Category: News

 
We are proud to share that Pillar To Post has been featured as the cover story in December 2016's issue of RIS Media's Real Estate Magazine, the leading source in real estate news. Check out the story below.
By Paige Tepping

Innovation primes Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® for future success

Every industry needs a leader.

A simple—yet profound—statement, it’s a driving force for everyone at Pillar To Post. With 23 years of experience under its belt, the home inspection company has helped nearly 3 million families move into homes over the years. But as the needs of the industry and customers continue to change, a good home inspection is no longer good enough. “We have to address the needs of the real estate professional and buyer or seller in a holistic way,” says Dan Steward, Pillar To Post’s current CEO. For Pillar To Post, doing so boils down to being deeply engaged with both sides of the equation and fully committed to acting as a trusted advisor to everyone the company serves.

Laying the Groundwork for Continued Success

The largest home inspection company in North America—a title held since 1999—Pillar To Post currently has over 550 offices in 49 states, as well as nine provinces in Canada. Tracking toward a goal of 1,000 offices by 2020, the team at Pillar To Post is steadfast in its commitment to delivering leadership and drive into the real estate industry.
“While home inspections have been part of the real estate process for 35 years, today they’re integral to the transaction of residential real estate,” says Steward, who goes on to explain that the home inspection industry has come a long way since its inception.

“What began as an industry made up primarily of retired homebuilders, the home inspection industry has evolved into a more organized element of the real estate industry today,” adds Steward.

And Pillar To Post has been at the forefront every step of the way.

The first to establish a curriculum for selecting and training franchisees, create a home inspection protocol/report and computerize the report and include color photos within it, Pillar To Post was also ahead of the game when it came to offering inspection packages to serve the unique needs of buyers across the country.

Delivering an Exceptional Experience

For Pillar To Post’s Vice President of Marketing and Customer Engagement Ken Blackburn, there’s a specific reason behind every company’s decision to be in business. And for Pillar To Post, changing lives is the name of the game.
“Everything we do as a business is focused on helping the agent deliver an exceptional experience to their clients,” says Blackburn, positioning Pillar To Post as a key and trusted piece of the agent team.

Blackburn points to four key parts of the company’s value proposition that enable Pillar To Post to deliver a great brand experience to buyers and sellers via real estate professionals, beginning with the on-site production of an inspection report immediately following the inspection.

Not only does walking the client through the report then and there allow for questions to be answered, it also lays the foundation for providing a level of confidence that’s instrumental in moving the transaction forward.

“Delivering reports on-site may seem old-fashioned, but there’s incredible technology that goes into it, all of which is used to fulfill the needs of both the real estate professional and the consumer,” says Steward, who notes that clients are encouraged to be present during the inspection.

The next step toward adding peace of mind to the process comes in the form of E&O insurance, something each inspector carries. “If something goes wrong, our insurance covers the inspector, the agent and the broker,” says Blackburn, “leaving the agent with nothing to worry about.”

Blackburn also points to the company’s extensive continuing education program for agents as a key piece toward ensuring a great experience from beginning to end.

With 34 different topics available that touch on everything from home renovations and repairs to remodeling and even radon gas and wet basements, the training provided through Pillar To Post goes a long way toward adding to the agent’s perceived value to the client.

The company recently launched a learning management platform that allows Pillar To Post to continue to focus on ongoing education among their franchisees and inspectors. “With the ultimate goal of expanding the platform to be used among real estate professionals, agents can quickly and efficiently get the information they need, rather than wait for a Pillar To Post franchisee to come to the office for a live training session,” says Steward.

Last but not least, the company has made scheduling home inspections simple. “No matter how an agent wants to connect with us—whether it’s via phone, email, online or smartphone app—we have them covered,” says Blackburn, which is important to today’s agents, as it positions them as both professional and in control when working with buyers and sellers.

“The technology that’s built in behind the scenes of our booking app plays into the overall theme of how we can best serve real estate professionals,” adds Steward. “With 24/7 access, agents have the ability to view the schedule of their favorite inspector, as well as the schedules of all Pillar To Post inspectors in a given service area.”

Keeping Pace with Buyers, Sellers and Real Estate Advisors

Value proposition aside, Steward points to Pillar To Post’s customer focus as one difference-maker that continues to drive the company’s success year after year.

