What do you do if you fall off a ladder? Brianna Beans started a property rental inspection company!

1
00:00:00,142 --> 00:00:03,285
All right, everybody, welcome back to another wonderful episode of The Ride Along.

2
00:00:03,285 --> 00:00:05,086
And we are right here at.

3
00:00:05,767 --> 00:00:06,748
Yes, we are in.

4
00:00:06,748 --> 00:00:09,250
Oh, gosh, dude, you nailed all of us.

5
00:00:09,250 --> 00:00:10,441
That was perfect, actually.

6
00:00:10,441 --> 00:00:14,374
Yeah, And we have an awesome guest here today.

7
00:00:14,374 --> 00:00:20,880
One of the best things about these conferences is that we get to talk to all kinds of
people, wonderful inspectors, vendors.

8
00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,344
We've talked to a few vendors, but really, we want to talk and tell inspector stories.

9
00:00:25,344 --> 00:00:26,765
So we're going to do that today.

10
00:00:26,765 --> 00:00:27,715
Matt, introduce our guest.

11
00:00:27,715 --> 00:00:28,076
Take it away.

12
00:00:28,076 --> 00:00:28,786
Sure.

13
00:00:29,474 --> 00:00:36,117
So today we have Brianna Beans of Inspector Beans, which we got to talk about that in a
minute too.

14
00:00:36,117 --> 00:00:43,179
you've got some, I talked to you yesterday just for a few minutes and within a few minutes
I was like, wow, you need to come on the show.

15
00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:48,342
One of the most interesting things that I think um we talked about was the type of
inspections that you do.

16
00:00:48,342 --> 00:00:49,882
So I want to talk about that.

17
00:00:49,882 --> 00:00:54,284
And then I want to talk about like how you got there because there's a story behind that
as well.

18
00:00:54,324 --> 00:00:57,655
And so uh without any further ado, it's Bri though.

19
00:00:57,655 --> 00:00:58,926
You go by Bri, right?

20
00:00:59,192 --> 00:01:01,626
colleagues, I was just reading your name tag.

21
00:01:01,626 --> 00:01:04,771
I walk around here and talk to people like I know them and I say their names on their name
tag.

22
00:01:04,771 --> 00:01:07,535
So Bree, tell us about the type of inspections that you do.

23
00:01:07,535 --> 00:01:08,496
I think that's very intriguing.

24
00:01:08,496 --> 00:01:09,868
I want to know more about that.

25
00:01:09,868 --> 00:01:13,581
Yeah, I so I focus mainly on rental property inspections.

26
00:01:14,123 --> 00:01:25,175
Just like a home inspection, it's a crucial aspect of an investment property and uh
working with property managers and other people uh who are investors in the sense of

27
00:01:25,175 --> 00:01:27,617
really find the rental aspect of it.

28
00:01:27,617 --> 00:01:28,998
ah

29
00:01:29,494 --> 00:01:37,208
just a crucial piece and it's a selling point for everybody, everybody that's involved, it
works with the tenants, it works with the property managers, the owners, but it's also a

30
00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:39,659
much more simplified version than a home inspection.

31
00:01:39,659 --> 00:01:50,213
uh But even if you were buying a rental or a investment property and you had a home
inspector do the primary home inspection, how are you upkeeping that property over the

32
00:01:50,213 --> 00:01:50,584
years?

33
00:01:50,584 --> 00:01:55,874
Because when you have tenants in there for three, four, five years, you don't know the
conditions of that home and what's happening to that.

34
00:01:55,874 --> 00:01:59,657
And we all know they're not really good about like reporting issues and things like that.

35
00:01:59,657 --> 00:02:03,079
And so you come through there and kind of find out, find all that kind of stuff.

36
00:02:03,079 --> 00:02:03,319
Yeah.

37
00:02:03,319 --> 00:02:07,802
So um what's, I find really, really interesting because I don't know anybody else that
does that.

38
00:02:07,802 --> 00:02:11,635
Did you, or is this something that you said, Hey, this is a market that's kind of
untapped.

39
00:02:11,635 --> 00:02:12,526
Like what happened there?

40
00:02:12,526 --> 00:02:16,366
So I don't know if you're familiar with Axiom inspections.

41
00:02:17,786 --> 00:02:17,966
Definitely.

42
00:02:17,966 --> 00:02:21,526
So based out of Colorado, I think they've expanded to other areas.

43
00:02:22,906 --> 00:02:24,506
It's very possible.

44
00:02:25,226 --> 00:02:29,366
So I went to Axiom training for my inspection training initially.

45
00:02:29,366 --> 00:02:38,146
And through that, built relationships with Wade and was able to expand those services down
in the Fort Collins area because he's in Denver.

46
00:02:38,898 --> 00:02:42,961
And they just hired me on as a contractor to do these rental inspections that they were
doing.

47
00:02:42,961 --> 00:02:47,404
They had a little bit different of an avenue that they were taking for it.

48
00:02:47,404 --> 00:02:52,428
ah But allowing me to do that just kind of opened that door for it.

49
00:02:52,428 --> 00:02:57,391
um over the years, it was something that they just stopped focusing on and were really
interested in.

50
00:02:57,391 --> 00:02:58,922
And they were in the Fort Collins area.

51
00:02:58,922 --> 00:03:04,046
So slowly but surely, it got passed down and left to me.

52
00:03:04,046 --> 00:03:06,418
So that was uh kind of how it started.

53
00:03:06,418 --> 00:03:07,040
oh

54
00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,714
Since then, it's changed a lot and there's been a lot of different things that have
changed focus.

