Here we answer questions about getting a home or commercial inspection, give tips on home maintenance, and share our knowledge about common home and commercial property issues. We are here to help you. If you can’t find an answer to your questions here, you can always contact us via our contact page.
The phrase independent contractor sounds straightforward. Most inspectors hear it and think autonomy, flexibility, and freedom from corporate control. In theory, it means an inspector runs their own professional practice while partnering with a company for marketing, scheduling, or administrative support. In practice, the model has drifted far from that
As home inspection companies grow, they tend to look more alike. Centralized scheduling. Rigid policies. Standardized reports. Layers of management between the inspector and the client. At Upchurch Inspection, we’ve grown too — but we’ve made intentional choices about how we grow, and just as importantly, what we refuse to
Most inspection companies don’t set out to build something compromised. They build for efficiency.They build for growth.They build for coverage. And for a while, those goals align with quality. Then scale introduces pressure.Pressure introduces shortcuts.Shortcuts introduce silence. Not dramatic silence — subtle silence.The kind that lives between what could be
At some point, most independent inspectors consider joining a larger operation. Sometimes it’s about volume.Sometimes it’s about stability.Sometimes it’s simply fatigue — marketing, scheduling, billing, and admin wear people down. Multi-inspector firms promise relief. And sometimes, they deliver it. But before joining one, there are questions every inspector should ask
Most clients spend more time comparing square footage and paint colors than they do understanding how their home inspection will actually be performed. That’s not a criticism. Buying a home is overwhelming, and inspection companies don’t always make it easy to know what questions matter. Many conversations focus on price,
There’s a moment every inspector eventually faces. It’s not dramatic.It doesn’t come with raised voices or ultimatums.It usually arrives quietly — disguised as “just how things work.” That moment is when you realize that continuing means saying less than you should, explaining things more gently than they deserve, or accepting
Most people think of home inspection as a transaction. A client schedules.An inspector shows up.A report is delivered.Everyone moves on. What almost no one sees is the structure behind that transaction — and how that structure quietly determines what kind of inspection actually takes place. Because inspections don’t happen in
Fast markets create a certain kind of pressure. Not loud pressure.Quiet pressure. The kind that doesn’t say “cut corners” — it says “keep things moving.” And in modern real estate, very few phrases are treated as virtues more often than that. Speed Feels Like Competence — Until It Isn’t A
There is a point in the growth of many inspection companies where something fundamental changes, even if no one explicitly acknowledges it. Inspectors stop being viewed primarily as professionals exercising judgment and begin to be treated as interchangeable capacity within a scheduling system. This shift is rarely malicious and often
Most inspection companies would say they value honesty. And in a narrow sense, they do. They want inspectors to be accurate, thorough, and professional. They don’t want missed defects or sloppy reports. They aren’t asking inspectors to lie. But there’s a quieter truth beneath that: Some inspection companies cannot afford
Most people assume a good home inspection is one that “finds everything.” That sounds reasonable — until you’ve seen enough inspection reports to realize how misleading that idea can be. At Upchurch Inspection, we believe a good home inspection isn’t defined by how many items are listed, how alarming the
There’s a part of the home inspection industry most consumers never encounter. It doesn’t show up in marketing materials.It isn’t discussed during scheduling calls.And it’s rarely explained in inspection reports. But it shapes how inspections are performed every single day. That reality is how financial and professional risk gets shifted