“We know that what we do affects people’s lives. If we don’t deeply understand and engage with the emotions involved in the process of buying a home, we’re not being a good professional advisor,” says Steward.

Performing both pre-purchase and pre-listing inspections, the team at Pillar To Post is dedicated to providing highly valuable information to each party involved in a transaction, a feat that can only be accomplished by understanding the unique needs of real estate professionals, buyers and sellers.

“On the industry side, we’re deeply engaged through research and industry involvement so that we can get the necessary feedback in order to focus on and serve the needs of real estate professionals today and into the future,” says Steward.

The same can be said for the consumer side of the equation, where consumer-driven research is used to develop services and experiences to fulfill the needs in the journey of buyers and sellers.

“The better we understand what’s driving a client’s experience, the better we can put the right services and experience together,” adds Steward, who goes on to explain that being able to effectively communicate with those they serve is a key piece of the puzzle that can’t be overlooked.

Being in the information business, everyone at Pillar To Post is committed to keeping the lines of communication open among buyers, sellers and their real estate advisors so they can make informed decisions and have peace of mind with the decision they ultimately make.

“Sense of care is so important to us—whether we’re interacting with the buyer, seller or their real estate advisor—so we have to be there with empathy and passion for the situation in order to deliver an experience that’s second to none,” says Steward.

With the Right People, Everything Is Possible

With a customer-focused approach to everything they do, having the right people in place across the board is crucial.

“We can’t hold the customer at the center of our world if the people serving the customer don’t also believe that,” says Steward. “Therefore, we focus intensively on selecting our franchisee partners. We are determined that they fit into our culture and share the same vision and passion we do for the brand.”

Lorri Ratliff, a Pillar To Post franchisee in Southwestern Washington, is one such partner.

“Being part of the Pillar To Post franchise system allows us to really focus on the home inspection experience with our clients and REALTORS®. The franchise system provides an excellent core structure for business owners (franchisees), allowing us to build and grow our marketshare,” says Ratliff, who can’t say enough about the ways in which Pillar To Post’s brand experience differentiates them from the rest of the pack.

“Pillar To Post fosters, through their systems and support structure, a methodology for us to stand out as the best home inspection company in North America. Our clients love the variety of services we offer and the fact that we’re easy to do business with,” adds Ratliff.

“Everything we’ve learned throughout our history, and the way we’ve anchored ourselves for the future, is entirely about our front-line people,” says Steward, “underscoring the importance of knowing that our reputation is everything in an industry where we’re looked to as trusted advisors.”

Innovation and Technology Set to Rule the Future

With a true focus on those delivering the service day-in-and-day-out, the future is looking bright for Pillar To Post as the company prepares to raise the bar even higher.
“There are a bunch of rapidly changing dimensions in the inspection world,” says Steward. “Whether it’s the aging housing stock, the expansion of technology found within homes, the vast needs of buyers and sellers when it comes to information, growing concerns about healthy homes and the environments in which we live, in addition to concerns about energy efficiency overall, Pillar To Post’s long history of innovation will continue to fuel the future as we look at the core issues in housing in America throughout the next decade.”

One thing that won’t change? Pillar To Post’s focus on technology, and its role as the core in everything they’re doing today—and well into the future.

To that end, the company has made a massive investment in technology in order to plug in more completely with the real estate process.

In fact, Pillar To Post recently made a change to the technology platform they use to conduct home inspections, allowing for heads-up inspecting through the use of iPads.

“We’re truly excited about this concept,” says Steward, “as it’ll allow our home inspectors to engage more readily with the client as they make their way through the inspection process.”

Pillar To Post is also looking forward to increasing their use of data when it comes to looking at the evolution of closings and transaction management software.

“We touch hundreds of thousands of people a year in what we do,” concludes Steward. “It’s an incredible responsibility because people are counting on us to do good work, and it’s an incredible honor as a brand when it comes to the responsibility we hold in helping real estate professionals and their clients.”

Indeed, one such professional, Executive Vice President of RE/MAX, LLC, Mike Ryan seems to agree.

“When it comes to home inspections for new purchases or listings, Pillar To Post is always at the top of the rankings. Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® has been a RE/MAX Approved Supplier for a long time, and our agents and brokers value and appreciate the service they deliver to our customers.”