55
00:03:11,714 --> 00:03:23,185
um I don't know if in Texas or other areas, there's like a, you know, big rental laws and
things like that, but it's constantly changing and Colorado is definitely one for

56
00:03:23,185 --> 00:03:24,206
changing.

57
00:03:24,610 --> 00:03:34,741
really know because like this is just an industry I've never even considered right I mean
I I guess I have had people that were renting homes that had me do an inspection for a

58
00:03:34,741 --> 00:03:41,388
couple of reasons one they were gonna buy the house that they rented and so they're
they're they wanted to get an inspector before they purchased that rental because that

59
00:03:41,388 --> 00:03:47,158
happens quite a lot in that industry uh but it was all just a full-on home inspection you
know I have

60
00:03:47,158 --> 00:03:51,374
I think I have done inspections for renters on the home, but it was just a full
inspection.

61
00:03:51,374 --> 00:03:52,606
This was one that they were buying.

62
00:03:52,606 --> 00:03:54,988
They just literally wanted another condition of it.

63
00:03:55,028 --> 00:04:03,290
I even think I have done some for, you the landlord of the property owner before, very few
and far between, but nothing quite like what you're doing, which is more on a upkeep and

64
00:04:03,290 --> 00:04:04,781
maintenance side of things.

65
00:04:05,218 --> 00:04:11,924
Yeah, so it definitely focuses more on the current conditions of the home prior to a
tenant moving in.

66
00:04:11,924 --> 00:04:14,626
Much more cosmetic based than it is detail.

67
00:04:14,626 --> 00:04:18,519
So there isn't like roof and attic and crawl spaces and things like that.

68
00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:22,072
However, if there are concerning things, they do get noted in the inspections.

69
00:04:22,072 --> 00:04:24,093
It's just not the primary focus.

70
00:04:24,494 --> 00:04:29,694
But I was hearing a little bit before about kind of like how you transitioned into this.

71
00:04:29,734 --> 00:04:31,294
That's definitely part of the story.

72
00:04:31,294 --> 00:04:33,394
mean, is that something that we can get into?

73
00:04:33,394 --> 00:04:34,414
Yeah, absolutely.

74
00:04:35,276 --> 00:04:39,500
So the transition of it, mean, working as a contractor, kind of, it's not my business.

75
00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:42,613
not, I'm just going to show up and do the work.

76
00:04:42,753 --> 00:04:50,371
But I definitely had relationships with the property managers and I was hearing things and
seeing those things ah and listening to them.

77
00:04:50,371 --> 00:04:54,244
I've always was like, if I, you know, if I can take this and make it my own, I will.

78
00:04:54,244 --> 00:04:58,989
And when they did hand it over to me, that's, that's when I was able to start doing those
things a little differently.

79
00:04:58,989 --> 00:05:00,352
uh

80
00:05:00,352 --> 00:05:08,821
And so like to get into a little more like the Denver market and the Fort Collins market
is changing as far as like they're requiring rental inspections and everybody's doing it a

81
00:05:08,821 --> 00:05:11,574
little different because the cities are making their own rules around it.

82
00:05:11,574 --> 00:05:19,328
ah But Fort Collins specifically is gearing towards the Fort Collins minimum requirements
for rental housing.

83
00:05:19,328 --> 00:05:25,483
And so within that, they have so many things that they have to have in every home for a
rental unit.

84
00:05:25,483 --> 00:05:30,366
So they have to register it, they have a checklist of things that they have to follow.

85
00:05:30,366 --> 00:05:41,164
And so getting into that, was really just following what everybody else wanted and then
allowing that to become what the inspection looks like.

86
00:05:41,379 --> 00:05:49,789
So does this lead to kind of recurring jobs for you in terms of yeah, okay, that's that's
awesome So recurring revenue baked right into that.

87
00:05:49,789 --> 00:05:57,428
Yeah How would you advise that other inspectors kind of adapt this sort of a model or or
add it to the repertoire?

88
00:05:57,548 --> 00:06:06,274
So I would say the first thing they should do is get in touch with their city and what
their requirements are on the rentals and things like that because that's going to change

89
00:06:06,274 --> 00:06:10,446
how that inspection is going to look for them and whether it's important for them or not.

90
00:06:10,446 --> 00:06:17,831
However, most property managers are doing their own type of inspection and not being a
certified home inspector.

91
00:06:17,831 --> 00:06:22,794
They don't know all the things to be looking for testing and they're not getting into.

92
00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:26,926
you know, the plumbing and other things and looking for leaks or things that are bigger
manners.

93
00:06:26,926 --> 00:06:33,364
And most of time, if somebody's gone in and done a once over, they don't catch what I
catch in the inspections.

94
00:06:35,509 --> 00:06:39,320
Yeah, so it helps prevent that.

95
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,872
Actually, let's get into that.

96
00:06:41,872 --> 00:06:51,861
Give me like, I don't know if you can think of five off the top of your head, but I would
love to know some of your, I guess, most notorious landlord specials that you've

97
00:06:51,861 --> 00:06:53,048
encountered on some of these.

98
00:06:53,048 --> 00:06:53,398
Sure.

99
00:06:53,398 --> 00:06:56,499
ah I think a lot of them are painting.

100
00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,340
They don't do anything when it comes to prep work for painting.

101
00:07:01,340 --> 00:07:07,972
So you find outlets that are painted over that are just gunk and gunk and gunk inside
those outlets and things.

102
00:07:07,972 --> 00:07:09,523
And obviously that's a safety issue.

103
00:07:09,523 --> 00:07:15,404
ah Painted white cabinets in the kitchen, I don't know why we do that because it's really
just a pain to clean.

104
00:07:15,404 --> 00:07:16,334
It's a pain to upkeep.

