Just Imagine.....      Clients have been getting home inspections since the mid 1980's. 90+% of the inspections are for the buyers. They are many times referred to the home inspection  company by their trusted real estate agent or friend. Some search for us on the web or google. A very small percentage of agents and sellers get an inspection before they list their home on the market. They are trying to get a handle on things that would very likely derail a possible sale because the buyer doesn't have the time to wait for repairs, has a past history with this type of issue, or get's talked out of the house by a relative or friend advising them to run away, keep looking. There could be other reasons, but the point is, something in the inspection turned them away from the house.     So jus... 04/14/2025

The Best is on the Way.     Spring selling season normally starts in March/April, depending on how severe the winter has treated us here in north central Illinois. This winter of 2024-2025 was mild in the view of most people. I personally only used my John Deere 6 forward 2 reverse electric start snowblower twice. The rest of the winter there wasn't enough snow to use the snowblower, the snow shovel was just fine.      We had some hints that there would be a very busy spring season based on how February went. We inspected 7 more homes in 2025 than 2024 and our average inspection fee increased $72 due to the addition of in house radon testing and sewer scope services. March was no different with similar increases in number of inspections and similar average inspection fee compared to 202... 04/14/2025

Quality of Life Raise. This post could have started writting many years ago, 2014 to be exact. I started my home inspection business, SLS Home Inspections in 2007. I started with a 13 page pile of paper with components of what to inspect. It matched the primitive report software I was using. It wasn't very expensive to use the report writing software but it did the job for 11 years. I was at a home inspection conferance and met Erin Brockovich, yes the Erin Brockovich. I was standing in line to get a picture with her and the inspector behind me in line and I were chatting about business and inspector stuff. He said he was doing about 300 inspections a year. I was only doing about 200-225 and was having trouble keeping up with the signatures and payments and sending reports. I asked how ... 10/31/2024

Fresher than Fresh salsa, sounds great doesn't it? It's the name of my salsa that just has a nice ring to it. Well, I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I can't. Back in old days before cell phones and online recipes, there was these things called magazines. 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, (remember, 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 ... 06/27/2024

You made the right decision Mr. Buyer.      One of the things we do when we finish an inspection is give the buyer a simple survey questionnaire to fill out at that moment. It has questions like was the inspector on time or was the inspector clean and courteous or would you hire this inspector again? Buyers would never think these things are important to them, but the simple fact of asking these questions, builds a level of trust inside them going forward. They don't know what they don't know. When someone asks them how was the inspection, they just might remember a few things from the survey, along with any significant issues the home may have had.      Before all of this happens at the inspection, there's the initial phone call, where we really have to do our sales job and explain wha... 05/31/2024

21 Kids Will be Biking After Christmas.     How do I know this you may ask? I know this because I helped collect then repair then deliver those same 21 bikes to the local Kankakee, IL Salvation Army. They have a Toyland event where local underprivelaged families can come to the Salvation Army gym that has been all set up with rows and rows of tables filled with donated toys and games. The families usually fill out a wish list for their children and when they arrive at the Toyland, a Salvation Army volunteer walks them through and helps find the perfect, special toy on the wish list.      The bicycles all come from Project Re:Cycle, which is a local bicycle 501c3 charity. They get over 150 bicycles a year donated from the local police departments and the local bike shop. They are in vari... 12/19/2023

You Don't Know What You Don't Know.     Boy is that ever true, especially when it comes to tech stuff on the computer. Over the years I have spent literally dozens of hours trying to search for documents, create a postcard or flyer or prepare presentations only to have them blow up in my face when I finally get finished. They may have things like bad fon't sizing, wrong font, off center, weird script that just disappears when I think it's ready to go, or just plain look ugly and unprofessional. Don't even get me started with Excel or Powerpoint. The true test to getting proficient and becoming an expert with something is to do it for 10,000 hours. That's not my rule, I'm sure I read it in one of the many books I have. I just don't have time to search for it at this moment. My challenge ... 10/30/2023

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