RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
  • Agents
  • Brokers
  • Teams
  • Marketing
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • More
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • Consumer
    • National
    • Our Editors
Join Premier
Sign In
RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
RISMedia
No Result
View All Result

Smooth Inspections Keep Transactions Humming

Home Agents
By Maria Patterson
November 27, 2016
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Smooth Inspections Keep Transactions Humming

Find real estate, searching for home

In her 10 years in the real estate industry, Katie Ducharme has seen the business from several vantage points—from the homebuilder perspective when she worked with KB Homes to the leasing side when she worked for a property management company, and finally, from the agent’s point of view in her current role as a successful sales associate with Christie’s International affiliate Coastal Properties Group in Pinellas County, Fla.

In her two years with Coastal Properties, Ducharme has closed more than $20 million in sales, gaining entry into the firm’s President’s Club in her first year. According to Ducharme, her success is a combination of hard work and advantageous market conditions.

“There are a lot of homeowners who are seeing that it’s a great time to sell a home,” she explains. “A lot of people have recovered from the downturn—they were nervous that house values wouldn’t come up. But most have and now they can sell at great prices and move up. Rates are low and there are a lot of great programs for first-time homebuyers, and lots of opportunities for investors.”

Maximizing such great market opportunities requires facilitating an efficient and effective transaction. A critical part of Ducharme’s success formula is working with HomeTeam Inspection Service of Tampa Bay, in business for more than 22 years and performing over 35,000 home inspections. The firm is an affiliate of the Ohio-based national provider HomeTeam Inspection Service.

When it came to choosing a home inspection service provider, Ducharme learned the hard way.

“I was on my very first home inspection and I’ll never forget it,” she relates. “The inspector took four hours and was so negative—everything was wrong. I thought to myself, ‘This is how home inspections go?’”

Ducharme started asking around. Her team leader at the time recommended HomeTeam—she hasn’t looked back since.

“HomeTeam brings a group of three or four inspectors and they are really thorough because you have multiple people looking at the situation,” Ducharme explains. “They’re detailed and efficient, but at the same time, they don’t want the buyer to lose excitement about the house. They’re always early, always professional and always positive, even in a bad situation.”

The team approach pays off not only for Ducharme, but also for her clients, who can enjoy peace of mind that the home has been thoroughly inspected. The inspection team includes an air conditioning specialist and at least two other inspectors. Working as a team allows them to check each other’s work and bounce things off one another.

Ducharme also relies on the speed in which inspections are scheduled—within the same day or the next day, at the latest. HomeTeam’s responsiveness is also a huge plus.

“Mitch, the owner, is always available if you ever have a question,” she says. “He bends over backwards when you need something. One time when one of his inspectors wasn’t feeling well, I saw Mitch out in the field with his inspection clothes on, ready to get the job done.”

HomeTeam’s technology helps streamline the inspection process even further, using text and email reminders, and electronic reports with photos.

“You always get a reminder call and text and HomeTeam also lets the listing agent know—that’s one less thing I have to do,” says Ducharme. “They are very organized and they send the report as a link to a PDF. That way you’re not getting a giant attachment, which often wouldn’t go through.”

Ducharme sees the partnership as a long-term component of her success. “HomeTeam is my chosen inspection company,” she says. “They’re the only ones I ever recommend.”

For more information, please visit www.hometeam.com.

Maria Patterson is RISMedia’s executive editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at maria@rismedia.com.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

Tags: Christie’s InternationalHome InspectionHomeTeam Inspection
ShareTweetShare

Maria Patterson

Maria Patterson is RISMedia’s executive editor.

Related Posts

What Buyers and Sellers Want From the Market
Agents

What Buyers and Sellers Want From the Market

March 30, 2023
RISMedia’s 2023 Real Estate Newsmakers: Meet the Trailblazers
Agents

RISMedia’s 2023 Real Estate Newsmakers: Meet the Trailblazers

March 30, 2023
Mortgage Rates Decrease for Third Consecutive Week
Agents

Mortgage Rates Decrease for Third Consecutive Week

March 30, 2023
48% of Agents Say Staging a Home Reduces Its Time on the Market
Agents

48% of Agents Say Staging a Home Reduces Its Time on the Market

March 30, 2023
Creating a More Equitable and Diverse Industry
Agents

Creating a More Equitable and Diverse Industry

March 30, 2023
Window to the Law: Avoiding Risks of Contract Terminations
Agents

Window to the Law: Avoiding Risks of Contract Terminations

March 30, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tip of the Day

Tips for Property Tech Tool Adoption

Tools with the lowest engagement often have the lowest awareness, but there's good news, too—tools with low awareness frequently have the highest satisfaction levels among those who do use them. Here are a few strategies to improve awareness of tech tools and increase adoption rates. Read more.

Business Tip of the Day provided by

Recent Posts

  • What Buyers and Sellers Want From the Market
  • RISMedia’s 2023 Real Estate Newsmakers: Meet the Trailblazers
  • Mortgage Rates Decrease for Third Consecutive Week

Categories

  • Spotlights
  • Best Practices
  • Advice
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Social Media

The Most Important Real Estate News & Events

Click below to receive the latest real estate news and events directly to your inbox.

Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

About Blog Our Products Our Team Contact Advertise/Sponsor Media Kit Email Whitelist Terms & Policies ACE Marketing Technologies LLC

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • News
    • Agents
    • Brokers
    • Teams
    • Consumer
    • Marketing
    • Coaching
    • Technology
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • National
    • Our Editors
  • Publications
    • Real Estate Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Custom Covers
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Podcasts
    • Event Coverage
  • Education
    • Get Licensed
    • REALTOR® Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Luxury Designation
    • Real Estate Tools
  • Newsmakers
    • 2023 Newsmakers
    • 2022 Newsmakers
    • 2021 Newsmakers
    • 2020 Newsmakers
    • 2019 Newsmakers
  • Power Broker
    • 2023 Power Broker
    • 2022 Power Broker
    • 2021 Power Broker
    • 2020 Power Broker
    • 2019 Power Broker
  • Join Premier
  • Sign In

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

X