105
00:07:16,334 --> 00:07:18,325
And it never looks nice over time.

106
00:07:18,325 --> 00:07:20,746
And it's not a value that's added to the units.

107
00:07:20,746 --> 00:07:22,246
ah

108
00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:30,277
And it says just a lot of different things that I could say that I'd have to look at some
photos and other things to tell you some pretty horrific stories.

109
00:07:31,318 --> 00:07:41,531
I bet well I mean we've seen like like the memes and stuff or videos about like the
landlord paint you know like over like bugs and dirt and all kinds of rocks yeah all kinds

110
00:07:41,531 --> 00:07:44,814
of stuff yeah just just just yeah ridiculous stuff

111
00:07:44,814 --> 00:07:46,574
Some of them take their electricians.

112
00:07:46,574 --> 00:07:47,947
You never know what you're going to get into.

113
00:07:47,947 --> 00:07:50,094
So we've got electrical, we've got pain, what else?

114
00:07:50,094 --> 00:07:55,574
Well, that and another big one would be just what they would say is a room and a house.

115
00:07:55,574 --> 00:08:00,634
So if you got a basement that's been finished and now they don't have an egress window,
but they want to rent this five bedroom house.

116
00:08:00,634 --> 00:08:01,114
Yeah.

117
00:08:01,114 --> 00:08:06,674
And they've done, you know, some silly things where like that egress window sits halfway
out.

118
00:08:06,674 --> 00:08:07,074
Yeah.

119
00:08:07,074 --> 00:08:10,554
And it's got a rollout window and the window well covered hits it.

120
00:08:10,554 --> 00:08:12,674
You're like, this is not a point of exit.

121
00:08:12,674 --> 00:08:13,875
It's never going to work.

122
00:08:13,875 --> 00:08:21,582
I can imagine also plumbing like a lot of probably DIY plumbing and a flexible pipe and
stuff that yeah, yeah, I bet that

123
00:08:21,582 --> 00:08:22,886
split up bathrooms.

124
00:08:22,886 --> 00:08:28,130
There was that one recent thing where the shower was under the stairs and the toilet sink
was in a hole now.

125
00:08:28,130 --> 00:08:29,371
That's ridiculous.

126
00:08:29,371 --> 00:08:33,533
There's that architect, I think his name is Dory something, anybody follow him?

127
00:08:33,533 --> 00:08:40,376
Where his famous thing is like, people I think send him content where it's like, it's
always toilets in odd spots.

128
00:08:40,376 --> 00:08:47,499
And sometimes like it'll be like some little mini staircase headed to a toilet that's like
up higher than everything else in the room.

129
00:08:47,779 --> 00:08:51,151
like, oftentimes there's a staircase and a toilet involved.

130
00:08:51,151 --> 00:08:53,602
And so like it's all in weird combinations of it.

131
00:08:53,602 --> 00:08:57,514
So he'll draw this up as an architect and it looks so weird on paper and he's like, that
would never happen, right?

132
00:08:57,514 --> 00:09:00,966
And then he shows you the picture of it, that it actually happened.

133
00:09:00,966 --> 00:09:04,562
And so anyway, really really cool account to follow.

134
00:09:04,562 --> 00:09:15,444
Hey, so I want to touch on something and this is going to shift gears a little bit, but
you you got into this, you were a home inspector, a general home inspector, just like we

135
00:09:15,444 --> 00:09:18,566
do prior to doing the rental properties.

136
00:09:18,566 --> 00:09:22,298
Now you exclusively do the rental properties and there is a reason behind that.

137
00:09:22,654 --> 00:09:25,962
I think it's important for us to touch on it if you'd like to.

138
00:09:26,606 --> 00:09:30,926
Yeah, so I've been in the industry for going on eight years now.

139
00:09:31,306 --> 00:09:33,806
And I didn't really make it like a primary focus of mine.

140
00:09:33,806 --> 00:09:35,926
I did more on the side and other things.

141
00:09:35,926 --> 00:09:39,426
And I was working with another company while doing the rentals.

142
00:09:39,566 --> 00:09:45,066
And in that time, was getting ready to inspect a roof.

143
00:09:45,066 --> 00:09:48,446
And when I put the ladder up, everything was fine.

144
00:09:48,566 --> 00:09:54,046
But when I took that last step onto the roof, the ladder went out from underneath me and I
fell.

145
00:09:54,624 --> 00:09:59,967
And it was a serious enough injury that I fractured my back and was in a back brace for
three months.

146
00:09:59,967 --> 00:10:03,959
And the recovery from that was really difficult and still can't be.

147
00:10:03,959 --> 00:10:10,914
ah But that really just said it in gear that I was only going to be doing rental
inspections.

148
00:10:10,914 --> 00:10:18,611
Yes, I mean at that point it's like, OK, you you had to shift gears a little bit and and
you knew that you weren't going to be getting on those roofs anymore.

149
00:10:18,611 --> 00:10:22,294
need it, but you still obviously are talented in the industry.

150
00:10:22,294 --> 00:10:28,279
You still want to do something home inspection related and you already kind of had that
avenues at least somewhat set up, right?

151
00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:29,109
Yeah.

152
00:10:29,539 --> 00:10:40,809
so it definitely allowed me to ah solidify that this decision was the one that I needed to
go with and run with and it's been two years since then and you know I'm doing it

153
00:10:40,809 --> 00:10:41,849
full-time.

154
00:10:42,374 --> 00:10:46,055
And this is a great time to talk about ladder safety.

155
00:10:46,055 --> 00:10:49,376
mean, as inspectors, a lot of us are getting on those roofs.

