Lessons From Life and Business.     As a father of 6 kids, it has been one of the standing jokes of the family over the years that I am always telling stories about random events and happenings in my life that should be a valuable lesson for them to learn from. Here are a couple examples. I told my daughters for years that I was the smartest guy they will ever know. After numerous boyfriends and one ex-husband, I can confidently say still to this day that I am the smartest guy they have ever known. There are a few challengers to my title at this time. My middle daughter's boyfriend of 10 years+ is very smart. My youngest daughter's fiance is getting his masters degree in education administration to be a school administrator. One of my son's has completed his masters degree in Biology an... 08/31/2023

Why Us You May Ask?     That's a great question and isn't asked very often. Most of the time the very first words we hear when the phone rings and a potential buyer is on the other end is "How much is a home inspection?" Literally 9 out of 10 times, that's all the caller wants to know. They don't know that it's not really  what they want to know, but they don't know what they don't know. What they really want to know is what are you going to tell me that is so valuable and worthwhile and important in making my decision to schedule an inspection with SLS Home Inspections  so I don't feel like I can get a better deal if I call another inspection company. It's really very simple. What's in it for me?      I've been a home inspector since 2007. I've seen the mortgage crisis in 2008, the ste... 07/30/2023

Flower season is way too short.     Every April and May in Bourbonnais, Illinois we get an amazing blast of color thanks to the wide and assorted collection of flowers that bloom seemingly all at once. These flowers make real-life paintings in everyone's gardens and flower beds. Having a job where I get to visit homes and enjoy these beautiful gardens all over our area is a bonus that I don't take for granted.     Finding such beauty in what otherwise may be a very dull and drama free inspection and turns it into a perfect opportunity to snap a few pictures that will ultimately end up in a folder on my computer that is titled "Beauty Shots."  The picture above shows a really cool view of my inspection vehicle as seen through a pink crab apple tree from on top of the roof I was inspectin... 05/30/2023

  Nope, I Didn't Always Know Everything     Someone recently asked me what it takes to start a home inspection business. How did you get started? You seem to know everything. Really?          When I started my business, I had the good fortune to already have a full-time job. Good thing too, because it was right before the mortgage crisis in 2008. That took some of the pressure off to make the leap to full time. I was able to ease into the inspection business and build my network and relationships with many local agents. I completed 4 free inspections in my first year for 4 willing friends that let me practice on their home. Yes, you read that right. 4, as in four.     I was told many things over the years by many different people in and out of the inspection business about how to grow y... 05/01/2023

Maybe a Seinfeld Episode?     Many years ago when I first started doing inspections, I had the pleasure of inspecting a condo for my daughter and her soon to be husband. The marriage didn't last for a few good reasons but that's not what this story is about. They were buying unit one of a 4 unit condo. The complex was horseshoe shaped with a detached row of garages in the middle of the horseshoe. The seller was home. As I walked around the back by the gas meters, I could smell a strong natural gas smell at the meters. I used my gas leak detector and located the leak on meter number one. I told the seller he should call the gas company, NICOR, and ask them to send a repair man. I kept doing the inspection and eventually made my way to the detached garage and as I wrapped it up and walked... 03/26/2023

Not a Bozo Bucket For Sure     About 6-7 years ago, I had an inspection scheulded for a client that was buying his very first flip house. He owned a carpet cleaning business and this property was only $30,000. I remember thinking how many carpets he must have cleaned to save up $30K. Nothing was really out of the ordinary on the roof and exterior. The interior was a different story however. As I was in the basement looking at a section of about five  2x8 floor joists, I saw there were termite tunnels and what looked like squishy wood. There were entire sections I could actually squeeze and compress with my hands. There were also a short couple of pieces of 2x6 boards that the seller had attempted to nail in to the termite infested joists to help support the floor above. By attempted I m... 03/23/2023

     If I could live anywhere, I have to think I may just end up where I am at this very moment. I know there are zillions of other locations around the world and for sure around the country that are more beautiful, have more amazingly intense sunsets, more green cool forests and maybe even a better quality of life. But, and this is a really big but, it's not where I call home. I've been living in the Kankakee, IL area ever since my family moved here from a small town in central Illinois in 1970. At the time I was furious with my parents since having to leave all my grade school friends at the age of 13 was super traumatic. I went through my junior high and high school years without any deep friendships. My best friends are from various jobs I've had over the years. But, without our fam... 02/28/2023

