Posted by manorhome on October 16, 2008
Residential maintenance inspections are a by product of my company’s commercial inspection division. A large percentage of our commercial clients have us return on a monthly (or quarterly) basis to keep an eye on the condition of the building - sort of like having a regular checkup. This way they are able to be pro-active in their building maintenance efforts rather than dealing with problems as they occur. In the long run this saves the client money (finding a $5000 roof repair during an infrared scan versus a $50000 roof repair and mold remediation after an ongoing roof leak becomes evident).
Based on the success of the commercial program, I decided to offer it to residential clients. Naturally the situation is a bit different, so the program is a bit different too. Basically how it works is as follows:
- first the home is given a complete and thorough inspection. A report is generated and given to the client. Any maintenance recommendations are highlighted in the report. The cost for the initial inspection varies depending on the size, age and features of the home. A substantial discount is applied to clients signing up for a maintenance inspection plan.
- at regular intervals I or one of my assistant inspectors will visit your home. During these visits we will address any concerns you have with the home that may have arisen since our last visit. We will also look at the components of the home that are seasonally affected (we check your gutters and downspouts in spring and fall, check the roof in the spring, look at heating system in the fall, moisture scan of basement in spring, etc.)
- we will also do a walk through inspection during our regular visits. This is similar to a full inspection, but since we have already gone into detail with the initial inspection, these visits are much more brief.
- a supplementary report will be generated that outlines any recommended maintenance. This report will then be provided to you to be added as an addendum to your original report. (don’t worry if you misplace your report - a copy is kept here in my office as well as backed up electronically.)
- the cost for the regular visits varies on the frequency. For example monthly visits are $59+GST, quarterly (seasonal) visits are $89+GST and twice-a-year visits are 189+GST (these prices assume you have already had the initial full inspection or are an existing ManorHome client.)
I’ll be the first to admit that this service is not for everybody. Thus far my clientele for this service has been people with large upscale properties and busy professionals who have neither the time nor the inclination to stay on top of their home’s maintenance - however, this doesn’t mean that it may not be right for you. As always, if the packages outlined here aren’t right for you, please feel free to contact me and we can work out a package that suits both your needs and your budget.
As always, thanks for reading and a big THANKS for choosing me to be your Windsor Ontario Home Inspector.
Please contact me with any questions - either by phone (519-818-9701 / 1-877-37MANOR), email (brad@manorhome.ca) or via my website (www.manorhome.ca)
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
-Brad
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: home inspection, windsor, ontario, home inspector, home maintenance | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on October 6, 2008
Quite regularly, I have people contact me via the contact form on my website. This is a great and very convenient method of contact by which people can ask a question or request more information without picking up the phone, running the risk of getting voicemail, waiting for a call back etc. The problem arises when little details get in the way.
At least a few times a month, I get calls from potential clients that are a bit miffed that they contacted me using the contact form, yet I didn’t reply. This generally happens when a return email address is omitted, or typed in incorrectly. Rest assured that if you used the form I got the message - I have it set to be delivered to both my mailbox as well as my blackberry.
If you use the form and I don’t get back to you within a day or so, please send me an email to my address brad@manorhome.ca or, should all else fail, call me on the telephone 519.818.9701 / 1.877.37MANOR. I look forward to hearing from you (and getting back to you).
Thanks for reading, and as always, thanks for making me YOUR home inspector.
-Brad
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: contact, home inspection, home inspector, ontario, windsor | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on October 2, 2008
This past summer season has been, to say the least, unique. Amid the whirlwind of economic and political headlines, Windsor has proven itself to be “unique in its uniqueness.” Just when I thought it was going to be an uncomfortably slow time for my business, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy a fair amount of success. It seems every time I hear someone state that the real estate market in this area is stagnant, my phone would ring with a call for an inspection.
I know very well that my full schedule isn’t necessarily due to a booming economy, more it is a sign that people a being ever vigilant with their home buying decisions. In the last month I have done inspections for people that, in the past, would never have considered hiring a home inspector. We all know the type - the proud Canadians who do things themselves. They have lived in enough homes that they are sure they know more about houses than most. They have taken the DIY mindset to new heights. When their cars break, they fix them, roof leaks - patch it, faucet leaks - fix it. They are no longer merely Canadian, they are CanaDIYan.
