The pathway to becoming a home inspector is relatively straightforward: complete some training, spend as little as 40-hours shadowing a licensed home inspector, be present for five home inspections, and complete a home inspector licensing test. The pathway to becoming a Boggs Inspection Services home inspector is quite a bit more involved than that. Though he didn’t know it at the time, Perry Shapiro’s training to become a Boggs Inspector began years ago, just as he was deciding where to go after college.
Born in Maryland, Perry grew up in Utah and later moved to Virginia with his family, living just outside Washington D.C. After finishing college, Perry decided to spend time volunteering with AmeriCorps doing service around the country. Perry completed three projects with AmeriCorps. Perry’s time in AmeriCorps provided valuable skills and experience toward his current career as a Boggs Inspector.
Perry’s first project began in New Mexico, where he worked on a veteran’s respite center. “It was a huge project, repairing and remodeling the building to provide a space for veterans to come back and receive much-needed support,” he says.
Perry’s second project landed him in Arkansas to work on a theater in a park. “It was a nice combination of park maintenance outdoors, and working indoors on the theater and repairs.”
Perry’s final project took him to Texas. Perry spent time working in a neighborhood that experienced massive flooding and mold ran rampant. “We had to tear everything out of those homes down to the studs before anything could be rebuilt,” he says. The volunteer work allowed him to learn about the inner workings of homes and the construction of other buildings, seeing the components, and understanding the complexities. Each experience rounded his knowledge in different areas of construction.
When his time at AmeriCorps was completed, Perry made his way out to the Puget Sound region. He spent time working in construction, which felt like a good fit after his experience with AmeriCorps. The time in construction was less dynamic than his volunteer service, but it built upon his in-depth understanding of homes and structures.
When the opportunity to work with Boggs Inspection Services came up, Perry knew it was the right fit. Home inspections offer a dynamic variety, similar to Perry’s volunteer experience. “One morning we inspected a home that was over 100-years-old and by the afternoon, we were inspecting a new home that was less than a year old,” says Perry. “It was amazing to see the differences between the two homes that had a century between them.”
Perry soon learned that training to be a home inspector with Boggs Inspection Services was much more involved than simply completing course work, a few inspection shadows, and a test. “The training to make sure I was ready to go out on my own took months,” he says.
Those first couple months, Perry followed seasoned inspector Jon Mobly and Inspector Manager George Green. Shadowing lead inspector Jon, Perry followed along, carefully watching and learning from Jon’s years of inspection.
George’s training approach was more interactive. “He liked to quiz me a lot, bringing up different what-if scenarios as we made our way through each house we inspected,” says Perry. Months of training with seasoned inspectors helped honed Perry’s inspector’s eye, a way of looking at the home deeply to pick up, not just the smaller surface details, but also clues that may indicate hidden problems.
Recently coming from new construction, Perry has found himself most surprised at Eleven Month Warranty inspections. These inspections are performed on new homes before the home warranty expires, ensuring that anything that was missed or built incorrectly is fixed before the warranty runs out. “I’m surprised at the number of things we find in new construction homes that just weren’t done,” says Perry. “It’s usually not big things, but a bunch of little ones that were missed as the home was being finished up.”
Sometimes the thing that is missed is a big thing, though. “Recently, I inspected a new home in Gig Harbor,” says Perry, “and somehow the builder missed installing the roof crest, and there was just an opening to the elements right into their attic,” Perry explains that the homeowner knew something wasn’t quite right, but without a home inspector up on the roof, they weren’t able to put their finger on the problem. Completing the home inspection within the warranty saved the homeowner thousands of dollars in damage, not to mention the undue stress that would have occurred once water damage began to make its way out of the attic and into the rest of the home.
“There is a lot to know when inspecting a home,” says Perry, “so it helps to have the rest of the team lend their expertise when I have a question.” Perry can reach out to the other Boogs inspectors right from the inspection site and have help within a few minutes. “If I haven’t seen something before, I know that Dwayne, Jon, or George has seen it.”
Beyond Perry’s training, the Boggs team regularly gets together for training, sharing experiences and brushing up on skills to stay sharp. “I know that the team is there for me, and someday I will be the seasoned inspector, sharing what I’ve learned with newer inspectors that come along,” Perry says.
When you are looking for an inspection for your home, whether it is 100-days old or 100 years, reach out to Boggs Inspection Services, where you know that a team of Inspectors will be looking out for you and your investment. Check out the Boggs Inspection Services website or give them a call at 360.480.9602.
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