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

For two decades, Vince Stoakley was a globetrotter, traveling the world as a member of the U.S. Army. After retiring from the Army in 2012, Stoakley needed to find a calling that was not just a job, but a career, and one that would let him expand his roots. He found that when he opened his Pillar To Post Home Inspectors franchise where he serves the Houston area with home inspection services for residential buildings of all kinds.

Vince was a Sergeant in the Army, a position he says made him well-suited to sate the entrepreneurial spirit that drove him to consider purchasing a franchise for North America’s largest home inspection company. Weighing his options, Vince, along with his wife Thaija, were most impressed by Pillar To Post’s commitment to the VetFran program, which provides military veterans with discounts on initial franchise fees. “My military experience has provided me with the integrity and multi-tasking ability that is so crucial to running a successful business,” said Stoakley. “It was important to me that any franchise I was part of respected my military background and Pillar To Post clearly did.”

Beyond the franchise’s VetFran assistance, Stoakley also pointed to Pillar To Post’s support system in place for new franchisees as being defining factors that has allowed his business to not just endure, but thrive. “The system in place for new franchisees at Pillar To Post is the perfect safety net; I never felt like I was going it alone as I grew my business. It made the transition from active military member to franchisee an easy one.”

“We try to be both a businessman and a friend to each customer,” added Stoakley. “We also love giving back to the community; so far, we’ve helped build three homes in the area as part of Habitat For Humanity. We also plan to donate one free home inspection a month to a service member. We are certain that our unique emphasis on the community will help ensure that our Pillar To Post franchise remains successful for a long time.”

Source: Houston Patch

Overhead garage doors may be the largest moving object in most homes and can weigh up to 400 pounds. For safety, homeowners should be sure that it's up to date and kept in proper working order.

Older garage doors often lack some of the safety features required in newer installations. These include spring systems designed to prevent flying metal in case of spring failure, and automatic openers that can operate in reverse if the door closes onto an obstacle. Automatic openers must also have sensors, usually a pair of electric eyes, that will stop and reverse the door if a person or pet moves across its path. It is sometimes possible to retrofit existing systems to include these sensors without replacing the entire system. Children should be taught that the garage doors are dangerous, and that toys, bikes, etc. should never be left in the way.

There is also the issue of power outages and how to get the door open. For several decades, automatic openers have featured an emergency release that will disengage the opener, allowing the door to be opened by hand. In most cases it will be a short red cord that hangs down close to the center of the door, inside the garage. Homeowners should learn in advance how to operate the release in case they need to get a car out of the garage during a power outage.

Maintaining the door is important for safety and for quiet, smooth operation. A garage door specialist can provide periodic maintenance, or homeowners can do much of this themselves including lubricating the springs and hinges. The track itself, where the wheel run, should never be lubricated for safety reasons. A professional can also check the door balance and alignment and make any needed adjustments.

When moving into a home, the new owners should change the remote control code immediately for security purposes, just as they would re-key or change the home's door locks. If the remote is not reprogrammable, chances are it's an outdated system and should be upgraded for safety reasons. A garage door and opener, with proper maintenance, will help ensure safe operation and should last for many trouble-free years.

A healthy plumbing system can help lessen the chance of leaks, ruptures, clogs and other not-so-nice events. Homeowners who take some basic precautions and implement a few simple steps can be more confident in the state of their home's plumbing, and can save on costly repairs as well.

• Know where the main water shutoff valve is. This is normally very accessible so that the water to the whole house can be turned off in an emergency.
• Check the household water pressure with an inexpensive gauge from the hardware store. Excessive water pressure can damage pipes, faucets and washing machine valves, which can lead to leaks and dramatically shortened lifespans for these items. In general, water pressure should be between 40-80 psi. A plumber can install a pressure reducing valve near the main shutoff to correct this condition.
• Protect pipes from freezing by using pipe insulation where pipes are exposed to the cold. This includes outdoor faucets, garages, crawlspaces, and unfinished/unheated basements. Frozen pipes can burst and result in serious water damage to the home and belongings.
• Avoid using chemical drain cleaners. Though often effective, they can damage cast iron drainpipes and cause bigger problems. Snaking the drain is a better solution - keep a plumbing snake on hand or have a plumber do this.
• Do not put any kind of grease or cooking oils down the drain. These will just solidify as they travel through the pipes and can cause serious clogs further down the line. Instead, pour the grease into a paper cup or other disposable container and throw it away.

When it comes to plumbing, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure!