Testimonials are almost as good as a one-on-one referral. And there’s no better time than now to start building up your comment base.

According to a 2012 study by Search Engine Land, the majority of responders said they believe online reviews are trustworthy. Of them, over half said reviews drive them to local businesses. That’s an impressive number.

So if you want to get in on the testimonial action for your home inspection business, here are 4 pointers that work.

#1: Make Testimonials Easy

Grumpy customers are more likely to go out of their way to leave a review. But happy customers tend to leave testimonials and positive reviews if the process is easy. That’s why you should take advantage of every possible channel for promotion.

Social media is a great platform for testimonials. It takes very little time, and your customers are probably already there. KISS Metrics says you should list your home inspection business with local search directories, too.

For example, Yelp and Google Places reviews pop up when new customers search for home inspectors in your area. Some of them are connected, too. That means reviews at one local search platform can show up in the results for another platform.

#2: Reward Customers for Their Time

No, we aren’t talking about paying for good reviews. But rewarding customers for their time, not for a positive review, is rarely a bad idea.

Fast food chains offer incentives for leaving reviews. So do some retail stores. So it stands to reason that your customers will take a few minutes to leave a testimonial if you make it worth their while.

You could offer coupons, or host a giveaway where every reviewer is automatically entered in a contest for a prize such as a gift card. Just remember that the reward is for taking the time to review, not for leaving a glowing report.

#3: Strive for Conflict Resolution

In every life, some rain must fall. Bad reviews happen to the best of home inspectors. What’s important is how you handle them. Conflict resolution can build public trust and solidify your company’s good reputation.

Some businesses ignore bad reviews. But American Express Open Forum says that’s a bad strategy. It’s also a missed opportunity to build goodwill.

Respond to the comment without blaming the commenter. Always be professional and admit fault if it the review is accurate. If you can offer a resolution, do so. Keep it straightforward. A brief response can help avoid future problems and bad press. Turn a negative comment into a learning opportunity. Sometimes, poor feedback offers the opportunity to grow. Remember that your comment is visible to the public, too. #4: Provide Great Home Inspection Service

Probably the best way to inspire more home inspector testimonials is to be a great home inspector. When customers get what they pay for, they’re more likely to be happy. When they get more than they expected, they might be thrilled.

Be punctual. Send the home inspection report as soon as possible. Use great images. Make yourself available for phone calls or emails. Invite the customer to the home inspection.

The importance of professionalism and dependability can’t be overstated. In the home buying process, your inspection could be one of the few pleasant spots.

Most of your customers are probably up to their ears in paperwork, not to mention all of the goings on of daily life. It’s easy to get too busy to remember the little things. So if you want more testimonials, don’t forget the most obvious way to get them: ask.

If you want more testimonials, be the home inspector that you’d want to hire. Provide a great service and work on building your company brand.

In most parts of the country, a home inspection is still the buyer’s choice. It’s a smart idea, but not every buyer sees or agrees with the benefit. However, a growing trend toward mandatory point-of-sale inspections has the real estate and home inspecting world buzzing.

There’s hardly an argument for the case that more inspections could ever be bad. But there’s another side to that shiny coin. If the government gets involved with when, where and by whom those inspections happen, the face of home inspecting could change considerably.

It Sounds Like a Great Idea

Hardly any American cities have followed through with mandatory inspections (yet). But if more come around to the idea, every person involved in real estate transactions will be affected by it. Buyers will know more about the houses they’re interested in, and home inspectors will have a lot more business. That sounds like a win/win.

According to Investopedia, the benefits of an inspection cover eotecting a buyer from making a bad investment as well as arming him with more knowledge, which can help encourage negotiations on a price that’s more reasonable. But when a sale happens in a mandatory inspection market, there aren’t any choices.

Not Everyone Loves the Plan

Naturally someone has to come out with the short end of the stick. How mandatory inspections will be funded is still undecided. Some promote the idea of taxpayer funded inspections performed by city workers. And some prefer for the seller to foot the bill. But in a classic service contract situation, there is an agreement for a service in exchange for compensation. If the compensation flows to the inspector from the taxpayers or the seller, the contract is not really with the buyer.

That reality is one of many concerns about mandatory inspections. Another, which was highlighted in Minnesota’s Eden Prairie News, is that the whole traditional sale process could be hijacked by otherwise disinterested parties. And if financing requires an inspection, as some do, who is to say whether the lender would accept the city’s mandated inspection or require yet another?

More work is a great thing, as long as you’re the one who gets it.

Mandatory Inspections Could Alter the Home Inspection Business

The usual situation is that a buyer hires an inspector to report on the existing condition of a home prior to the sale. A rarer situation is one where a homeowner hires an inspector for a sort of home checkup to see what needs repair. With mandated inspections, buyer-funded inspections could become a thing of the past.

