A Home Inspectors Guide To "Bonus Rooms".

Air seal and insulate your home: You can prevent heat from escaping or cold from entering your home-- reducing your heating bills-- by means of insulating and air sealing your home. An inspector that is additionally certified to conduct an energy survey or audit can help discover the areas that need sealing and insulating.

Use a programmable thermostat: Install a programmable thermostat that can reduce the heat at a certain time if you are away from the house and raise the heat just before you arrive home for supper. Having the heat at a higher temp when the home is not occupied by anyone is inefficient, so automatically having it raised and reduced at specific times will save time and dollars. As a courtesy anytime inspecting a heating system, make sure to put the thermostat setting back to where the homeowner had it originally set.

Install ENERGY STAR windows and doors: Windows and doors are areas where cold/warm air can easily come through. Installing energy efficient windows and doors can save energy and dollars with their higher quality insulation capabilities. Windows can be pricey and should be viewed as one of the last upgrades to the house. If only single pane windows are in place in your home, think about adding storm windows for an added layer of insulation.

Use LED holiday lights: LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), are at least 75 % more efficient and last around 25 times longer than traditional incandescent lights. By using LED lights, you can be at ease realizing that having the holiday lights on is not substantially increasing your energy prices.

Turn off the lights: This will help save dollars year-round. You can conserve energy simply by making sure the lights are turned off whenever a room is not being used. When taking a winter season vacation, be sure all lights are off in every room before your extended time away from the home. You can also save on your electric costs by changing each of the light bulbs in your house to CFLs or LEDs.

Use lighting controls: You can save more cash on your electricity costs by using motion sensor and time controls. Motion sensors turn a light on when motion is sensed and turn a light off after sensing a room is vacant. Using a timer for your holiday lights will guarantee that you do not forget to switch them off.

Decrease the water heater: One significant way to reduce energy consumption if you are away vacationing is to simply lower the temperature of the water heater. If you will be gone 3 or more consecutive days, set the water heater to the lowest or 'vacation' setting if there is one. Another thing you can do is add insulation to the water heater and hot water lines. If your water heater is a gas or oil unit, make sure the insulation does not interfere with the exhausting of the by- products. [atlanticbuildinginspections.com/blog/what-others-are-saying-about-abi/ atlanticbuildinginspections.com/blog/what-others-are-saying-about-abi]

Disconnect electronics: When you are away, unplug those kitchen appliances, DVDs, TVs, and computers to conserve energy and cash. These electronics, when plugged in, consume energy even when they are shut off. You may have heard the term "phantom load" or "vampire power". These terms refer to the electric power consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are turned off but plugged into an outlet. This is wasted electricity.

Use a power strip: if the idea of running all around the home to disconnect everything is a bit too much, use power strips to plug in multiple appliances, then afterwards shut it all off with the flip of the power strip switch. It is undoubtedly far more convenient to have all your electrical devices plugged into one large strip. Just remember, however, that these strips are normally rated for 15 amps and must not be overloaded. Larger appliances like microwaves, refrigerators, toasters as well as other appliances with higher power loads should be plugged directly into the wall.

Adjust the blinds and drapes: Last but not least, another valuable technique to conserve energy while on vacation or in general during the course of chillier months is to reduce the blinds and curtains. Close your drapes and shades at night to protect against cold drafts; open them during the day to allow in warming sunlight.

Home inspection advertising and marketing may be considered one of the most vital elements in starting a home inspection business, though can additionally be among the most complex. Advertising and marketing will guarantee home inspection business growth and profits. Advertising and marketing may be expensive and also frustrating. An efficient home inspector is a business owner utilizing tried and tested home inspection advertising and marketing tools and procedures so as to advertise the services which they supply to prospective customers and also referral sources. Understanding your competition and finding your certain niche in your market is going to guarantee your success. Here are a couple of pointers to use in order to ensure your home inspection business is noticeable from the rest in a competitive market.

Come up with a thorough business and home inspection advertising and marketing plan and stick to it! An effective advertising and marketing plan is a document that enhances your business strategy and combines all your market research so that you are able to work out just where exactly your business is going and how it is going to get there. Your home inspection marketing plan should consist of: objectives, details of the current market, a full analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and last but not least your plan of actions for accomplishing your objectives. This plan should be versatile and able to be modified to comply with the changing conditions in the market. An excellent advertising and marketing plan will save you money over time through reducing unwarranted costs while additionally presenting you with new opportunities. In the event that you don't have a good home inspection advertising and marketing plan it is possible that you are not making the most of each of the means to connect with your target audience.

Get out in front of folks on a weekly basis! Research shows that face to face advertising and marketing is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to get your name out in the market. Face to face marketing is affordable for connecting with multitudes of people in a short time frame. Any activity has to grab the prospective customer's interest promptly since the window for interaction is quite small. Regardless of what you do, first get their attention and then maintain it long enough for them to engage in the message you are conveying. Keep getting out in front of people anytime cash gets tight as this is an economical and efficient technique to market yourself. Opportunities are out there, you simply need to locate them. Advertising and marketing is a lot like farming, you need to cultivate the seeds and harvest the crops.

Manage your time adequately. Efficient time management enables you to take some measure of control over your advertising and marketing. Pre-planning your marketing activities will help your days become ordered. Set a goal concerning what you would like to achieve daily, and go for it. This will help you be more in control of your destiny. Time management in addition helps with productivity, confidence and it can make your daily tasks a lot more fun. Most importantly, time management gives you the ability to fulfill your objectives. It is nearly impossible to meet your home inspection marketing goals when you fail to properly manage your time. Something always comes up, or you spend an excessive amount of time on unimportant tasks, eating away time that needs to go toward meeting your goals. Keep in mind if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Be organized! Keep your list of prospects, clients, and contacts organized. The most effective way of accomplishing this would be to use computerized software and set up reminders for follow up calls, meetings, letters, appointments, or anything critical you may have out there. Use this software to monitor which sources, ads and letters are producing the most leads and the most productive leads. Take knowledge in the amount of money it's costing you to locate a lead in your market, and how many leads it is taking you to find a client. Always keep your database well-maintained and accurate. Become a fanatic about list hygiene.

Know your local market! Knowing your local market will help you establish what you should do in terms of pricing, competition, or what your certain niche is going to be. Familiarize yourself with the realtors in your area. Collect flyers and brochures of other inspectors in your market. Look at the telephone directory, check the internet, check professional home inspector association websites, and ask realtors for a list of popular inspectors in your area. Understand and evaluate your competition. Just what report format are they using? Are they using computerized reports or paper reports? Are they supplying their reports onsite or 1-- 2 days later? Are they using digital photos to give the customer a visual description about what they are purchasing? Does your competition have all the insurance that you do such as; E & O Insurance w / Realtor indemnification and basic liability coverage? Are they as professional as you? Did they go through a formal training program before becoming a home inspector? Is their pricing reasonable? When pricing your home inspections don't forget to focus on trust and professionalism. The quality of your service counts. Don't forget to verbalize that quality to your customer. Add value to your inspections vs. lowering the price, people buy when they are comfortable with what they are purchasing in spite of price.

Give people something to talk about! The most successful method of advertising and marketing is not under your control. Word of mouth marketing is the most effective way to get your name out there. When performing a home inspection go above and beyond from beginning to end. Create a positive customer experience that surpasses the customer's expectations that will cause your client's to say "Wow!" Make your company worthwhile of recommendations. Figure out what it is that you want folks to say about your service, offer quality service, and most of all treat people with respect. Give people something to talk about, and ask them to spread the word. Word of mouth marketing fuels success.

Be aggressive! Aggressive advertising and marketing ought to take 20-30 hours out of your week if you are a full time inspector, or 5-7 hours if you are part time. Meet with as many realtors as possible. Hand out 5-- 10 business cards daily. Take part in realtor association or boards. Go to business luncheons, and also provide breakfast or lunch to targeted realty offices. Stop in at 2-3 open houses weekly.

Stay positive! It is essential to stay positive through any and all challenges that you might encounter through your life and career. Find help and support from family and friends and you will reach your business goals before you know it!

Atlantic Bulding Inspections has a specialized team of residential property inspectors with a measure for not missing any thing. For more information about our home inspection company or to schedule your all-encompassing professional residential property inspection, just click this web link: [atlanticbuildinginspections.com/blog/what-others-are-saying-about-abi http://atlanticbuildinginspections.com/blog/what-others-are-saying-about-abi] or give us a call at 305-851-2909. For additional content on home inspections, also have a glance at home inspector training.