“Get a Home Inspection… It’s Worth the Investment”
To follow up the last interview episode, it seems fitting to hang out in the real estate realm as Brett sits down with SPS Home Inspections‘ Scott Surridge. No matter where you are in Tampa Bay, Scott can offer the peace of mind you need when purchasing your next home.
Brett and Scott discuss what most people don’t know about their own homes, the craziest thing he’s found in an inspection, and what’s so important about inspecting the home you’re about to purchase.
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Transcription below done by Otter.ai.
If you have a question about marketing, building your brand or operating your small business that you’d like to have answered on a q&a episode, please visit beyond your side hustle comm slash podcast question to submit it. In this episode, I have the opportunity to speak with Scott Surridge from SPS home inspections. Enjoy.
Brett Bittner
Tell me a little bit about why it is that you are a home inspector what is it that got you into that line of work?
Scott Surridge
Well, I first started building houses when I was 17. And I’m 57 now so it was a natural progression from time that I finished building homes to go into some sort of profession where I’m more of a counselor or advisor and Home Inspection seems to be the next step to go.
Brett Bittner
So not swinging the hammer anymore. You wanted to be more of somebody who’s guiding someone through that home buying home selling process to make sure that the house was ready for them to either move in or sell to somebody else, right?
Scott Surridge
Correct. Yeah, I am the go between for the buyers and sellers and making sure that the buyer is purchasing a product that is that is secure and sound.
Brett Bittner
Okay, who is your kind of ideal client? Are you mainly working with buyers? Are you mainly working with sellers? Is it a mix of the two or are you just coming in when a real estate agent that has you listed as the two or three inspectors to check out?
Scott Surridge
It’s all three situations… sellers, buyers and realtors. I’ve been in the business for eight years inspecting only and building houses for 40. But for the past eight years, it’s a referral business I’ve never advertised and never had to. And buyers are the mainstay, whether they’re a referral from a friend or whether they’re a referral from a realtor. We do get sellers I will knock on sellers doors for for sale by owners and ask them if they would like a home inspection done to understand what they might expect in the sale of their home. And that is a very good way to help the seller out but I like working with buyers and making sure that they’re understanding what they’re purchasing with a major investment.
Brett Bittner
So you talked about having a background in construction previously, you’ve been solely in the home inspection business for the last eight years. What else do you bring to the table? What kind of education In addition to the construction background?
Scott Surridge
Well, as I mentioned, I started building houses framing houses when I was 17. I’m from way upstate New York near Rochester area. And when I moved down here 30 years ago, I continued to build build homes and mainly waterfront homes in Mira Bay and mocha Sega Bay, and we also started Chevelle. So I’m used to the larger custom homes. So I was involved in the total process of building those homes starting as a framer and then working up to be a superintendent and project manager. So over 40 years I’ve gained a lot of experience in understanding the home from the ground up. Now is there any kind of education training certification that comes that somebody who is looking for a home inspector should be looking for, there are certifications from the state it is mandatory if you are a home inspector that you’d be licensed by the state There is a state test that needs to be taken for the individuals who don’t qualify for being grandfathered in I, I was grandfathered in because of my experience. However, I’m also a member of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, which does require that you do take that state test for where you’re located, and that you pass that test with a 75 or better. I got a 99.
Brett Bittner
Oh, there’s that one question, isn’t there? Always one there’s always one, of course. Now, if you’re a homebuyer and you’re entering the home inspection process, what is it that they should expect in that in that whole thing from choosing a home inspector, getting the inspection done, understanding what it is and what it means? Like, walk us through that whole thing, because that’s something that I imagine especially first-time homebuyers, and probably even first-time home sellers have no idea about this.
Scott Surridge
Very true, but what you want to do is to be able to check the background of the home inspector that you’re choosing ask them questions. Are they licensed in that state? What is their experience in building homes? Were they a handyman where the electrician were they an actual contractor. I myself do still have my building license for the state of Florida. But I don’t use it. It’s on a voluntary hiatus, I guess you’d say okay, but the buyers should always ask for references and do background checks and make sure that they understand who the person is that’s going to be doing the inspection. They should expect their inspector to go through the entire home be in the attic, lock the roof. Take the air conditioning system apart, look at the coils take the cover off of the electrical panel, make sure the wiring inside his proper check outlets, windows, everything that’s accessible. They should be testing you Looking in cabinets, under under everything, and if you have to move a couple of things in the hall to be able to be complete, move a couple of things. Now, how long should a process like this take when they’re actually doing the inspection? It depends on the square footage of the home. I mean, an average home here in Florida somewhere between 1500 and 2500 square feet. smaller ones are generally an hour and a half, you can go you know, two hours, I myself generally take about two hours for 2500 square foot home. I work alone, so it’s just me. If you have two people, sometimes it takes a little bit less, but there’s no reason to spend four hours and have a 60 page report for a 2500 square foot home.
Brett Bittner
You mentioned a number of pages in the report. What’s the average that you would expect to see for a home that’s ready to be to be closed on essentially?
Scott Surridge
Well, in general like a 2000 square foot home somewhere between 25 and 35 pages of information. Okay, that includes photos and descriptions of everything that’s going on with it. Written in layman’s terms, mainly, but enough technical term that the licensed individual that has to do repairs understands what’s going on.
Brett Bittner
Now following a home inspection, what is that home seller going to have to go through?
Scott Surridge
The seller is going to talk to the selling agent and the buyer agent talk back and forth and the buyer will make requests of what might they want fixed, and then seller, depending on the contract that’s written, seller may have to fix certain things, but generally the safety issues are what the seller should have to fix. Now in the state of Florida, you do not have to bring the house up to current code when you’re selling it. However, if there are safety issues, even if you haven’t, as is contract, generally the seller should fix those items.
