Dan Steward
President and CEO
Pillar To Post Home Inspectors®
www.pillartopost.com
Q: How are things moving along for Pillar To Post Home Inspectors in the new year?
A: Despite the pandemic, we have been fortunate to be the busiest we have ever been. As the home seemed to be the main focus of everyone’s 2020, we saw growth nearly everywhere home-related. Home sales continued to grow, and the Pillar To Post Home Inspectors business grew at twice the rate of the market.
Q: As far as the pandemic goes, have you continued some of the practices you put in place last year?
A: All of the on-site inspection procedures we introduced last March to keep REALTORS® and their clients safe have either stayed with us or undergone improvements based on what we determined worked best for our clients since this all began.
Q: How is it all working now? This has been a tough year for so many businesses.
A: We were very pleased and proud to award 40 new franchises in such a tough year. Our existing franchisees also experienced their best Q3 and Q4 ever. We learned from our franchisees that their REALTOR® clients were busy—and that many were selecting the Pillar To Post home inspection for the first time due to the new protocols. Many people felt that if they were going to be home for the long haul, they wanted a bigger home that could hold an efficient home office. They also wanted more outdoor space since being outdoors as much as possible was the safer option, according to the CDC guidelines. These buyers wanted and needed excellent service when it came to home inspections, and we gave them just that with the following guidelines in place:
– If clients/agents do not feel comfortable attending the inspection, we will deliver the report and/or review it by phone.
– We will reschedule the inspection if the inspector is showing signs of illness.
– We will wear a mask and clean our hands thoroughly prior to and during the inspection.
– We will keep a safe distance, not shaking hands or elbow bumping.
– We will wipe down doorknobs, faucet handles and work surfaces.
– We will take all other prudent steps to protect our home inspectors, REALTORS®, clients and homeowners from the spread of COVID-19.
– We present the inspection report on screen at the inspection or via Zoom later the same day as the inspection.
Q: These look like excellent steps. Will they stay in place? And for how long?
A: While it’s thrilling that there’s now a vaccine, by no means do we intend to stop the methods we’re using. It’s likely that we’re just beginning to see the virus surge from holiday get-togethers (at press time), so we’ll keep our guidelines in place indefinitely. And much of our new technology, like our PTP360 Tour, will remain intact. This allows the inspectors, the REALTORS® and the homebuyer or seller to see the entire property and report within a 3D tour, including the inspector’s comments, which are embedded in the photo of each room. This is a significant visual enhancement beyond the old-fashioned home inspection report. It’s the future!
For more information, please visit www.pillartopost.com.