Old School-New SchoolLast year was a crazy year in real estate and I'm pretty sure everyone that reads this might agree. While some months were normal to average business wise, there were several months that were not close to 2021. As the year went on, we determined that 2021 was an anomaly and we were more likely tracking with 2020. Our fees increased slightly, so while our number of inspections were down, we were still above in total revenue. The biggest change happened in April when our longtime marketing partner sold their business to a new company for a huge chunk of money. Many questions were now front and center. How would this affect our relationships with our clients and our agents? How would this affect our marketing? How would it affect our cost per inspection? Many, many mor... 01/30/2023

     My top blog post ever ever ever. Several years ago the monthly challenge contest was called the AR Pay it Forward Challenge. This was my entry. PROJECT RE:CYCLE BLOG POST      I like to enter the challenges every month if I can, and when I saw this one, I knew exactly what I would write about. I've been in Activerain for maybe 10 years now, and really try and read as many blogs as possible. I don't always comment on each and every one that I end up reading, and I'm sure I miss a whole bunch of them every week. But I do learn a lot about what makes agents tick, tech tips, motivational posts and real feel good stories.      My blog post story is one of the feel good story types. Since the 1970's the founders of the Project Re:Cycle program were totally fine with a small and simple 25... 10/23/2022

OOh OOh that smell.      In my 15 years inspecting homes, I've seen so may weird and wacky and just plain stupid things, I really should just write a book. I can tell you it would be a best seller.     For instance, tell me these aren't crazy things to find on an inspection.Cut off mannequin head just inside the attic hatch. Oh, it also has fake blood on it's face. Real funny Mr Seller.     How about finding an oil painting of a nude woman in the attic of a nearly empty house, who just happens to be packing up her last few things downstairs. I'm sure she forgot it was in the attic and I was not going to be the one to remind her to pack it. Picture available upon request. :-)     But the craziest thing ever was the day I pulled up to an old home by the Kankakee River. Seller comes walkin... 09/23/2022

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. ... 08/28/2022

Fly with Pride. As a past Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 324 in Bourbonnais, IL, I had a special task teaching all the scouts in our troop the rules and guidelines for raising and lowering a flag, folding and storing the flag, marching and displaying our flag and removing a tattered flag from service. There are very old and historic rules about all of these actions regarding the American flag. Other than the pledge of allegiance, most young people don't really ever look at a flag and for sure don't know or are taught the rules of respect for flag handling. We took this respect very seriously for all troop meeting, campouts, parades or Scout ceremonies. This is a picture of a flag taken at a campout in Galena, IL commemorating General Ulysses S. Grant, a hero of the Civil War. 06/12/2022

Listen to your body talk.      If you don't know my story, I had a heart attack in December of 2012. Pretty serious and was actually shocked twice in the ER before getting a single stent put in my heart. Everything has been good since then.     When your body is trying to tell you something and you just ignore it, bad things usually happen. Last Monday 4/14/22 I woke up in the middle of the night with a soaking wet t-shirt. Too many blankets? My wife was sleeping too close? Not sure. Tuesday I went to an inspection and had a fevery face. At this point I think I have Covid. Took a Covid test and it was negative. Went to southern Illinois for the weekend to attend a funeral for my wife's brother in Missouri. Spent the night at our son's house. Had sweats again on Friday night. Then on Sat... 03/25/2022

Happy and safe Thanksgiving to all. Click above for our special message.Scott Seaton-The Home Inspector With A Heart  SLS Home Inspections @815-644-6271 Inspecting homes like yours in the Kankakee, Will, Iroquois counties Illinois area since 2007. Real Estate inspections with same day report delivery.  Mold and air quality testing.  FREE 90 day Homeowners Warranty. Included with every inspection. FREE Sewergard protection for the first 90 days. covers up to $4000 of sewer or water main repairs. FREE Recallchek appliance recall service. Included with every inspection. FREE Moldsafe coverage on every inspection. FREE Platinum Roof Protection Plan with 5 year leak repair coverage. FREE $100,000 One Year NXT Structural warranty 18 month warranty available with every inspection Visit my webs... 11/25/2021

     The annual Bourbonnais Township Scarecrow festival is always a huge success.      Starting the first week of October, local businesses, charities or individuals can enter the contest for a chance to win prizes and promote their businesses or group.      The contest winners are determined by the appointed judges and also by the coveted peoples choice voters. The transformation from a simple plastic fence on Kennedy Drive into a 2 block display of Halloween fall displays and scarecrows is almost overnight. Lots of hard work and creative designs are displayed that must have taken weeks to work on just to be ready for the big set up. Take a nice walk with your family past all the entries and cast your votes for your favorite. You can even pose in some of the displays for pictures. It's... 10/28/2021

     We have two Frank Lloyd Wright homes in our town. Kankakee, Il.      Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) is famous the world over and his homes are known for some of the coolest, most innovative and striking design ideas ever built. Kankakee, IL is proud to have two Wright homes. Next door to each other too. One of them is privately owned and there are not a whole lot of people that have visited that home as long as I can remember. But the B. Harley Bradley home is a very different story. It's long history has several inspiring chapters, several chapters of struggles and near demise, and one single chapter of extreme sadness. The Bradley house is the very first home that FLW designed with his new Prairie Style design concept. Located on the banks of the Kankakee River (the cleanest river in t... 10/28/2021

Things I wish I knew- As I have gotten older, I realize there are so many things I just don't know anything about. I wish I did, but either I never took the time or didn't realize I really wanted to know about that skill or idea or information to learn about it. For instance, I have always wanted to play guitar, I even own an acoustic giutar, but have never picked it up to play one note. I would like to know how to play golf, but learning to play is just a reason to be able to hang out with my kids or brothers more often. I am a decent athlete, so I'm sure if I played enough, I would be pretty good. Some players are just so serious and I just want to learn to be able to relax and enjoy a good day outside. No pressure.     So when the pandemic became a real crisis and Zoom calls became t... 09/26/2021

Fresher than Fresh, sounds great doesn't it? Well, it is great and here's the story. I sold lumber and building materials for 32 years. I would often go the local library in the town near the lumber yard where I worked so I could do blueprint takeoffs for the house lumber package I was selling. It was quiet, no interruptions from the lumber yard guys, had a bathroom and pay phone, (there were no cell phones yet), and a big giant table I could spread out my blueprints. It was perfect. One day as I was wrapping up the takeoff, I saw a Consumer's Union magazine on the table next to mine. One of the stories was about ranking store salsa in a jar. I loved salsa, as it was becoming a really great alternative to ketchup. I grabbed the magazine, read the story about the different salsas, and de... 07/16/2021

What might have been different about this picture...     This will always be a very emotional picture for me and all of my family. It was taken on Christmas Day in 2012. That means it was exactly 13 days after I came home from the hospital after a heart attack. On December 10, 2012, at 1:30 in the moring, I woke up to intense pain and crushing pressure in my chest. I was covered in sweat and immediately knew I was having a heart attack. I woke my wife, told her to call 9-1-1. I put some jeans on and went downstairs. The Bourbonnais Fire Dept ambulance arrived within 3 minutes and before I knew it, I was in the Riverside Medical Center emergency room getting hooked up to several monitors. Exactly 15 minutes after calling the ambulance, my heart went into ventricular tachycardia, or V-tac... 05/30/2021

Perry Farm is a winning visit for the family.Bourbonnais Illinois is the home of the Perry Farm. Today it is listed by the National Park Service of the Dept of the Interior in the National Register of Historic Places. But it wasn't always like that.      In 1835, Thomas Durham moved his wife and family of five daughters and four sons to Bourbonnais Grove,IL, about 60 miles south of Chicago on property on the banks of the Kankakee River. He built a farmhouse and a three bay English barn and a horse barn. Legend is the farmhouse cellar was part of the Underground Railroad. Thomas died in 1854 and left the farm to his sons. He generously left his daughters $5 each. The sons were not successful farmers and by 1866 had fallen on hard times financially and were looking to sell the farm. One s... 04/09/2021