156
00:10:49,376 --> 00:10:54,677
There are uh devices specifically to prevent that from happening.

157
00:10:54,677 --> 00:10:57,968
think uh what is the company that makes the clamp?

158
00:10:57,968 --> 00:11:00,559
Yeah, I can't remember their name.

159
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:02,039
I see them at the building conferences.

160
00:11:02,039 --> 00:11:03,810
uh It'll come to me in a minute.

161
00:11:03,810 --> 00:11:04,920
But there's that.

162
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:06,981
Some people tie off some things.

163
00:11:06,981 --> 00:11:07,811
There's different things.

164
00:11:07,811 --> 00:11:10,882
But whatever you do, we should always be

165
00:11:11,114 --> 00:11:16,003
aware and try to practice ladder safety and safety when walking on the roof.

166
00:11:16,403 --> 00:11:25,326
I do kind of wonder, I'm like, can we talk a little bit about, try this again, can we talk
a little bit about what kind of ladder you were using at the time or if you're using

167
00:11:25,326 --> 00:11:30,363
ladders now, having experienced this, what do you prefer and what are you looking for in a
ladder?

168
00:11:30,363 --> 00:11:32,338
Because there's a lot of different opinions on it.

169
00:11:32,338 --> 00:11:34,359
Yeah, there's a lot of different things out there.

170
00:11:34,359 --> 00:11:38,061
Take it seriously when they say what the ratings are and what it is that you're going to
be using it for.

171
00:11:38,061 --> 00:11:42,433
um The ladder that I had specifically, I had it for a long time.

172
00:11:42,433 --> 00:11:43,673
I was pretty comfortable with it.

173
00:11:43,673 --> 00:11:46,045
The roof in this case was really short.

174
00:11:46,045 --> 00:11:46,945
I could touch it.

175
00:11:46,945 --> 00:11:49,106
So it wasn't like it was super high.

176
00:11:49,726 --> 00:11:57,046
You you kind of get that comfortable, like you have done this 100 times, but always,
always double check those things and you know.

177
00:11:57,046 --> 00:11:59,693
Was it like an extension or was it a telescoping?

178
00:11:59,693 --> 00:12:02,248
It was, okay.

179
00:12:03,402 --> 00:12:04,262
out

180
00:12:04,262 --> 00:12:07,675
Yeah, yeah Articulating feet.

181
00:12:07,675 --> 00:12:07,984
Yeah.

182
00:12:07,984 --> 00:12:09,136
Yeah, that's it.

183
00:12:09,136 --> 00:12:14,831
Yeah, so there was a word Yeah, it's a SAT word of the day right there.

184
00:12:14,831 --> 00:12:16,052
Yeah articulation.

185
00:12:16,052 --> 00:12:19,495
That's it ah It's is that what they call it an a-frame.

186
00:12:19,495 --> 00:12:20,376
is that what the eight?

187
00:12:20,376 --> 00:12:27,902
Well, I never knew that hold on the a stands for articulation and an a-frame ladder Or is
it just because it looks like an a that's what I was

188
00:12:29,429 --> 00:12:32,300
I think it's articulating whenever it does both.

189
00:12:32,300 --> 00:12:36,423
alright hey sound off in the comments what is the a for today for him latter

190
00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:38,343
But no.

191
00:12:38,343 --> 00:12:39,918
A-frame house looks like an A.

192
00:12:39,918 --> 00:12:41,709
ah Exactly, yeah, that's what I'm saying.

193
00:12:41,709 --> 00:12:43,199
Yeah, it looks like it.

194
00:12:43,199 --> 00:12:46,561
Yeah, the shoe does fit on that one, you know.

195
00:12:47,661 --> 00:12:50,883
So, okay, what was the recovery time on that if you don't mind talking about it?

196
00:12:50,883 --> 00:12:54,785
ah Because again, I'm sure you're not the only inspector that's had a fall.

197
00:12:54,785 --> 00:12:59,607
If you see thousands and thousands of homes, eventually, you know, something bad's going
to happen.

198
00:12:59,607 --> 00:13:02,048
You'll touch a hot panel, you know, something.

199
00:13:02,048 --> 00:13:04,739
And in this case, it's terrible that this happened.

200
00:13:04,739 --> 00:13:06,640
But what was the recovery time like from that?

201
00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:07,830
How did you bounce back?

202
00:13:08,054 --> 00:13:13,419
So the recovery time was initially, I was in a back brace for three months.

203
00:13:13,419 --> 00:13:17,143
So that was like the initial just recovery for the injury on my back.

204
00:13:17,143 --> 00:13:20,536
ah But then physical therapy after that was, you know, six months to a year.

205
00:13:20,536 --> 00:13:28,046
And it's, it took me about a year before I could even lift 50 pounds back up because it's
putting that pressure on your back.

206
00:13:28,046 --> 00:13:31,346
I have chronic lower back pain just from being 38.

207
00:13:31,346 --> 00:13:32,426
I cannot imagine.

208
00:13:32,426 --> 00:13:33,256
Okay

209
00:13:33,256 --> 00:13:34,856
It's a serious thing.

210
00:13:34,856 --> 00:13:36,948
I mean, it just sounds very traumatic.

211
00:13:36,948 --> 00:13:37,198
Yeah.

212
00:13:37,198 --> 00:13:41,472
And I mean, like, I guess you probably had a lot of questions like, is my career in this
over?

213
00:13:41,472 --> 00:13:44,555
Which kind of in a way it was, but more or less shifted though.

214
00:13:44,555 --> 00:13:45,475
Yeah.

215
00:13:45,475 --> 00:13:46,516
Yeah, that's that's crazy.

216
00:13:46,516 --> 00:13:50,820
uh I think it's um I mean, I'm glad that you made a full recovery.

217
00:13:50,820 --> 00:13:51,681
Yeah.

218
00:13:51,681 --> 00:13:57,880
So I'm glad you're able to still work in the industry ah without having to put yourself in
that position.

219
00:13:57,880 --> 00:13:59,829
Don't put myself on ladders anymore.

220
00:13:59,829 --> 00:14:01,958
uh

221
00:14:02,444 --> 00:14:08,919
So in what ways are you able to market rental inspections as your form of business now?

222
00:14:08,919 --> 00:14:11,261
I mean, do you go straight to property management companies?

223
00:14:11,261 --> 00:14:11,561
Yeah.

224
00:14:11,561 --> 00:14:13,112
Like, what's that methodology look like?

225
00:14:13,112 --> 00:14:14,833
It's not realtors necessarily.

226
00:14:15,054 --> 00:14:18,035
necessarily, which is kind a nice change of pace.

227
00:14:18,256 --> 00:14:27,590
There's a ton of realtors that are out there and when you work with a property manager, in
my case, with the property managers that I work with, they have hundreds and thousands of

228
00:14:27,590 --> 00:14:27,910
units.

229
00:14:27,910 --> 00:14:35,824
So when you meet one, you have a doorway that's going to something much bigger than having
to network with a bunch of realtors.

230
00:14:35,824 --> 00:14:42,287
So it's a little different of an avenue and it definitely does start with the property
management companies and building their trust and things like that.

231
00:14:42,287 --> 00:14:45,018
uh One way that I kind of gear it to

232
00:14:45,018 --> 00:14:52,894
them on board it's like I'll just do this one for free and so you guys can get to see what
what's going on with this because in the end it's a bigger marketing thing.

233
00:14:52,894 --> 00:14:59,294
Yeah, if it's a company like that that has hundreds of properties, then that's a really
good way to get in front of the door.

234
00:14:59,487 --> 00:15:04,191
Well, in a rule of thumb with most properties is that they have about a three-year
turnover.

235
00:15:04,191 --> 00:15:07,013
So we're seeing most of those properties every three years.

236
00:15:07,082 --> 00:15:08,144
Okay, so that's huge.

237
00:15:08,144 --> 00:15:12,230
So book of business wise, I mean, how many property management companies are you working
with now?

238
00:15:12,230 --> 00:15:14,813
Like, and how busy does it keep you during the week?

239
00:15:15,182 --> 00:15:17,882
Summertime is always the most busiest.

240
00:15:17,882 --> 00:15:20,442
Being in the Fort Collins area, I also work down in Boulder.

241
00:15:20,442 --> 00:15:21,742
They're college towns.

242
00:15:22,082 --> 00:15:26,402
So that turnover in the summertime is pretty wild, and it gets very, very busy.

243
00:15:27,660 --> 00:15:34,659
but I work with roughly five or six property management companies and each one wants
something a little bit different because I also do have a cleaning business along with

244
00:15:34,659 --> 00:15:35,020
that.

245
00:15:35,020 --> 00:15:44,932
uh I listen to the property managers and what they're struggling with and their turnovers
and I've opened those doors to create vendor solutions to streamline those turnovers.

246
00:15:45,378 --> 00:15:47,280
Yeah, it's a really good business model.

247
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:54,626
ah Honestly, uh like, I'm down in Florida right now and rentals are huge.

248
00:15:54,626 --> 00:15:57,188
I mean, especially in the beach communities and things like that.

249
00:15:57,188 --> 00:16:05,785
ah I've even advocated that inspectors down there kind of think outside the box in terms
of doing uh post storm damage assessments when hurricanes come through and things like

250
00:16:05,785 --> 00:16:06,316
that.

251
00:16:06,316 --> 00:16:09,298
But this is just a testament to thinking outside of the box in my mind.

252
00:16:09,298 --> 00:16:13,996
ah When did that kind of that, what was the light bulb moment?

253
00:16:13,996 --> 00:16:17,375
when you kind of decide, you know, there might be something here for this.

254
00:16:17,742 --> 00:16:29,582
I would say it was a few years in of doing it with the other company that I was working
for and building those relationships with the property managers and just listening to them

255
00:16:29,582 --> 00:16:32,142
and what they had to say about the units and things like that.

256
00:16:32,142 --> 00:16:41,082
It was that moment of like, you know, could do a lot more with this and it doesn't just
have to be with this company and I can expand this into other things and create this to be

257
00:16:41,082 --> 00:16:42,842
something much bigger.

258
00:16:42,996 --> 00:16:49,331
And one of the other big things that every property manager really has a big focus on is
safety and hazardous things.

259
00:16:49,331 --> 00:16:51,783
And so that's like a big emphasis of things that I put on.

260
00:16:51,783 --> 00:16:56,307
So we check in or replace smoke detectors if we're in the units as well.

261
00:16:56,307 --> 00:17:03,018
So it's just something that's an easy thing for me to do, but also something that is out
of sight, out of mind for them because I know it's been taken.

262
00:17:03,018 --> 00:17:13,871
interesting so you do a little bit of maintenance actual maintenance but I mean like like
as like in as a general home inspector at least in Texas like that's supposed to we're not

263
00:17:13,871 --> 00:17:16,806
supposed to do that yeah um

264
00:17:17,002 --> 00:17:17,852
Let me ask you.

265
00:17:17,852 --> 00:17:19,608
Okay, Colorado's not regulating.

266
00:17:19,608 --> 00:17:21,399
So you can do whatever you want there anyway.