Well…. lately, they have been calling me. Knowing that there is very little room for error in their home buying cycle, they rely on my education and experience to point out the things they may miss. I take it as a tremendous compliment that the folks that traditionally don’t want help are turning to me for help. There are still a few around who refuse to pay for someone such as myself to point out issue with a home, but they still want a little help. For them I have been able to help by setting them up with inspection checklists. These are basically the same checklists I use when taking notes during an inspection. Of course the checklists don’t tell you how to look at things, just what to look at. Of course, I don’t encourage anyone to do their own home inspections. To me, DIY inspections make about as much sense as DIY dentistry of haircutting, but some folks are stubborn.
So here I am Windsor, happily plugging along, helping Mr. and Mrs. Homebuyer make the most informed decisions they can. Feel free to call or email me with any questions or concerns you may have with your home (or home to be). Until then, I’ll remain YOUR Windsor, Ontario home inspector.
-Brad
…..most peculiar, mama.
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: home inspection, inspector, ontario, windsor | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on August 7, 2008
Generally when I perform an inspection, the report is ready either that day or the next day. For fast and easy delivery of the report, it will be converted to a .pdf file and hosted at my hosting service (www.inspectexpress.com/reports/manor). When your report is ready, I will email you a link to the hosting service and give you your report number. Once at the report hosting site, simply punch in your report number and download the report.
The reports are generally left on the report hosting server for a couple weeks, then I remove them in order to make room for new reports. Naturally, during busy times, I need to free up space more often. I always maintain a copy of your report for my files, should you need it again simply let me know. I will re-post the report, print a copy, or put it on disk for you.
Should any of my valued clients need access to their report, please send me an email: brad@manorhome.ca or call 519.818.9701. If a future client would like to view a sample report, please contact me too!
As always, thanks for choosing me to be YOUR home inspector!
-Brad
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: brad, home inspection, home inspector, inspection report, report hosting, windsor ontario | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on June 28, 2008
Further to my last post on home inspector reviews (which has been my most read post), rather than looking for online reviews of home inspectors, why not conduct your own? The fact that you are looking for more information before making you decision means you are likely a fairly savvy client. There are a few things you can look at to qualify your inspector before making the arrangements for the inspection.
STEP 1: Was the inspector referred to you? If so, do you trust the opinion of the referring party? I have found that referrals are the strongest testimonials a business like mine can have. This is especially true if the person doing the referring has hired the inspector themselves. Not much is more convincing than a satisfied client.
STEP 2: Visit the inspectors website. Does the text seem to have been written by a preschooler? Ultimately the product you are paying for with a home inspection is a written report - it stands to reason that it should be written by someone who has a reasonable command of the English language and the written word. Not only should an inspection report be easy to understand, it should be impossible to mis-understand.
Also while on the website, be cautious of words like “certified” and “licensed”. Here in Ontario there are no regulations for home inspectors. Chances are that “licensed” means the inspector can legally drive a vehicle to the inspection. As far as “certified” goes, certified by whom? Some certifications carry more weight than others.
STEP 3: Speak with the inspector. Ask a bunch of questions. Get a feel for the inspectors competence and ability to communicate. Make sure you are comfortable with the inspector, you may be basing a very big decision on what the inspector tells you.
STEP 4: Ask the inspector for a sample report. You are paying for a report, you should have some sort of idea what you will be getting. Many inspectors will have a sample report available for download on their site (mine is at my report hosting service’s site). Compare the different inspectors reports. Again, make sure you are comfortable.
STEP 5: Find out the price. This is placed last for a reason, it should be the least important of the criteria. Generally, the clients who shop solely on price don’t hire me. While I don’t charge any more than the bulk of the other local inspectors, my prices are not negotiable. At least once a week I will get a call from somebody claiming that another inspector will do the inspection for less money. Saving fifty dollars on the inspection will seem like a pretty silly idea when the budget inspector misses a problem. I can guarantee that the missed problem will be worth way more than the money saved.
