? I've been involved with plenty, but the one that is most enjoyable is Project Re:Cycle bicycle repair charity. Find us on Facebook. We get bikes from the local police depts or normal donations and fix them up and give them away to anyone that is in need of a bike. 

     20.  What does the flag represent to you? Hope. Hope that someday our country can get back to normal without all the absolute hatred going on now. If there are not changes real soon, the flag will be nothing. 

     21.  When we discuss life, my dad always says he is not sure what he would like to be when he grows up.  He is 77!  What do you want to be when you grow up or are you already in your perfect profession? The way I ended up becoming a home inspector was destiny due to events or decisions that started way back in 1998. They all led to me deciding that a back up plan was neccesary in 2007 and turned out to be the best thing I ever did. Life has never been better.