Brett Bittner
So, we’re talking major things like an electrical issue or a wiring thing where it’s obvious that someone safety is going to be in debt in jeopardy. Correct?
Scott Surridge
Yeah, there’s certain electrical panels that insurance companies won’t insure. Sylvania established federal Pacific. specific names that insurance companies have deemed unsafe. Different types of electrical wiring are supposed to have gfcis in certain wet areas. Certain years they weren’t required, but I still suggest they put them in. Same thing with smoke detectors and bedrooms. It’s very common that you don’t find smoke detectors in bedrooms. In older homes that are 90s or earlier. I always suggest that you put those in.
Brett Bittner
Okay. Now what are you doing currently to ensure that you have a full calendar of inspections?
Scott Surridge
Mainly, I have a Facebook page that’s SPS on inspections, LLC. And my business is word of mouth and referrals so I don’t generally advertise because I’m just so busy. I mean I’m doing 10-15 a week on average. In 2017, I did 449 inspections Wow. And in 2019, I did 432.
Brett Bittner
Okay, so you’re keeping pretty busy.
Scott Surridge
I’m very busy. Yes sir. What it shows is that if you’re good at your profession, the referrals come.
Brett Bittner
Yeah. You’re adding value to somebody’s transaction, correct?
Scott Surridge
Yeah, I’m when I’m when I’m being referred by a realtor especially. Now I’m an extension of that realtor.
Brett Bittner
Right. So, your reputation is not the only one on the line. There’s is as well.
Scott Surridge
Correct.
Brett Bittner
That’s awesome. I’m glad that you see things that way because a lot of people are in a transactional mindset and not realizing how much relational, even when it’s generally a one-off service because I mean, how often are you going to have a home inspection done maybe two, three times in your lifetime.
Scott Surridge
Correct Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s essential that you have customer service in this business and you make sure you have a conversation with the buyers, and they understand exactly what they’re getting. And when there are items that need to be corrected, they understand why they need to be corrected and how they should be corrected.
Brett Bittner
Now, what is something that you’re looking to do to help grow? I mean, you seem pretty busy. Is there anything that you can foresee utilizing to help either maintain or increase how busy you are?
Scott Surridge
Yes, I’m always looking for new ventures. But I originally started over in Hillsborough County. Over in the south shore area and moved over here with my wife to St. Pete Beach, last year, April and I’ve been marketing myself In the local areas, there’s a lot of real estate firms over here and I go and talk to realtors and slowly moving you know things in this area and tend to do more work on the Pinellas side of the bay.
Brett Bittner
Okay. What, if you had to estimate, is the biggest surprise that you found when performing a home inspection? I mean, we’re talking like an alligator under the house kind of a surprise like suddenly you completely did not expect.
Scott Surridge
Nothing like that. Couple of rodents underneath homes here and there snakes but you know, nothing drastic. But the surprise item that I found was a garage slab in a house that had collapsed in one corner and there was no structural damage on the exterior walls. There was no tree roots in the area, no plumbing in the area. It ended up being that the material underneath the house was not compacted properly in the in the garage, floor sink. That was from an engineer.
Brett Bittner
Okay, what is something that a homeowner probably doesn’t know about their home when they’re selling it that your average home inspector is going to find?
Scott Surridge
Electrical panels and aluminum wiring over here and St. Pete and St. Pete Beach area homes that were built in the 70s. Due to the Vietnam War, they stopped using copper because they needed to copper for bullets. So they started using aluminum wire, and it’s it was very prevalent in the late 60s, early 70s. You do not need to completely rewire the house you need to have corrections made with the aluminum wiring connectors, licensed electricians would complete that service.
Brett Bittner
Okay. Now, is there anything that you are reading, watching or listening to to help you in business and to grow your business?
Scott Surridge
I get a monthly newsletter from the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, and that has a lot of good information in it. I’m doing a lot of research online for four codes, like to go to sleep at night. So break out the codebook. And read that a little bit.
Brett Bittner
Oh, you mean, that’s not what you’re reading on the beach?
Scott Surridge
No. But there’s always information with some of the pages on the on websites for the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, there’s conversations going on. So you learn a lot by reading different things the inspectors will put in Well, I have this problem and what’s the what’s the remedy? So there’s a lot of learning there. And also we have to have recurring credits for our license. So we always have to take new courses and keep up to date on.
Brett Bittner
Okay. When you’re not on a ladder, shining your flashlight, carrying your clipboard around, inspecting a home, What’s your favorite thing to do here in St. Pete?
Scott Surridge
Being on the water. My wife and I are very much salt water people and we take the boat out go to the sandbar have a couple of beers and just relax and watch life go by.
Brett Bittner
That sounds awesome.
Scott Surridge
So that’s a great reason to have left upstate New York to me down here and enjoy the 300 plus days of sunshine that we get and works for me every weekend.
Brett Bittner
Awesome. So where can people find out more about you and SPS Home Inspections online? Is there a phone number that they can call? This is your opportunity to plug yourself so people can find you and hire you to inspect their home.
Scott Surridge
The best way to reach me is my phone number is 813-245-6088 or you can go to my Facebook page which is SPS home inspections, LLC. There’s different areas there where you can contact me and also make an appointment. You can read the reviews and I look forward to Talking to new people every day.
Brett Bittner
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the audience of Hustleburg?
Scott Surridge
Not at this time except make sure if you are getting a purchasing a home, get a home inspection. It’s worth the investment.
Brett Bittner
Awesome. Scott, thank you so much. I really appreciate you appearing on Hustleburg.
Scott Surridge
I appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.