So, there you have it. If you take all the above points into consideration, you are well on your way to making an educated decision. Naturally, should you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I an be reached by phone: 519.818.9701 / 1.877.37MANOR , by email: brad@manorhome.ca , by the contact form on my website, or by leaving a comment below this post. As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
-Brad Manor, YOUR Windsor, Ontario home inspector.
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: home, home inspection, inspector, ontario, review, windsor | 3 Comments »
Posted by manorhome on June 1, 2008
So todays inspection was nothing out of the ordinary - 8 year old house, couple cosmetic issues (not my concern) and a few botched homeowner repairs (definitely my concern). I was just getting into home inspection “cruise control” when it came time to check the main bathroom. It was a lovely bathroom, bigger than many bedrooms, jacuzzi tub, nice tile…..
As I do in every bathroom, I gave the toilet a little nudge with my leg to see if it was loose at the floor, it wasn’t. I then scanned around the toilet with my Surveymaster (moisture meter - real nice one). After taking a measurement well away from the toilet as a baseline reference, I scanned all around the toilet along the floor. I was just finishing up when I heard the Surveymaster chirp, then scream. I found what appeared to be an isolated moisture site right by the horn of the toilet (sub surface moisture, it reads beneath the tiles).
Can’t be, I thought. Everything was nice and tight, bathroom looked to be professionally done. But the moisture meter strongly disagreed. Before I jumped to any conclusions, I decided to go back down to the basement and have another look from below. Sure enough, hidden by the heating duct, there was a stain in the subfloor around the toilet flange. I then switched the Surveymaster to pin-mode (as opposed to the pinless scan mode) at took a reading. Wet, really wet. It seems the seal between the toilet and the flange had been compromised.
Fortunately we found this problem before any serious damage had occurred. Remedying it will simply be a matter of having the toilet lifted, a new seal put down and then putting the toilet back. All in all it should take a competent person about a half hour. Had I not had the Surveymaster, I never would have found the leak. If undetected and left alone, a leak like that would eventually rot the subfloor and cause thousands of dollars in damage.
Does your home inspector have a Surveymaster (or even an inferior moisture meter) and know how to use it? Before you decide to hire a home inspector to evaluate one of the biggest purchases of your life, consider giving me a call. I may not have all the answers you’re looking for, but I have the important ones (provided the important answers are dealing with houses and not calculus 
)
Thanks for reading, I hope to talk to you soon,
-Brad Manor, your Windsor Ontario home inspector.
Posted in Tools | Tagged: home inspection, home inspector, review, windsor ontario | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on May 30, 2008
It seems that every home inspector wants to tell you what to look for in a home inspector, and then goes on to describe himself. Am I the only one that finds this a little bit backwards? I have an idea - how about you tell me what your expectations are, and I will try to meet them, within reason of course. Sure, we are going to run into the old “well, that isn’t really what I do” situation, but wouldn’t you rather get that addressed now, rather than when we are all meeting at the house for the inspection?
Of course I know exactly what my qualifications are, and what I will and won’t do during an inspection, but you don’t. So - let’s use this blog to throw some ideas around. Tell me what you want me to be. Leave a comment below or message me privately, and I will take your concerns into consideration. I fell that by listening to you, I will be better able to serve you.
C’mon Windsor, here is your chance to build a better home inspector. I plan to incorporate some of your ideas into the services that I will offer - so let me have it!
I look forward to hearing from you!!
-Brad Manor - Windsor’s OWN home inspector.
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: home inspection, windsor, ontario, home inspector, qualifications, opinion | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on May 23, 2008
When I started this business a few years ago, I spent many nights trying to figure out what to call my business. The first thing I had to consider was whether or not I should purchase a franchise. There were certainly some benefits to going that route: I would have instant credibility (in theory), there would have been a marketing plan in place already, and there would have been help in getting the business rolling.
I mulled those perks around in my head for a few days when I decided to think of the negative aspects: first there was the money issue - if I wanted a recognizable franchise that was available, it was going to cost a lot of money (I didn’t want the added overhead), then there was fact that i would be forever linked with everyone else who held one of those franchises - if one of the franchisees in another area were to do something stupid and be found out how would that reflect on me? I decided that going the independent route was for me. It would be slow going, and lots of hard work but so be it - I’m from Windsor, we’re not strangers to hard work.