While there would be more inspecting work with mandated inspections, who would perform them? Eden Prairie News worries that city officials would become the new home inspectors. Another theory is that home inspectors would work as contractors for the city. And that opens up the possibility of a new level of inspector regulation beyond existing licensure requirements.

Currently, mandatory home inspections only exist in a tiny portion of the industry. For everyone else, they’re a major talking point. Being aware of the potential can help you prepare for its possible institution in the market where you work. And awareness also gives you some time to prepare your own questions for city officials.

All that it takes is a look at the news to see how easy it is for drone pilots to get in trouble with the law. When these mini aerial vehicles, known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), first hit the scene in a big way a few years ago, the possibilities seemed endless.

Some people now believe that UAS package delivery isn’t far off. Drones are frequently used to photograph real estate, too. Their ability to go where people don’t go and bring back images that would otherwise be difficult or impossible makes them perfect for the Home Inspection industry.

But with all of the excitement, the FAA had a real problem. Popularity was immense, and it remains so. And so is the risk of injury, property damage and privacy issues with drones in the wrong hands. But finally, new FAA drone regulations for commercial use were released in June. If you are itching to try a UAS on the job, here’s what you need to know.

Drones are Expensive, Highly Technical Equipment

A UAS might seem almost like a toy, but they are anything except cheap. At least that’s the case with drones that are durable and dependable enough to use in home inspection work. One false move and hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of equipment might be obliterated in one mishap.

Drones can create a lot of havoc if the pilot isn’t experienced. And sometimes an epic crash results, no matter how much experience the pilot has. It happens all the time.

The FAA Requires Certification

Although you could, at least in theory, buy a drone online and take it to work the next day, the FAA has something to say about it. To be legal, the remote pilot in command of the UAS must be certified or under the direct supervision of someone who is.

Pilot certification requires a demonstration of aeronautical knowledge through either FAA testing or possessing a Part 61 pilot certificate and completing the FAA online training course. You must also be vetted by TSA and be at least 16.

Safe Operation is an Emerging Discipline

As drone technology becomes more prevalent and popular, more issues with the safe handling and operation of UASs will become apparent. For now, the FAA uses a commonsense approach. Be safe and don’t take unnecessary risks with people or property. That appears to be the general rule. Here are some of the finer points:

No operation directly above unprotected people No operation inside a covered stationary vehicle Only fly during daylight, or during twilight with proper anti-collision lights Don’t operate a drone from a moving aircraft Don’t fly it where you can’t see it Don’t be reckless Always perform a pre-flight inspection Only carry a load that the UAS is rated to handle

Basically, don’t take the drone into an area where could harm people, damage property or is likely to crash.

Privacy is a Big Deal

One big issue with drones is the invasion of privacy. As a home inspector, that shouldn’t be a chronic problem. But you never know, and you can’t be too careful. If the drone you’re piloting and its camera come too close to a neighboring property, the owner might take issue.

The National Telecommunications and information Administration (NTIA) makes the following suggestions, which are voluntary.

Let anyone in the vicinity know that you’ll be piloting a drone with a camera and that their image might be captured on video. Never deliberately take video or pictures of anyone without their permission. Don’t fly over someone else’s private property. Only gather personal data if it’s necessary for the job, and discard it as soon as you can. If some data must be kept, keep it secure. Delete data, photos or video if the subject of the images and data asks you to. Be reasonable in discussing privacy and safety concerns with others. Don’t harass anyone with the drone. It’s also a good idea not to harass animals.

Drone technology is very likely here to stay. With it will eventually come more improvements in the aircraft and the rules governing use.

UASs are a perfect match for the home inspection industry because they enable visual inspection of areas, such as roofs, that can’t be reached or can’t be reached safely. That’s why ICA School has introduced a new drone module specifically for using drones in roof inspections. You should check it out.

The real estate industry can be a bit polarized at times where home inspectors are concerned. Everyone expects you to do a thorough job. But if there are severe defects and the customer balks on the sale, all eyes are on you. On the other hand, what if your inspection gives the buyer confidence to move forward?

A lot hinges on a home inspection. A great one can support a sale and a bad one might not. But either way, facts are what’s important. Home inspections really can affect the sale of a house. And that’s not a bad thing.

Informed Buyers Can Make Better Decisions

A home is probably the biggest purchase that your client will make. It’s financed for years, which means there’s an enormous commitment involved. Chances are, they’d make no other major purchase without kicking the tires, so to speak. And the same should apply to the house where they’ll live for at least the next few years.

Good, bad or somewhere in the middle, home inspections give your clients answers. And in many cases, if not most, those answers aren’t obvious on a basic walk-through. Inspections are a service that leads to informed decision making. That affects the sale, but that’s also the whole point.

Defects Don’t Always Kill a Sale

Buyers and sellers, alike, wait on pins and needles for the inspection report to come through. Thing is, every house has at least some defects. And even big ones don’t spell the end of a deal. Affecting a sale and killing a sale are two different things.

Defects can give buyers a little bargaining power. The seller might reduce the price or offer to foot the bill for repairs. So instead of rendering the deal dead in the water, it could actually support it, just with a few tweaks. The same defects would emerge, no matter who the buyer happened to be. If the seller works with the buyer at hand, the whole process won’t have to begin again from scratch with a new one.

A Great Inspection Can Make Everyone Happy

With all of the focus on defects, one important possibility gets overlooked. What if the house is in terrific condition? There’s no denying the weight of the inspection report. Inspection anxiety is why it’s so important to get the report in the hands of the customer as quickly as possible. With good news, everyone can take a breath and relax a little.

A glowing report on the house in question makes buyer, seller, and the real estate agents happy. The lender has less to worry about and so does everyone else with an interest in the sale. So while there will likely be defects, since all homes have a few, they might be so minor as to barely register on the worry-o-meter.

Home inspectors might take a lot of heat for bearing bad news, but that’s a short-sighted view of your work. A house can’t really pass or fail, it can only reveal its true self. And your job isn’t to alter or persuade, it’s only to report on what you find. Sometimes a shift in perspective is all that’s necessary to give everyone a much-needed break.

A home inspector’s services go beyond checking out home systems and filling out a report. The better the report and the faster you can send it, the more time your customers will have to make the right decision. Home Inspection Report can help with that.

A mobile home inspection report app makes your job much easier, but there are so many on the market. How can you know which one to choose? There are some slick products with every bell and whistle imaginable. And then there are basic ones that appeal to the no-nonsense inspector who just wants a great-looking report without any fuss.

If you’re in the market for a new mobile app or you’re stepping away from handwritten or desktop-dependent software, here’s what’s available today.

#1: HomeGauge

The HomeGauge desktop computer-based software has a mobile app companion. It’s a good option for home inspectors who want the flexibility of working between desktop and mobile. The software is compatible with Windows 7, 8 and 10, and the HomeGauge Companion app works on Android and Apple iOS.

The upside of this app is its professional, good-looking reports and a wide range of uses. It’s designed for reporting on residential, commercial, HUD, warranty, contractor bidding and several other inspection types.

One of the downsides is that there are so many different features, most home inspectors might never use them all. The other downside is the price. With an investment of about $1,000 or more, all of the extras seem like expensive party tricks. And if you decide to go with the monthly subscription service, expect to pay $200 up front and about $60 per month.

#2: Home Inspection Report Pro

Home Inspection Report Pro is made for residential home inspectors. It’s also got valuable add-ons for ancillary services such as mold, septic systems and swimming pools. It’s multilingual, so inspectors can create reports in English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish. This is another software that desktop / mobile compatible with Mac, Windows, Android and Apple mobile products.

Some of the pros include versatile template creation, professional-looking reports, and a discount for members of ASHI and other home inspector associations. It also has video, which adds another layer of reporting possibilities.

As with HomeGauge, one of the biggest downsides is the cost. Even with a discount, the investment is fairly steep. The basic desktop / mobile package starts at $649. And their additional $20 monthly iCloud service is required. Their other mobile-compatible package is a leased service that requires $125 up front, a $65 monthly fee plus the iCloud cost.

#3: Home Inspection Report

We might be biased, but we believe that Home Inspection Report is hands-down the best overall value. Our mobile app is designed specifically for busy home inspectors who aren’t tied to a desk for any part of the inspection process. It isn’t dependent on a desktop software package, although an MS Word-based desktop version is also available. Reports are clean, professional, beautiful and easy to use on any Apple or Android device.

As for the downsides, there aren’t many. Home Inspection Report isn’t designed for commercial inspections, so if that’s your bread and butter you might need a different app. And if you love the extra steps and time that it takes to sync your device with a computer just to get a report, you’re out of luck. There’s no syncing required, so you can finalize reports and send them to clients on the spot.

Home Inspection Report is also affordable. You’ll pay zero in monthly fees, zero in add-ons and only a one-time payment of $199 to own the app for good. Even better, we’ll give you the Word version for free with your purchase of the app.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional home inspector with miles of roofs, basements and electrical wiring under your belt or you’re just starting out, Home Inspection Report is a great mobile app that has just what you need and none of the unnecessary extras that bump up the cost.