267
00:17:21,399 --> 00:17:28,882
But for people that are not in Colorado, because what you're doing can certainly happen in
Texas or Florida or anywhere.

268
00:17:29,402 --> 00:17:34,464
so it's interesting to think like, yeah, you could also include light maintenance in what
you do.

269
00:17:34,464 --> 00:17:35,825
And that just changes everything.

270
00:17:35,825 --> 00:17:40,238
I know a guy that got out of home inspection because he couldn't stand pointing out
problems and not fixing them.

271
00:17:41,207 --> 00:17:44,418
We got licensed at the same time and we kind of kept in touch with each other.

272
00:17:44,418 --> 00:17:49,210
And then like about two years in, he bought into a franchise, Pillar Post.

273
00:17:49,736 --> 00:17:53,285
And about two years in, he said, I can't do this anymore.

274
00:17:53,285 --> 00:17:55,879
I can't tell people these problems and not be able to fix them.

275
00:17:56,934 --> 00:18:01,887
Well, there's some things that you could do that are even like maintenance.

276
00:18:01,887 --> 00:18:09,711
If you're opening a cabinet door and that cabinet's loose, just take out your screwdriver
and screw it in because it takes less time to do that than it does to even write comment

277
00:18:09,711 --> 00:18:10,390
on it.

278
00:18:10,390 --> 00:18:20,663
Yeah, it's one of those things I feel like where some people might have a more firm line,
but at the same time, I'm like, is anybody really going to look back and be like, you know

279
00:18:20,663 --> 00:18:25,350
what, I can't close this cabinet door now, so I'm going to sue Inspector Beans.

280
00:18:25,350 --> 00:18:28,893
like, yeah, it's no, I mean, it's not going to be quite that.

281
00:18:29,294 --> 00:18:31,434
You said it, so we gotta go there.

282
00:18:32,114 --> 00:18:34,754
Your name, we gotta talk about your name.

283
00:18:34,754 --> 00:18:43,734
So this is funny, because I was talking to Fletch earlier yesterday, and because we had
talked and I was like, okay, we're having around the show, this is great.

284
00:18:43,734 --> 00:18:47,194
And so I was asking him, because you're friends with him, you all have known each other
for a while.

285
00:18:47,194 --> 00:18:51,154
And I was asking him some questions about you, and I was like, where did the name
Inspector Beans came from?

286
00:18:51,154 --> 00:18:54,914
Because I saw your name, but I didn't see, that's your last name.

287
00:18:54,914 --> 00:18:56,774
And which is.

288
00:18:57,098 --> 00:18:58,940
I mean, it's different, right?

289
00:18:58,940 --> 00:19:04,583
And the way you just leaned into it, like, uh I think is great.

290
00:19:04,583 --> 00:19:05,734
And how does it work for you?

291
00:19:05,734 --> 00:19:07,065
How does that, does it help?

292
00:19:07,065 --> 00:19:07,745
Does it help you?

293
00:19:07,745 --> 00:19:08,366
mean, it's...

294
00:19:08,366 --> 00:19:10,187
I mean, it definitely is something that stands out.

295
00:19:10,187 --> 00:19:18,713
uh know, Beans has just been a nickname of mine my whole life because it's my last name
and oh it's definitely something that people take and they remember me for sure.

296
00:19:18,713 --> 00:19:22,705
So, and most of time I don't remember who a lot of people are, but they'll remember who I
am.

297
00:19:22,705 --> 00:19:24,376
So that's, you know, that piece of it.

298
00:19:24,376 --> 00:19:25,990
So it definitely helps for sure.

299
00:19:25,990 --> 00:19:27,992
I didn't know if it was somebody's name.

300
00:19:27,992 --> 00:19:35,377
So the backstory here, we're setting up for the conference the day before and doing all of
the name tags for everybody.

301
00:19:35,438 --> 00:19:38,881
so you actually you see, I saw Inspector Beans on there.

302
00:19:38,881 --> 00:19:42,303
None of us know it, had any idea who this was or what the name meant.

303
00:19:42,303 --> 00:19:44,305
We just kind of went, that's a hot name.

304
00:19:44,786 --> 00:19:51,291
I mean, it's funny, you see all of that, like the pile, we alphabetized all of these, the
pile of A names.

305
00:19:51,291 --> 00:19:55,534
And I'm like, now these are the inspection companies that went back to the yellow pages,
okay.

306
00:19:56,750 --> 00:20:02,770
It has to be like double A home inspections because you want to be the furthest up on the
yellow pages, you know?

307
00:20:02,770 --> 00:20:11,822
Yeah, but then we get to inspector beads and I'm like, I don't know if this is a play on
the character on even Stevens or you know, the old Disney show or what says but.

308
00:20:11,822 --> 00:20:13,742
but I thought it was really cool immediately.

309
00:20:13,742 --> 00:20:19,922
And then when I found out it actually was, and I didn't want to give you that too much of
that information prior to this because I wanted this reaction because like when I found

310
00:20:19,922 --> 00:20:22,510
out I was like, oh wow, that's your last name?

311
00:20:22,510 --> 00:20:23,322
It's actually your day, yeah.

312
00:20:23,322 --> 00:20:24,294
That's cool.

313
00:20:24,294 --> 00:20:25,126
No, that's awesome.

314
00:20:25,126 --> 00:20:25,837
Seriously, yeah.

315
00:20:25,837 --> 00:20:27,992
Now, it's super brandable, though, too.

316
00:20:27,992 --> 00:20:31,809
mean, have you built up a bit of social media following with that?

317
00:20:32,230 --> 00:20:33,331
Not really.