So, there I was - stuck trying to come up with a name for my business. I went through them all… every word or combination of words that involved inspecting, looking closely, homes, houses… well you get the idea. After a few days of that frustration, my wife suggested just using my name. Not a bad idea I guess. To further emphasise the benefits using my name she asked “define Manor”. I had to think about that for a while, to me it had always been my name. It’s my bothers name, sister’s, mom & dad, bunch of cousin’s etc. Manor is just my family name. Then it dawned on me, it means HOUSE!!! *slaps forehead* Not only that, it means a special house… as in Manor Estate, Lord of the Manor……
All of these points have led to what Manor Home Inspection is today. It is a small company - Windsor owned / Windsor operated (and staying in Windsor - you’ll never catch me seeking greener pastures… but that’s a topic for a later discussion i suppose). In addition to be a small local outfit, my name is on all the company paperwork from business cards, to inspection reports, to all those confusing papers the banks and lawyers had to review when I started in business.
Since my name is on all the paperwork, I make sure that I provide you the best service available. Naturally, I want people to equate Manor with superior service. If I am going to use my family’s name, I owe it to them to keep the name free of any traces of doubt. In fact - I think when someone uses their name in business, they should strive to elevate that name so that it is equated with quality… hence my efforts.
Well, now you know the story of why I used my name for my business. Naturally I would love the opportunity to show you the level of service you can expect when dealing with Manor Home, but I’ll leave that up to you. I don’t believe you should just give me your business (and hard earned dollars), but would like the chance to EARN your business. If you have any questions, naturally, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Until then, I remain YOUR Windsor, Ontario home inspector,
-Brad Manor
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: home inspection, local business, Manor, ontario, windsor | No Comments »
Posted by manorhome on May 22, 2008
A friend asked me the other day why I don’t advertise in any of those free online classifieds, and I started to wonder. If it’s free, is it really worth it? So I perused some of the local online classified and found a bunch of home inspection outfits that I had never heard of.
It seems that here in Windsor, home inspectors are springing up like toadstools after a rain. Every time you turn around there is a fresh batch of newly minted “experts” ready to offer you a spectacular deal. Myself, not being a spectacular economist, I can’t figure out how these folks are able to earn a living at that price. Then it dawned on me, these half-price inspectors are probably providing half-a$$ inspections. Now it seems like not such a bad idea, but I trust your opinion. If you think that I should also offer “cheap & dirty inspections” at a discounted rate, please contact me to say so. If I get enough response, I will start offering a lower end inspection. Naturally I wouldn’t use any fancy expensive equipment on these inspections, the reports would lack the usual abundance of information (in fact, the report would just be a few pages of checklists - issues would be reported as ’satisfactory’, ‘needs repair’, ‘poor/defective’ and no further information will be given), I won’t spend as much time on site because I won’t go into as much detail etc.
Nah…. I couldn’t do that to you. It would be wrong of me to withhold information just because of the fee charged. Besides, it’s not that the other guys don’t want to charge more, they can’t. Given their inexperience, lack of high end equipment and poor report writing skills, all they can offer is a bargain basement price. It is the only way they can get any business at all.
Don’t get me wrong, my regular fees aren’t much higher than the discount guys, but they are higher. When compared to to the value of information provided, I actually work cheaper. Any of the issues the other guy misses, or finds but can’t explain clearly would be worth way more than the difference in price.
So… Did I place an ad in the online classifieds? No I did not. Rather than lump myself in with those guys I decided to keep getting my business they way I’m used to: by being referred by friend and family, and by having savvy customers like you find me. Please feel free to contact me with any house related concerns you may have. As always, I will help you out as best I can over the phone or via email completely free of charge. And if you do decide to choose me as your home inspector, rest assured you will get your money’s worth, and much more.
Thanks for reading!
-Brad Manor
Posted in Brad's Thoughts | Tagged: cheap, home inspection, home inspector, ontario, windsor | 2 Comments »