318
00:20:33,392 --> 00:20:39,369
My main focus hasn't been a lot with that mainly because who I work with are individuals
at property management companies.

319
00:20:39,369 --> 00:20:44,005
So I've actually been pretty lucky to not have to do a whole lot of marketing and other
things.

320
00:20:44,005 --> 00:20:45,217
It's not like a one-off thing.

321
00:20:45,217 --> 00:20:47,285
When I meet one company, it's a big deal.

322
00:20:47,285 --> 00:20:48,660
stop thinking, just call beans.

323
00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:51,270
uh

324
00:20:51,298 --> 00:20:53,251
No, look, and by the way, sorry for yawning.

325
00:20:53,251 --> 00:20:58,509
You know, it's, gosh, we're in New Orleans and yeah, we had some fun in New Orleans.

326
00:20:58,509 --> 00:21:00,852
Yeah, it's, but yeah, I feel that.

327
00:21:00,852 --> 00:21:07,832
ah Now, what's been your favorite thing of the conference here so far and what are you
really looking to take away from it, I guess, at end of it all?

328
00:21:07,832 --> 00:21:16,136
Sure, I think, well I've been to inspection field before and one of my favorite things is
that you guys just do a great job with like putting on the event.

329
00:21:16,270 --> 00:21:18,897
I'll pass that on to the guys that set it up.

330
00:21:18,990 --> 00:21:29,402
um They do an awesome job and it's family oriented and I love that you guys do events and
other things and it's just really a way to get everybody together and connect and I think

331
00:21:29,402 --> 00:21:30,122
that that's...

332
00:21:30,122 --> 00:21:31,132
that's the big goal.

333
00:21:31,132 --> 00:21:33,353
It's probably moved it up earlier in the year this year too.

334
00:21:33,353 --> 00:21:38,204
It's you know, we wanted to be able to bring even more people in last year was tough
around the holidays and stuff.

335
00:21:38,204 --> 00:21:41,865
But but yeah, no, it's a the more the merrier here for sure.

336
00:21:41,865 --> 00:21:45,866
So I'm glad it's not your first hope is not your last definitely.

337
00:21:45,866 --> 00:21:47,367
Yeah, it's been a lot of.

338
00:21:49,627 --> 00:21:50,248
She's done.

339
00:21:50,248 --> 00:21:51,378
She's like I will never visit.

340
00:21:51,378 --> 00:21:55,489
Yeah, they're a little weird.

341
00:21:55,489 --> 00:21:57,890
Yeah, that's they're not supposed to do that.

342
00:21:57,890 --> 00:21:58,890
You know.

343
00:21:58,890 --> 00:21:59,690
Yeah.

344
00:21:59,746 --> 00:22:10,125
But anyway, Fantas, so what's your idea as far as like for inspectors that will hear this
business model and who might want to try it and scale it themselves.

345
00:22:10,125 --> 00:22:11,857
What is the methodology for scaling?

346
00:22:11,857 --> 00:22:13,810
What are you looking to do in the years ahead?

347
00:22:14,530 --> 00:22:16,451
What am I looking to do in the future?

348
00:22:16,451 --> 00:22:24,273
So I mean, my biggest thing that I would like to do is franchise the business and take
that and do it duplicated over and over and over again.

349
00:22:24,273 --> 00:22:31,816
Some of the property management companies that I work with are also franchised, so they're
all over the place and that just opens up a door in places that allows me to have those

350
00:22:31,816 --> 00:22:33,276
connections in those places as well.

351
00:22:33,276 --> 00:22:38,454
So I just want to be able to do that and I think there's a good base for that to be able
to do it.

352
00:22:38,454 --> 00:22:40,044
I really think it's doable.

353
00:22:43,535 --> 00:22:48,342
And then, I mean, you're already doing a lot of businesses contracting for Axiom.

354
00:22:48,342 --> 00:22:51,306
Are you planning to sell it at that point too?

355
00:22:51,758 --> 00:22:56,801
ah I mean potentially, yeah, it could be something that you know, I don't want to do it
forever.

356
00:22:58,143 --> 00:23:00,805
You know, I do like I said, do flightings and stuff like that too.

357
00:23:00,805 --> 00:23:03,577
So ah it's just it's a big operation.

358
00:23:03,577 --> 00:23:04,447
It's a lot to handle.

359
00:23:04,447 --> 00:23:07,309
And so I don't see myself being able to do it myself.

360
00:23:07,990 --> 00:23:08,362
No doubt.

361
00:23:08,362 --> 00:23:10,734
So, okay, so is it just you right now or do you have a team or you?

362
00:23:10,734 --> 00:23:12,134
Yeah, I do have a team.

363
00:23:12,134 --> 00:23:13,854
It's mainly me inspecting.

364
00:23:13,854 --> 00:23:17,294
Brett Fletcher also helps out, especially in the summer He's awesome.

365
00:23:17,294 --> 00:23:20,574
He's a workaholic, so he's just down to get in there.

366
00:23:20,574 --> 00:23:27,754
he'll tell you, they're much easier, and it's just an easier day to just go out and do a
rental inspection versus a full home inspection.

367
00:23:27,754 --> 00:23:29,974
I don't have to deal with people, clients.

368
00:23:30,234 --> 00:23:31,654
I'm there by myself.

369
00:23:33,550 --> 00:23:34,310
It's just all things.

370
00:23:34,310 --> 00:23:37,530
It just makes it quicker and easier and it's a lot faster.

371
00:23:37,694 --> 00:23:38,715
I love it.

372
00:23:38,715 --> 00:23:44,837
Awesome business model and this is one of the things again it's one of the best parts
about coming to a conference you get to meet all types.

373
00:23:44,837 --> 00:23:50,259
I mean not everybody does the job the exact same way and not even you know does the exact
same job.

374
00:23:50,259 --> 00:23:54,820
So this is maybe that's one kind of a last question that we can ask here.

375
00:23:54,820 --> 00:24:00,342
What are some of the differentiating things between a rental inspection and a standard
home inspection technically?

376
00:24:00,674 --> 00:24:11,083
Technically, so I would think the biggest thing would be that it focuses way more on
cosmetics, cosmetic defects, things like that, that you might not necessarily do in a

377
00:24:11,164 --> 00:24:12,248
regular home inspection.

378
00:24:12,248 --> 00:24:15,605
We tend to not do like stay away from doing that.

379
00:24:15,605 --> 00:24:16,206
Yeah, exactly.

380
00:24:16,206 --> 00:24:18,108
And you're kind of leaning into it.

381
00:24:18,179 --> 00:24:19,260
yeah, which is a little different.

382
00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:22,764
It's kind of makes it a little harder to and you're like, what should I nitpick or what
should I nitpick?

383
00:24:22,764 --> 00:24:28,791
ah But you know, the biggest thing is like, can they or can they not charge the tenant for
this when they move in or out?

384
00:24:28,791 --> 00:24:31,213
And so that's that's the biggest thing.

385
00:24:32,204 --> 00:24:40,087
I mean, it also it protects the investments for the the owners, the property managers so
that they can see their foreseeable things that are happening.

386
00:24:40,087 --> 00:24:48,250
There's been a few that we've done over the years where the porch is settling and they see
it every year and they're like, well, it's done six inches now.

387
00:24:48,250 --> 00:24:49,331
We should probably fix that.

388
00:24:49,331 --> 00:24:52,840
So being able to see that over time, too, I think is a huge aspect.

389
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:58,611
So, I imagine it is really heavy on safety and then also heavy in cosmetic.

390
00:24:58,611 --> 00:24:59,814
oh

391
00:25:00,735 --> 00:25:01,255
That's huge.

392
00:25:01,255 --> 00:25:06,747
And again, it's almost like you a deeper insight on the home than even the homeowner.

393
00:25:06,747 --> 00:25:09,219
mean, all this information is going back to them.

394
00:25:09,219 --> 00:25:14,621
But again, that added benefit of seeing it more than once over a period of several years
is huge.

395
00:25:14,621 --> 00:25:14,960
Right.

396
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:16,554
oh

397
00:25:16,554 --> 00:25:20,054
might know the properties better than some of the property managers at this point.

398
00:25:20,614 --> 00:25:21,614
That's it.

399
00:25:21,614 --> 00:25:23,458
Been here and I know what's going on.

400
00:25:23,458 --> 00:25:24,559
Very cool, very cool.

401
00:25:24,559 --> 00:25:26,702
Well, the guys were here at Inspection Fuel again.

402
00:25:26,702 --> 00:25:30,226
The lunch line is starting to back up towards the podcasting space.

403
00:25:30,226 --> 00:25:33,148
So I think we're going to go join them.

404
00:25:33,449 --> 00:25:35,711
Honestly, Brianna, this has been awesome.

405
00:25:36,513 --> 00:25:37,163
yeah, absolutely.

406
00:25:37,163 --> 00:25:37,834
Anytime.

407
00:25:37,834 --> 00:25:41,102
I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference and come on back again next year.

408
00:25:41,102 --> 00:25:42,482
people find you?

409
00:25:42,542 --> 00:25:44,622
do you, I you don't do much social media.

410
00:25:44,622 --> 00:25:46,262
Would you want people to find you?

411
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,332
can find me on Facebook.

412
00:25:48,332 --> 00:25:52,496
My umbrella business is rental property solutions.

413
00:25:52,496 --> 00:25:55,298
So it's just what gears it into all into one.

414
00:25:55,298 --> 00:25:58,581
um But Inspector Beans and Plain New Means is out there too.

415
00:25:58,796 --> 00:26:01,304
I imagine we could probably find that pretty easy.

416
00:26:01,304 --> 00:26:02,947
Yeah, definitely.

417
00:26:02,947 --> 00:26:07,804
The logo is a bean with the Inspector Gadget hat.

418
00:26:07,804 --> 00:26:08,645
nice.

419
00:26:08,645 --> 00:26:12,458
That's so awesome.

420
00:26:12,458 --> 00:26:13,649
What'd use to develop that?

421
00:26:13,649 --> 00:26:16,942
mean, was, like hired that out to somebody or.

422
00:26:16,942 --> 00:26:17,442
uh...

423
00:26:17,442 --> 00:26:18,582
actually at uh...

424
00:26:18,582 --> 00:26:28,142
in a achieve is a lot of it is the idea that is made come to life and it is awesome and
i'm they remember it

425
00:26:28,458 --> 00:26:29,218
Very cool.

426
00:26:29,218 --> 00:26:30,318
Well, honestly, thank you so much.

427
00:26:30,318 --> 00:26:32,318
It's been a pleasure having you on the show, Julie.

428
00:26:32,318 --> 00:26:32,758
Yep.

429
00:26:32,758 --> 00:26:34,638
And thank you guys, everybody, so much for watching.

430
00:26:34,638 --> 00:26:38,458
Way more that's going to be coming from Inspection Fuel, so don't miss any of it.

431
00:26:38,458 --> 00:26:45,358
Be sure to go follow Inspector Beans and catch us here right, catch us here again next
time, right on the ride along.

432
00:26:45,358 --> 00:26:46,238
You got it.

433
00:26:46,238 --> 00:26:47,158
Talk to you later.