November 13, 2025 • 34 mins
Hidden problems kill deals and drain savings long after closing, but they don’t have to. We sat down with Jim Rawlings of Quality Home Consultants to unpack the clearest path to safer purchases, smoother sales, and fewer 3 a.m. homeowner regrets—starting with inspections that actually inform decisions.
We open with a quick market pulse for Henderson County: prices holding, days on market rising, and inventory ticking up. Then we dig into what an inspection really does in an as‑is state like North Carolina. Jim explains why inspectors report conditions, not guarantees, and how a strong report turns uncertainty into a plan: what to fix now, what to budget for, and when to walk away. Moisture in crawl spaces tops our local risk list, so we outline practical control steps from vapor barriers to dehumidifiers—no scare tactics, just priorities that protect your structure and air quality.
New construction isn’t a free pass. Jim shares cases of gas leaks, foundation issues, and even live termites in brand‑new homes, plus the simple strategy that prevents headaches: a pre‑close inspection to create a punch list and an 11‑month warranty inspection before coverage ends. For sellers, pre‑listing inspections are a secret weapon. Disclose early, fix smart on your timeline, price with clarity, and skip mid‑contract renegotiations. We’ve seen cleaner offers, stronger prices, and fewer fall‑throughs when everyone knows the facts up front.
We also go deep on septic systems, which serve roughly 40% of North Carolina. Learn why pumping every three to five years is the most cost‑effective maintenance you can do, how the right bacterial additives support healthy systems, and what a dedicated septic inspection can reveal before you commit—like tanks under porches or drain fields under slabs. Whether you’re buying, selling, or staying put, annual mini‑inspections of the roof, attic, exterior, and crawl space catch small issues before they become five‑figure problems.
If this conversation helped you feel more confident about your next move, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Ready to talk strategy? Call us at 828‑393‑0134 or visit realestatebygreg.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
This is the George Real EstateGroup Podcast, which is a
production of our live weeklyradio shows hosted on multiple
radio stations here inHendersonville, North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Groupserves Western North Carolina
and Upstate South Carolina, andit is a privilege to share
positive news about our localreal estate market and
(00:22):
community.
Thanks so much for subscribing.
And of course, if you have anyreal estate questions or if we
can help you in any way, be sureto reach out.
Visit us at George Real EstateGroup Radio.com for more
information.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group Live
(00:45):
Radio Broadcast here on WHKPevery Thursday morning, bringing
you positive news about yourlocal real estate market
community.
Grateful to be here with you.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
We're having, we're just sograteful to share about what's
going on in the market.
We're going to have aconversation about what's going
on.
Have a special guest with us,Jim Rawlings with Quality Home
Consultants at Septic, andgrateful to have Jim with us
(01:07):
this morning.
Jim, uh, thank you for beinghere with us this morning.
Um, grateful to talk.
Uh before we get started, again,if you're tuning in for the
first time ever, the George RealEstate Group, we're located in
Flat Rock, right next to theFlat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba
Barbecue, Campfire Grill, ourfriends at Hubaloo.
And again, just grateful toserve the community.
We serve all of Western NorthCarolina and the upstate.
(01:29):
And if you're thinking aboutbuying, selling, or investing in
real estate, we'd love to havethe conversation.
Uh, you can find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
You can also call us directly at828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com, follow us
on social media.
Again, uh, so much is going on.
And we'll talk about some of thehighlights of what's going on in
(01:49):
the market.
A lot of people are concernedwith the market and the interest
rates and what's going on.
There's even some discussionabout a 50-year mortgage, and
we'll talk about what thatmeans.
Um, but you know, here's a quickoverview.
I mean, the you know, we're ouraverage single-family home price
in the last 12 months is$541.
Um, the prices are holding,they've come down a little bit,
(02:11):
but I mean, we're stillaveraging 132 single-family
homes a month selling over thelast 12 months, and that's in
light of coming right off ofHelene.
Um, but our market continues tomove.
Actually, if you look atyear-to-date, year to date in
Henderson County, um, thethrough the end of actually, let
me go through the end ofOctober, we've actually had a uh
(02:33):
9%, almost a 10% increase in thenumber of single-family homes
sold in Henderson Countycompared to the same time frame
last year.
Uh, prices are coming off just alittle bit, but days on market
are increasing.
That's probably the biggestincrease.
And then the percentage of listsprice to sales prices down to
about 95% when you look aboutwhat somebody's asking versus,
(02:55):
and that's because of again,days on markets longer.
There's more inventory.
We actually have about a 14%increase in inventory uh for
homes available in HendersonCounty.
But whether you're buying,selling, or investing in real
estate, we'd love to have aconversation.
There's no pressure, there's nocost, there's no obligation.
One of the things that we dofrequently for of course for our
(03:17):
buyers is is is having a homeinspection.
If you're buying a home, NorthCarolina is an as this state,
but uh one of the the thingsthat we want to talk about today
with Jim and Jim Rawlings, youare you guys uh you've done over
30,000.
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
We're over 35,000.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
You're at 35,000 now.
Isn't that incredible?
35,000 and this is uh 20 plusyears?
SPEAKER_00 (03:40):
27.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
27 years in in the industry.
It's incredible.
Um, and before we get into thatconversation, Jim, let's just
share with our listeners aboutquality home consultants and and
in your septic business as well.
And then we I want to dive intothe conversation about
pre-inspections and inspections.
I mean, like this is a these areconversations that we're having
every single day with our buyersand sellers.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Yeah, all good stuff.
So quality home consultants, Istarted it in 1998, and over the
years uh with the market's upsand downs, uh, we we've uh
amassed uh eight uh homeinspectors and eight septic
inspectors.
We've done over 35,000 homeinspections.
We're we're probably at about10,000 on the septic
(04:23):
inspections.
We do septic installations andrepairs.
Uh so we got a full house,one-stop shop, home inspection
business.
So we do everything except forappraisals and surveys.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
So I mean the this this includes radon, this
includes pest inspection, um,again, home inspection, water
quality testing, radon testing,well inspections, uh uh mold
testing.
SPEAKER_00 (04:52):
So we do annual inspections for for uh
homeowners.
So we yeah, we do we cover itall.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
Purchasing a home is usually someone's biggest
financial transaction they'll doin their lifetime, and having a
real estate broker to walk themalongside the process, whether
it's buying or selling, and thenagain, equally as important is
our home, our home inspectors,and again, all the array of
(05:19):
services that you offer becausesomeone making such a
substantial investment andpurchase, it's so important.
North Carolina allows buyers tohave their investigation period
during what's called a duediligence period.
And just for some just to giveour listeners some context,
North Carolina is an as is anas-is state.
(05:41):
Sellers are are compelled, andso are the real estate agents,
to share what's called materialfacts, things that they're aware
of through what's called aresidential property disclosure.
They don't have to they they canactually mark on their no
representation, but even if theymark no representation, the real
estate agent's still compelledto share material facts that
they're aware of with theproperty.
(06:02):
But even with whateverdisclosure a seller makes, we uh
we it is so important that theclient do their own
investigation during that duediligence period.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
Yeah, oftentimes we're we're doing a pre-listing
inspection, and we have thiswhole laundry list of things
that we found with this client'shome that they've lived in that
home 20 years and they have noidea that this is going on.
So the disclosure doesn't meanall that there's everything's
gonna be found.
SPEAKER_02 (06:28):
Right.
And and again, the to theseller's best knowledge, they're
again, they're trying to dotheir and I most sellers are
again they're trying to do thebest that they know, but and
most sellers are not doing apre-inspection, which we'll talk
about the benefits of for oursellers and why we do recommend
pre-inspections, but for themost part, you know, buyers are
having to do their owninvestigation, and even though a
(06:50):
seller is sharing to the best oftheir knowledge, you guys day in
and day out, I mean, you guysare doing you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
We'll hit 2,000 inspections this year.
SPEAKER_02 (06:59):
Incredible.
And I can imagine I mean, I'msure there's you're not
surprised, but I mean, the pointis you guys, your job is to make
observations and to ultimatelyprovide information for the the
buyer to decide whether theywant to proceed forward or not.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
Yeah, we give them an understanding uh uh of what
they're buying.
So is this something that wealready like the house, we put
an offer on it, but is thissomething that we'll be able to
take care of?
Or is this a little bit if if itneeds some work, is this
something above and beyond whatwe can do?
So so we give them an idea ofwhat they're buying before they
buy it so they don't get stuckin something that they can't
afford to to fix up.
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
Well, and it allows buyers and sellers to negotiate.
Sellers are not required, uhsellers don't have to fix
anything, but buyers don't haveto buy during that investigation
period.
Um, and so what what do youthink what do you think the one
of the biggest misconceptionsare about a home inspector?
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
Uh biggest misconception about a home
inspector is that uh I guessthat that we're there to uh uh
make a home warranty for him.
So whatever happens, you know,we might do an inspection and
four months later uh the the thefurnace gives them trouble or
something like that.
And it's wait, wait, you know,this this is the home
inspector's fault.
SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
You know, so again, you're just reporting as to the
condition as to the day of theinspection.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Yeah.
And so and we've had people belike, two two years ago you did
a home inspection and now myfurnace isn't working.
It's like, well, yeah, it wasworking, and we gave you the the
uh condition at the time of theinspection, but we you know,
we're really good at at giving aclear understanding, something
on furnaces or water heaters andthings like that, or roofs.
Um, you know, this is an agedsystem, but it's still working
(08:46):
today.
Consider budgeting for a newsystem in the near future,
something like that.
We'll give them that kind ofinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
And by the way, buyers can purchase home
warranties.
That's a separate service and aseparate expense buyers can
choose to buy, and which doescover, I mean, if again, there's
and you got to be careful abouthome warranties.
I mean, there's pros and cons,and again, what's covered,
what's not covered, and a lot oftimes it's prorated and all
these things, but homewarranties are different than
(09:13):
than home inspections.
Um, what's one of the mostcommon problems you encounter in
in our area for inspections?
Like, what's the most commonthing that you're uncovering?
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
So it's it's undoubtedly moisture in a crawl
space.
You know, moisture is the theworst thing that can happen to a
home.
So whether it's a roof leak orif it's a uh foundation moisture
intrusion, it's places usuallythat the homeowners can't see
right away, and it turns into alittle bit bigger of a mess
before there's some kind of uhvisual indication that
(09:46):
something's going on and theyhave to call somebody.
So, you know, we can catch itlong before the homeowner even
knows about it.
SPEAKER_02 (09:53):
Now, here's a common response I hear all the time.
We're in western North Carolina,there's not a dry crawl space
here.
I mean, like, what's your what'syour response to that?
I mean, like, and there arethere's solutions for that.
SPEAKER_00 (10:06):
Yeah, there's solutions.
You can get into someencapsulations, which is a
sealed crawl space, but uh evena naturally vented crawl space
can be dry and at no standingwater.
You know, the humidity levelscan be controlled through
dehumidifiers or or foundationvent fans.
So um, you know, we even opencrawl spaces can be controlled.
(10:29):
Controlled, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:30):
Okay.
Again, this is probably thenumber one concern that you're
observing uh here.
SPEAKER_00 (10:37):
Yeah, that the moisture is the you know is
probably the the worst thingthat can happen to a home.
You know, that uh you you canhave you know, carpenter bee
will uh will you know do a smallhole in in some the siding
somewhere or the fascia or thedeck somewhere.
But when you get moisturepenetration, you leads to mold
or wood rot that can go on formonths and years, and you never
(10:58):
know about it, and it justcontinuously gets gets worse and
worse.
SPEAKER_02 (11:01):
What about the difference between issues you
see?
Now, here's somethinginteresting.
People probably don't reallythink they they're like, it's a
new home, I don't need a homeinspection.
But what are some of thedifferences you see between new
construction and and olderhomes?
And and and by the way, we doadvocate and recommend home
(11:22):
inspections, especially on onnew construction.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Yeah, so we've never found a perfect home on a new
construction home.
And and we've gone to findfoundation issues, we've found
gas leaks in a crawl space thatthey would never have known
about until they could smell itthemselves or something else
worse happens.
And I've actually found liveactive termites on a foundation
wall on a brand new home beforeanybody's ever moved in.
SPEAKER_02 (11:47):
Wow.
And again, I think people think,oh, it's a new home.
I don't need to do a homeinspection.
It's probably even more criticalto do that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:55):
Yeah, and and another another thing that you
they get out of that is they'regonna get a punch list.
So before they move into thathouse, they're going, okay, Mr.
Builder, Mrs.
Builder, whoever you are, here'smy list that my home inspector
found.
Yeah.
And I'd like to get these thingsfixed before I move in so that
it's not going to inconvenienceconvenience me from having to go
take off work and and and allowsomebody to come into the house
(12:17):
to fix these items.
So, you know, it's helpful toget it done before you move in.
SPEAKER_02 (12:22):
And and and the reality is new constructions
usually at a higher cost aroundhere than than buying an
existing home.
And so the expectation forbuyers is hey, this should be
right.
SPEAKER_00 (12:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (12:33):
I'm buying a new home.
SPEAKER_00 (12:34):
Yeah, the other thing is we actually recommend
on new homes two inspections.
SPEAKER_02 (12:40):
Tell tell me more.
SPEAKER_00 (12:41):
So the one before you move in, and we just covered
that.
But 11 months later, they have a12-month warranty.
So oftentimes, you know, some ofthe settling hasn't happened in
the first week that that they'rewe're allowed to come in and
take a look at the house.
And after 10, 11 months, beforethat 12 month period warranty
period ends, we can come in andsee things that developed over
(13:03):
that period of time.
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
And this is again ultimately for the protection of
the consumer.
That's why these laws are inplace and that's why these
warranties are in place.
I mean, general contractors havehave to go by these guidelines.
SPEAKER_00 (13:15):
Yeah, that's right.
And and we've helped many, manyclients where we've come come in
and see something has happenedover the 10, 8, 8, 9, 10 month
period, and then the buildersgo, okay, yeah, we'll you know,
we'll we'll we'll take care ofthat.
And and they never really have aproblem with the builders taking
care of it.
It's it's just if the buildersdon't know about it, then they
can't fix it.
SPEAKER_02 (13:35):
Well, if the buyers don't know about it, they can't
ask the builders to to fix it.
I mean, like it's a it's adomino effect.
And so this is why thisinformation is so critical.
And and yes, there's a cost.
This is normal.
These are normal costsassociated with buying and
selling a house, and it's thebest money you can spend as a
buyer and a seller to do theseinspections.
(13:57):
Again, it's it impacts your yoursafety, your money, and it
ultimately gives you negotiatinguh information when you're
working, depending on which sideyou're on.
Again, it's information.
It's not, and you guys are arejust the messengers, right?
It's like, hey, we're makingobservations.
We're a third party, we're anunbiased party.
I mean, our job is just to makeobservations.
SPEAKER_00 (14:19):
Yeah, our reports are exactly the same for a buyer
or a seller.
You know, ultimately, if we doan inspection for a seller, uh a
buyer's gonna come in and theymay bring another home
inspection uh inspector withthem, and we want to make sure
that that's the same report, youknow, so that you hey, we we
don't sugarcoat it for thesellers.
We're not gonna try to make themfeel better, we're gonna give
(14:41):
them the information to be awareof what's what's coming, you
know.
So another home inspectioninspector comes, they're gonna
find these items, and we wantthem fully prepared to see them.
SPEAKER_02 (14:51):
Right.
You mentioned something earlier.
Again, someone's been in theirhome 20 plus years and and
again, not aware of any issues,and then you guys they're
selling your home, and maybethey're doing the pre-inspection
and you guys discover things.
I would encourage our listeners,maybe you're not even thinking
of selling your house, andyou've been in the home 20, 30
(15:12):
years, and you just want to havea fresh set of eyes, check
things out, because I bet whatare some of the biggest safety
issues that you guys come acrossthat just people are not aware
of?
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
Oh, decks that that have uh gotten weakened from
damage and and and so they'rethey're unsafe really to to walk
on, but maybe not visible to theto the untrained eye.
Yeah, so that and how manypeople ever live in on a house
with a crawl space that actuallygo into their own crawl space?
SPEAKER_02 (15:43):
Right.
Or even into their attic.
I mean the attic and crawlspaces.
Again, it's not I mean, mostpeople are those are not
normally looked at unlessthere's usually it's being
purchased or bought or sold.
SPEAKER_00 (15:55):
Not many people take us up on this, but we have an
annual home inspection program,and it's$250, and we cover the
attic, the crawl space, theexterior, the roof, just to make
sure we don't do a full homeinspection, like check all the
windows and doors and and turnyour dishwasher on and all that
stuff.
But uh, we cover all the thingsthat a homeowner would normally
(16:16):
not the major things.
Yeah, and uh and and it's reallya cheap insurance because we've
on these on these uh annual homeinspections, we found uh right
after a chimney has beencleaned, the chimney sweep
disconnected a metal flue pipeinside the chimney, and it was a
a fire waiting to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (16:36):
Wow.
Again, not not intentional, butagain, it happened and and you
guys maybe found that out.
Yeah.
Again, saving ultimately, I meanpreventing a a house fire.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:47):
What about um how about this?
There are things that I'm sureyou guys observe that aren't
necessarily required by code tobe repaired, but you s you guys
are still strongly ad rerecommending addressing.
Like, is there stuff withelectrical?
Is there stuff with that again,code when homes were built 20,
30 years ago, the code was verydifferent than what it is today.
SPEAKER_00 (17:10):
Right, yeah.
So so we're not really lookingfor code, you know.
Uh we'll um we're we're gonnalook for safety items and make
sure that things are areoperating as they're intended to
operate.
So um, like in 1980, deck decksdidn't have to have the same uh
railing spacing as they dotoday, required by code.
So oftentimes we'll see 1980standards and we're gonna say,
(17:32):
hey, you know, it was code backthen, but this is not safe for a
kid because they can fall outoff or something like that.
SPEAKER_02 (17:38):
So it's not about the code, it's just this is not
safe right now.
SPEAKER_00 (17:41):
Yep, and then electrical, same thing.
You know, we'll get into somewet areas where back in the day,
you know, early 1900s, therewasn't any grounding or or any
GFCI or protection like that.
And we'll find some of theseareas that, hey, you know, this
is really this could be saferfor your family if if you
upgrade this to a GFCI typeoutlet or something like that.
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
Right.
Let's let's go back to theconversation about most people
only only think about a homeinspection when they're buying,
but we've had tremendous successwith helping our sellers.
Let's go back to theconversation about
pre-inspections.
SPEAKER_00 (18:16):
Pre-inspections, in my opinion, are more beneficial
than the the than the actualbuyer's inspection.
And I'll tell you, it's becauseeverything when when the buyer's
agent comes and shows the clientthe home, they want to make an
offer with with on a housethat's not been pre-inspected.
(18:40):
So they make this offer, andthen they get a deal, and then
they get the home inspection,and there's a laundry list of
things.
Now they have to renegotiate.
The seller's a little upsetbecause they thought they were
going to get X amount ofdollars, and now they have to
fix things or give money to thebuyer.
Where if you have the initialpre-listing inspection done, the
(19:02):
buyer comes in, they read theinspection, they make an offer,
everybody knows what they'rebuying.
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
Everything up front.
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (19:09):
And the thing about the pre-inspection, it's always
time versus money.
If you're in a time crunch,things usually cost more versus
if a seller discovers somethingthat they weren't aware of and
that they're willing to fix, alot of sellers are fixing things
before they go on the market, soit's a non-issue.
(19:30):
And they get a higher price, andusually get a better price on
fixing it, and they usually geta higher price on selling their
home.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
I have an agent that won't list a property without a
pre-listing inspection, and shehas never lost a deal that had a
pre-inspection done from a homeinspection.
Right.
You know, the home inspectionhas never killed that deal once
she if she had thepre-inspection done.
SPEAKER_02 (19:53):
By the way, sellers, even if you have a
pre-inspection, sellers arestill not required to fix
anything, but again, if ifbuyers know up front, hey, here
are the issues, here are the youknow, this is the range of
costs.
I mean, but again, it's the it'sthe full disclosure up front
where a buyer's not beingsurprised after they go under
(20:14):
contract.
I mean, most buyers are fine,they understand not every home's
perfect, but if they know aboutissues up front, again, they're
they're deciding to make thatoffer, knowing about things, and
and usually that leads to asuccessful conclusion.
SPEAKER_00 (20:29):
Yeah.
So you have, you know, there's aum a roof that needs replacing
within the next two years, andand this, and it's gonna cost us
fifteen thousand dollars toreplace this roof.
And here's the disclosure,here's your pre-listing
inspection.
Buyer comes in, okay.
Well, based on this information,I'm gonna give you X amount of
dollars for your home, and thenyou make the contract, they
(20:50):
don't come back and say, okay,now I want money for a new roof.
And so everybody is happy thatway.
Yes.
We had we had this agent I wastelling you about, um, had a
full price offer.
Actually, it was$50,000 over intoday's market.
They got a$50,000 over asking,and um, and they didn't even
want a home inspection.
SPEAKER_02 (21:07):
So because it was already completed.
Because it's already it wasalready and and multiple offers
and above asking prices arestill possible in this market.
Again, pricing it right, makingsure the conditions are right,
these pre-inspections, again,it's all about how the the
seller is set up for success uhin getting it sold.
In addition to home inspections,radon and pest uh and water
(21:28):
tests, you guys are are theprobably the biggest uh uh
septic company in the area, andmaybe, maybe, maybe not, but you
guys are doing so much withseptics.
Let's let's talk about theseptic uh business.
Let's talk about, I mean,because majority of people I
would have in Henderson Countymost likely have septics.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
40% of North Carolina is on septic.
Wow.
So um, and it it I really enjoyuh septic systems and and
explain it because most peoplehear uh a septic, they they
flush their toilet or they dothe sink or run the sink and it
goes in the ground and it'smagically gone.
It's just it just goes away.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Yeah, so um we educate ourclients and we we we show them
(22:12):
you know where their septicsystems are, how to take care of
them.
We have annual um pro uhmaintenance programs for septic
systems.
But um, you know, we we reallylove to sit down with our
clients and show them how aseptic system works, what
condition their septic system isin, and how to maintain their
system properly to make it lasta long time for them because it
(22:33):
could be costly to fix.
SPEAKER_02 (22:34):
Well, what's the most preventable thing you can
do with septics?
Preventable or or most of thethe best maintenance, or what's
the what's the what what do yourecommend for people to prevent
issues with septic?
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
Pump them every three to five years.
Okay.
Just get the solids out ofthere.
They start to build up, and theless solids that go into the
drain field, the longer yourdrain field's gonna last.
So regular maintenance of the ofthat septic system is key to
longevity.
SPEAKER_02 (23:02):
Because people have people have been you hear
stories, right?
Oh, you're never supposed topump it, but that's not true.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
No, and you hear this if it's not broke, don't
fix it, you know.
So you you might cause troubleif you pump it.
It's that's not true.
You know, the the the truth isthe less that's in there, the
less that's gonna get into yourdrain field, and the less that
it's gonna get clogged up andand and stop absorbing the
liquid that gets into the drainfield.
SPEAKER_02 (23:25):
And again, it's again out of sight, out of mind,
but the last thing you want todo is deal with it when when you
when it's there's a big problem,right?
SPEAKER_00 (23:34):
Yeah, but then then the county, you know, if you're
on a tiny lot and you have onlya certain amount of area that
you can put a drain field in andyou let that drain field go bad,
then then it gets expensive.
It can be costly.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (23:45):
So again, it's it's that what's ounce of provision
with a pound of cure.
SPEAKER_00 (23:50):
Yeah, right.
So we have a septic um uhmaintenance program, and a lot
of people that buy a house, andand my first time I did this
myself, you know.
They buy a house, I know I'mnonseptic, you flush the toilet,
you run the faucets, and youforget about it.
And eight, ten years later, ohwait, am I supposed to have this
thing pumped?
(24:11):
Where uh for 15 bucks a month,we we give them additives to
flush you know uh bac bacteriainto their system, and then
every three years our officecalls them up.
Hey, it's time for your freepump.
You get a free pump in threeevery three years.
Yeah.
So um, and they don't even haveto put it on the calendar
because we're calling themsaying, when do you want us to
come by and pump your system?
SPEAKER_02 (24:31):
Right.
Well, uh, talk about theadditives.
I mean, that is something youguys recommend.
SPEAKER_00 (24:35):
Yes, yeah.
It's it we have additives thatuh it contains bacteria and and
uh they it also eats grease.
So even though you're notdumping a lot of grease you know
in into your septic system, downyour drains, some of it gets in
there and it can cause issues.
And and this uh the these uhchemicals that we're giving them
uh breaks all that down, breaksdown uh bacteria is breaking
(24:56):
down the solids and eats thatgrease so that it doesn't become
issues in your into your drainfield.
SPEAKER_02 (25:00):
Not only are you guys doing the maintenance and
repair and service, but you alsoinstall new septic systems.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Yeah, yeah, we we're doing it all and and advanced
systems too, pump systems andand drip systems, so um
difficult systems systems, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:17):
And what uh uh well not the well, I mean what what's
a new what's a normal systemrunning these days?
I mean like uh it maybe youdon't want to put you on the
spot, but I mean like I I'm sureevery it depending on the
bedrooms, depending on the drainfield size, the location.
I mean, like there's probably somany factors that it's probably
hard to even say that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
So it's it's okay.
It it's it you know, it dependson the site and how big it is.
You know, if it's a steep siteand you're going off of a cliff,
then it's gonna be preparation.
Yeah, yeah.
So, you know, you can ten tofifteen thousand is for a normal
system.
For a normal system, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
It could be a little bit lessand and not usually on a typical
system over ten, fifteenthousand.
SPEAKER_02 (25:58):
Uh-huh.
And and again, these are now howmuch in advance notice you guys,
I mean, like how far are youhaving to plan ahead for these
systems for people that aredoing new construction homes?
SPEAKER_00 (26:09):
We're booking it in December right now, so
mid-December is where we'rebooking about right now for
repairing.
Uh we can inspect next week, butuh but repairing or or
installing new systems in themiddle of middle December and
going back to the cost, youknow, that's a typical new
system.
Yeah.
Uh repairs, you know, we've seenyou know 100,000 plus uh dollar
(26:31):
systems having to go in becausethey have no place to put them,
and we have to put many, manytreatment plants on site uh to
actually treat the sewage towhere um the they can put it
back in the ground.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (26:43):
So um I mean anything's possible.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Right.
Anything's possible, but youdon't want to have to go that
route.
SPEAKER_02 (26:49):
No.
Again, that and that's again,you guys are willing to take on
any challenge and and figure itout.
But I mean it repair repairs ofexisting, especially systems
that don't have any repairissues, is possible, but can be
extremely costly.
SPEAKER_00 (27:03):
It can be, yeah.
And oftentimes it's not.
SPEAKER_02 (27:06):
You know, we can still fix the system for less,
but which by the way, just likewhen buyers are selling or
buyers are purchasing a newhome, it equally as important as
the home inspection, the radon,and the and the pest.
I mean, you're remiss if youdon't do a septic inspection if
the house has a septic.
I mean, I in my career we'vewe've uh uncovered septic
(27:27):
systems that were there's beenadditions of houses built over
from for whatever reason overthe years.
I know you've you've had accesswithin in a kitchen floor.
SPEAKER_00 (27:37):
Yeah, the kitchen floor.
Yeah, or or the dining roomfloor too, yeah.
So it's it happens.
SPEAKER_02 (27:43):
It can happen.
And again, if you're gonna buy ahouse and it has septic, it's
just as important to do theseptic inspection and to find
and and locate and to do the tomake sure everything's uh on the
up and up, and and you as abuyer can decide if that if
everything checks out.
And again, if it doesn't, it'snot the end of the world.
The buyers and sellers canchoose to negotiate uh for
(28:05):
credits, they can choose tonegotiate for repairs.
Again, all of this this is thebiggest financial transaction
most likely you'll do in yourlifetime, and it's so important
to gather this information.
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
Yeah, we we had a a client from last year that
didn't get a septic inspectionand called us out.
Hey, my my my uh sinks aren'tdraining, and the septic tank
was under the concrete porch inthe front, and so uh the county
came out and gave wrote a permitfor that, and we replaced that
tank and we're finding the drainfield, and where's the drain
(28:38):
field?
Oh, the drain field is under theslab underneath the house.
So they ended up having to put adrain field and a tank in
because they didn't do theinspection to begin with, and
they would have had the sellersfix it, or just not buy it.
SPEAKER_02 (28:50):
Or did that mean but that that talk about an
expensive repair and and and noone wants to take I mean again,
it's let's be honest, it's it'sit's a challenging enough
economic environment where Imean for a lot of people getting
a home is is they're stretchingto make it happen.
It's five hundred thousanddollars for the average single
family home price is$540 in thelast 12 months.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
That's crazy.
SPEAKER_02 (29:14):
So again, the biggest the biggest, the best
money you can spend.
And and you know how it is withuh medical advice, um, where
doctors are telling you this iswhat you should do, and then
guess what?
If you don't do it, the doctorsactually have you sign called an
AMA against medical advice.
If you choose not to followtheir advice, we have a similar
(29:36):
document in real estate whereit's called the professional
services uh disclosure.
And it's like, hey, we recommenda home inspection, we we
recommend a pest inspection.
By the way, if your real estateagent's not doing that with you,
there's some major red flags.
But we actually have clientssay, Yes, I want it, or no, I
don't.
And this is almost like a again,against in medical advice, if
(29:59):
you don't do a home inspection.
Inspection, you're actually as aclient signing that.
I'm I'm knowingly choosing notto do that.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
If a doctor handed me that sheet, I'd say, wait a
second, go ahead and do whateveryou need to do.
That's right.
SPEAKER_02 (30:10):
And again, this is uh though it's not our health,
this is our financial health,and again, it's so important.
So we're so grateful for ourpartnership with Jim Rawlings at
the quality home consultants andseptic uh solutions.
You guys are amazing.
35,000 plus home inspections,10,000 plus septic inspections.
And again, here I mean it'samazing.
(30:31):
You guys, you have an incredibleteam.
How many inspectors do you guyshave right now?
SPEAKER_00 (30:35):
You said eight home inspectors, eight um septic uh
inspectors, and we have fivefabulous uh office admin.
SPEAKER_02 (30:43):
Your team is amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (30:44):
Yeah, the our admin is is top-notch.
SPEAKER_02 (30:47):
Yeah, that's that's what makes all the difference.
I and I say that about ourattorneys we work with, they're
only as good as theirparalegals.
Yeah.
And just like us and you, Imean, like we're only as good as
our staff and our team, andthat's what makes it all all
possible.
So, Jim, so grateful uh thatyou're with us this morning.
Anything in wrapping up you wantto make sure our listeners
what's the best way to forlisteners to get in touch with
(31:08):
you guys?
SPEAKER_00 (31:09):
So you can get us on the phone at 828-687-7221 or
qualityhome consultants.com isis our website, and
qualityhomeconsultants atgmail.com.
You can get a hold of us eitherway.
SPEAKER_02 (31:23):
That is awesome.
Again, grateful, and again, weradon's so important.
I mean, all these factors, andagain, we clients and potential
clients and potential buyers,potential sellers, they they can
have these conversations withyour staff and asking what's the
what's the best plan forward.
So, Jim, thank you so much forbeing here and to our listeners.
We're here every Thursdaymorning right after the 10
(31:43):
o'clock news.
Uh, we also podcast.
If you didn't get a chance tohear the whole program, you can
we're gonna have this up on apodcast so you can hear the
whole program.
Of course, reach out to Jim andhis team.
And then if you're consideringbuying, selling, or investing in
real estate, give us a call.
If you're thinking about acareer in real estate, we're
growing, we're hiring moreagents.
We've we've had an incredibleyear.
Uh, can't believe how quick2025's flown by and uh, you
(32:05):
know, Thanksgiving's around thecorner, so is Christmas.
But I'll tell you, we're just asbusy as ever uh year-round.
And again, we have a great team,great staff, and again, grateful
for the partnerships uh with JimRawlings and his team and what
make it all possible, ultimatelyto serve our clients.
But thank you so much for fortuning in this this Thursday
morning.
Uh grateful to be here with you.
(32:25):
Tune in, give us a calldirectly, 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealastatebygreg.com.
And be sure to follow us onsocial media.
We have a number of open housesthis weekend as well.
You can check those out.
Take care, and we'll see youtomorrow morning.
(32:47):
You've built a lifetime ofstrength, wisdom, and
independence.
And here's the best part (32:52):
you still have it.
Every decision, every step,every next chapter is yours to
choose.
Selling your home isn't aboutletting go, it's about opening
the door to more freedom, moretime for what you love, more
energy for the people andpassions that matter most.
(33:13):
At the George Real Estate Group,we believe independence isn't
behind you.
It's right here, right now.
Our team goes beyond buying andselling.
We're here to help you protectyour wealth, preserve your
legacy, and make sure Uncle Samdoesn't become your biggest
benefactor.
We'll guide you every step ofthe way towards your next
(33:35):
chapter, your next opportunity,and your freedom on your terms.
Call us at 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
SPEAKER_01 (33:48):
Thank you for listening to the George Real
Estate Group Podcast.
Tune in next time for moreindustry news, updates, and real
estate tips.
You can reach Greg, the GeorgeReal Estate Group, at
828-393-0134 or atrealestatebygreg.com.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
This is the George Real EstateGroup Podcast, which is a
production of our live weeklyradio shows hosted on multiple
radio stations here inHendersonville, North Carolina.
The George Real Estate Groupserves Western North Carolina
and Upstate South Carolina, andit is a privilege to share
positive news about our localreal estate market and
(00:22):
community.
Thanks so much for subscribing.
And of course, if you have anyreal estate questions or if we
can help you in any way, be sureto reach out.
Visit us at George Real EstateGroup Radio.com for more
information.
Good morning and welcome to theGeorge Real Estate Group Live
(00:45):
Radio Broadcast here on WHKPevery Thursday morning, bringing
you positive news about yourlocal real estate market
community.
Grateful to be here with you.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
We're having, we're just sograteful to share about what's
going on in the market.
We're going to have aconversation about what's going
on.
Have a special guest with us,Jim Rawlings with Quality Home
Consultants at Septic, andgrateful to have Jim with us
(01:07):
this morning.
Jim, uh, thank you for beinghere with us this morning.
Um, grateful to talk.
Uh before we get started, again,if you're tuning in for the
first time ever, the George RealEstate Group, we're located in
Flat Rock, right next to theFlat Rock Bakery, Hubba Hubba
Barbecue, Campfire Grill, ourfriends at Hubaloo.
And again, just grateful toserve the community.
We serve all of Western NorthCarolina and the upstate.
(01:29):
And if you're thinking aboutbuying, selling, or investing in
real estate, we'd love to havethe conversation.
Uh, you can find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
You can also call us directly at828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com, follow us
on social media.
Again, uh, so much is going on.
And we'll talk about some of thehighlights of what's going on in
(01:49):
the market.
A lot of people are concernedwith the market and the interest
rates and what's going on.
There's even some discussionabout a 50-year mortgage, and
we'll talk about what thatmeans.
Um, but you know, here's a quickoverview.
I mean, the you know, we're ouraverage single-family home price
in the last 12 months is$541.
Um, the prices are holding,they've come down a little bit,
(02:11):
but I mean, we're stillaveraging 132 single-family
homes a month selling over thelast 12 months, and that's in
light of coming right off ofHelene.
Um, but our market continues tomove.
Actually, if you look atyear-to-date, year to date in
Henderson County, um, thethrough the end of actually, let
me go through the end ofOctober, we've actually had a uh
(02:33):
9%, almost a 10% increase in thenumber of single-family homes
sold in Henderson Countycompared to the same time frame
last year.
Uh, prices are coming off just alittle bit, but days on market
are increasing.
That's probably the biggestincrease.
And then the percentage of listsprice to sales prices down to
about 95% when you look aboutwhat somebody's asking versus,
(02:55):
and that's because of again,days on markets longer.
There's more inventory.
We actually have about a 14%increase in inventory uh for
homes available in HendersonCounty.
But whether you're buying,selling, or investing in real
estate, we'd love to have aconversation.
There's no pressure, there's nocost, there's no obligation.
One of the things that we dofrequently for of course for our
(03:17):
buyers is is is having a homeinspection.
If you're buying a home, NorthCarolina is an as this state,
but uh one of the the thingsthat we want to talk about today
with Jim and Jim Rawlings, youare you guys uh you've done over
30,000.
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
We're over 35,000.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
You're at 35,000 now.
Isn't that incredible?
35,000 and this is uh 20 plusyears?
SPEAKER_00 (03:40):
27.
SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
27 years in in the industry.
It's incredible.
Um, and before we get into thatconversation, Jim, let's just
share with our listeners aboutquality home consultants and and
in your septic business as well.
And then we I want to dive intothe conversation about
pre-inspections and inspections.
I mean, like this is a these areconversations that we're having
every single day with our buyersand sellers.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Yeah, all good stuff.
So quality home consultants, Istarted it in 1998, and over the
years uh with the market's upsand downs, uh, we we've uh
amassed uh eight uh homeinspectors and eight septic
inspectors.
We've done over 35,000 homeinspections.
We're we're probably at about10,000 on the septic
(04:23):
inspections.
We do septic installations andrepairs.
Uh so we got a full house,one-stop shop, home inspection
business.
So we do everything except forappraisals and surveys.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
So I mean the this this includes radon, this
includes pest inspection, um,again, home inspection, water
quality testing, radon testing,well inspections, uh uh mold
testing.
SPEAKER_00 (04:52):
So we do annual inspections for for uh
homeowners.
So we yeah, we do we cover itall.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
Purchasing a home is usually someone's biggest
financial transaction they'll doin their lifetime, and having a
real estate broker to walk themalongside the process, whether
it's buying or selling, and thenagain, equally as important is
our home, our home inspectors,and again, all the array of
(05:19):
services that you offer becausesomeone making such a
substantial investment andpurchase, it's so important.
North Carolina allows buyers tohave their investigation period
during what's called a duediligence period.
And just for some just to giveour listeners some context,
North Carolina is an as is anas-is state.
(05:41):
Sellers are are compelled, andso are the real estate agents,
to share what's called materialfacts, things that they're aware
of through what's called aresidential property disclosure.
They don't have to they they canactually mark on their no
representation, but even if theymark no representation, the real
estate agent's still compelledto share material facts that
they're aware of with theproperty.
(06:02):
But even with whateverdisclosure a seller makes, we uh
we it is so important that theclient do their own
investigation during that duediligence period.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
Yeah, oftentimes we're we're doing a pre-listing
inspection, and we have thiswhole laundry list of things
that we found with this client'shome that they've lived in that
home 20 years and they have noidea that this is going on.
So the disclosure doesn't meanall that there's everything's
gonna be found.
SPEAKER_02 (06:28):
Right.
And and again, the to theseller's best knowledge, they're
again, they're trying to dotheir and I most sellers are
again they're trying to do thebest that they know, but and
most sellers are not doing apre-inspection, which we'll talk
about the benefits of for oursellers and why we do recommend
pre-inspections, but for themost part, you know, buyers are
having to do their owninvestigation, and even though a
(06:50):
seller is sharing to the best oftheir knowledge, you guys day in
and day out, I mean, you guysare doing you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
We'll hit 2,000 inspections this year.
SPEAKER_02 (06:59):
Incredible.
And I can imagine I mean, I'msure there's you're not
surprised, but I mean, the pointis you guys, your job is to make
observations and to ultimatelyprovide information for the the
buyer to decide whether theywant to proceed forward or not.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
Yeah, we give them an understanding uh uh of what
they're buying.
So is this something that wealready like the house, we put
an offer on it, but is thissomething that we'll be able to
take care of?
Or is this a little bit if if itneeds some work, is this
something above and beyond whatwe can do?
So so we give them an idea ofwhat they're buying before they
buy it so they don't get stuckin something that they can't
afford to to fix up.
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
Well, and it allows buyers and sellers to negotiate.
Sellers are not required, uhsellers don't have to fix
anything, but buyers don't haveto buy during that investigation
period.
Um, and so what what do youthink what do you think the one
of the biggest misconceptionsare about a home inspector?
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
Uh biggest misconception about a home
inspector is that uh I guessthat that we're there to uh uh
make a home warranty for him.
So whatever happens, you know,we might do an inspection and
four months later uh the the thefurnace gives them trouble or
something like that.
And it's wait, wait, you know,this this is the home
inspector's fault.
SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
You know, so again, you're just reporting as to the
condition as to the day of theinspection.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Yeah.
And so and we've had people belike, two two years ago you did
a home inspection and now myfurnace isn't working.
It's like, well, yeah, it wasworking, and we gave you the the
uh condition at the time of theinspection, but we you know,
we're really good at at giving aclear understanding, something
on furnaces or water heaters andthings like that, or roofs.
Um, you know, this is an agedsystem, but it's still working
(08:46):
today.
Consider budgeting for a newsystem in the near future,
something like that.
We'll give them that kind ofinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
And by the way, buyers can purchase home
warranties.
That's a separate service and aseparate expense buyers can
choose to buy, and which doescover, I mean, if again, there's
and you got to be careful abouthome warranties.
I mean, there's pros and cons,and again, what's covered,
what's not covered, and a lot oftimes it's prorated and all
these things, but homewarranties are different than
(09:13):
than home inspections.
Um, what's one of the mostcommon problems you encounter in
in our area for inspections?
Like, what's the most commonthing that you're uncovering?
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
So it's it's undoubtedly moisture in a crawl
space.
You know, moisture is the theworst thing that can happen to a
home.
So whether it's a roof leak orif it's a uh foundation moisture
intrusion, it's places usuallythat the homeowners can't see
right away, and it turns into alittle bit bigger of a mess
before there's some kind of uhvisual indication that
(09:46):
something's going on and theyhave to call somebody.
So, you know, we can catch itlong before the homeowner even
knows about it.
SPEAKER_02 (09:53):
Now, here's a common response I hear all the time.
We're in western North Carolina,there's not a dry crawl space
here.
I mean, like, what's your what'syour response to that?
I mean, like, and there arethere's solutions for that.
SPEAKER_00 (10:06):
Yeah, there's solutions.
You can get into someencapsulations, which is a
sealed crawl space, but uh evena naturally vented crawl space
can be dry and at no standingwater.
You know, the humidity levelscan be controlled through
dehumidifiers or or foundationvent fans.
So um, you know, we even opencrawl spaces can be controlled.
(10:29):
Controlled, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:30):
Okay.
Again, this is probably thenumber one concern that you're
observing uh here.
SPEAKER_00 (10:37):
Yeah, that the moisture is the you know is
probably the the worst thingthat can happen to a home.
You know, that uh you you canhave you know, carpenter bee
will uh will you know do a smallhole in in some the siding
somewhere or the fascia or thedeck somewhere.
But when you get moisturepenetration, you leads to mold
or wood rot that can go on formonths and years, and you never
(10:58):
know about it, and it justcontinuously gets gets worse and
worse.
SPEAKER_02 (11:01):
What about the difference between issues you
see?
Now, here's somethinginteresting.
People probably don't reallythink they they're like, it's a
new home, I don't need a homeinspection.
But what are some of thedifferences you see between new
construction and and olderhomes?
And and and by the way, we doadvocate and recommend home
(11:22):
inspections, especially on onnew construction.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Yeah, so we've never found a perfect home on a new
construction home.
And and we've gone to findfoundation issues, we've found
gas leaks in a crawl space thatthey would never have known
about until they could smell itthemselves or something else
worse happens.
And I've actually found liveactive termites on a foundation
wall on a brand new home beforeanybody's ever moved in.
SPEAKER_02 (11:47):
Wow.
And again, I think people think,oh, it's a new home.
I don't need to do a homeinspection.
It's probably even more criticalto do that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:55):
Yeah, and and another another thing that you
they get out of that is they'regonna get a punch list.
So before they move into thathouse, they're going, okay, Mr.
Builder, Mrs.
Builder, whoever you are, here'smy list that my home inspector
found.
Yeah.
And I'd like to get these thingsfixed before I move in so that
it's not going to inconvenienceconvenience me from having to go
take off work and and and allowsomebody to come into the house
(12:17):
to fix these items.
So, you know, it's helpful toget it done before you move in.
SPEAKER_02 (12:22):
And and and the reality is new constructions
usually at a higher cost aroundhere than than buying an
existing home.
And so the expectation forbuyers is hey, this should be
right.
SPEAKER_00 (12:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (12:33):
I'm buying a new home.
SPEAKER_00 (12:34):
Yeah, the other thing is we actually recommend
on new homes two inspections.
SPEAKER_02 (12:40):
Tell tell me more.
SPEAKER_00 (12:41):
So the one before you move in, and we just covered
that.
But 11 months later, they have a12-month warranty.
So oftentimes, you know, some ofthe settling hasn't happened in
the first week that that they'rewe're allowed to come in and
take a look at the house.
And after 10, 11 months, beforethat 12 month period warranty
period ends, we can come in andsee things that developed over
(13:03):
that period of time.
SPEAKER_02 (13:04):
And this is again ultimately for the protection of
the consumer.
That's why these laws are inplace and that's why these
warranties are in place.
I mean, general contractors havehave to go by these guidelines.
SPEAKER_00 (13:15):
Yeah, that's right.
And and we've helped many, manyclients where we've come come in
and see something has happenedover the 10, 8, 8, 9, 10 month
period, and then the buildersgo, okay, yeah, we'll you know,
we'll we'll we'll take care ofthat.
And and they never really have aproblem with the builders taking
care of it.
It's it's just if the buildersdon't know about it, then they
can't fix it.
SPEAKER_02 (13:35):
Well, if the buyers don't know about it, they can't
ask the builders to to fix it.
I mean, like it's a it's adomino effect.
And so this is why thisinformation is so critical.
And and yes, there's a cost.
This is normal.
These are normal costsassociated with buying and
selling a house, and it's thebest money you can spend as a
buyer and a seller to do theseinspections.
(13:57):
Again, it's it impacts your yoursafety, your money, and it
ultimately gives you negotiatinguh information when you're
working, depending on which sideyou're on.
Again, it's information.
It's not, and you guys are arejust the messengers, right?
It's like, hey, we're makingobservations.
We're a third party, we're anunbiased party.
I mean, our job is just to makeobservations.
SPEAKER_00 (14:19):
Yeah, our reports are exactly the same for a buyer
or a seller.
You know, ultimately, if we doan inspection for a seller, uh a
buyer's gonna come in and theymay bring another home
inspection uh inspector withthem, and we want to make sure
that that's the same report, youknow, so that you hey, we we
don't sugarcoat it for thesellers.
We're not gonna try to make themfeel better, we're gonna give
(14:41):
them the information to be awareof what's what's coming, you
know.
So another home inspectioninspector comes, they're gonna
find these items, and we wantthem fully prepared to see them.
SPEAKER_02 (14:51):
Right.
You mentioned something earlier.
Again, someone's been in theirhome 20 plus years and and
again, not aware of any issues,and then you guys they're
selling your home, and maybethey're doing the pre-inspection
and you guys discover things.
I would encourage our listeners,maybe you're not even thinking
of selling your house, andyou've been in the home 20, 30
(15:12):
years, and you just want to havea fresh set of eyes, check
things out, because I bet whatare some of the biggest safety
issues that you guys come acrossthat just people are not aware
of?
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
Oh, decks that that have uh gotten weakened from
damage and and and so they'rethey're unsafe really to to walk
on, but maybe not visible to theto the untrained eye.
Yeah, so that and how manypeople ever live in on a house
with a crawl space that actuallygo into their own crawl space?
SPEAKER_02 (15:43):
Right.
Or even into their attic.
I mean the attic and crawlspaces.
Again, it's not I mean, mostpeople are those are not
normally looked at unlessthere's usually it's being
purchased or bought or sold.
SPEAKER_00 (15:55):
Not many people take us up on this, but we have an
annual home inspection program,and it's$250, and we cover the
attic, the crawl space, theexterior, the roof, just to make
sure we don't do a full homeinspection, like check all the
windows and doors and and turnyour dishwasher on and all that
stuff.
But uh, we cover all the thingsthat a homeowner would normally
(16:16):
not the major things.
Yeah, and uh and and it's reallya cheap insurance because we've
on these on these uh annual homeinspections, we found uh right
after a chimney has beencleaned, the chimney sweep
disconnected a metal flue pipeinside the chimney, and it was a
a fire waiting to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (16:36):
Wow.
Again, not not intentional, butagain, it happened and and you
guys maybe found that out.
Yeah.
Again, saving ultimately, I meanpreventing a a house fire.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:47):
What about um how about this?
There are things that I'm sureyou guys observe that aren't
necessarily required by code tobe repaired, but you s you guys
are still strongly ad rerecommending addressing.
Like, is there stuff withelectrical?
Is there stuff with that again,code when homes were built 20,
30 years ago, the code was verydifferent than what it is today.
SPEAKER_00 (17:10):
Right, yeah.
So so we're not really lookingfor code, you know.
Uh we'll um we're we're gonnalook for safety items and make
sure that things are areoperating as they're intended to
operate.
So um, like in 1980, deck decksdidn't have to have the same uh
railing spacing as they dotoday, required by code.
So oftentimes we'll see 1980standards and we're gonna say,
(17:32):
hey, you know, it was code backthen, but this is not safe for a
kid because they can fall outoff or something like that.
SPEAKER_02 (17:38):
So it's not about the code, it's just this is not
safe right now.
SPEAKER_00 (17:41):
Yep, and then electrical, same thing.
You know, we'll get into somewet areas where back in the day,
you know, early 1900s, therewasn't any grounding or or any
GFCI or protection like that.
And we'll find some of theseareas that, hey, you know, this
is really this could be saferfor your family if if you
upgrade this to a GFCI typeoutlet or something like that.
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
Right.
Let's let's go back to theconversation about most people
only only think about a homeinspection when they're buying,
but we've had tremendous successwith helping our sellers.
Let's go back to theconversation about
pre-inspections.
SPEAKER_00 (18:16):
Pre-inspections, in my opinion, are more beneficial
than the the than the actualbuyer's inspection.
And I'll tell you, it's becauseeverything when when the buyer's
agent comes and shows the clientthe home, they want to make an
offer with with on a housethat's not been pre-inspected.
(18:40):
So they make this offer, andthen they get a deal, and then
they get the home inspection,and there's a laundry list of
things.
Now they have to renegotiate.
The seller's a little upsetbecause they thought they were
going to get X amount ofdollars, and now they have to
fix things or give money to thebuyer.
Where if you have the initialpre-listing inspection done, the
(19:02):
buyer comes in, they read theinspection, they make an offer,
everybody knows what they'rebuying.
SPEAKER_02 (19:08):
Everything up front.
SPEAKER_00 (19:09):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (19:09):
And the thing about the pre-inspection, it's always
time versus money.
If you're in a time crunch,things usually cost more versus
if a seller discovers somethingthat they weren't aware of and
that they're willing to fix, alot of sellers are fixing things
before they go on the market, soit's a non-issue.
(19:30):
And they get a higher price, andusually get a better price on
fixing it, and they usually geta higher price on selling their
home.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
I have an agent that won't list a property without a
pre-listing inspection, and shehas never lost a deal that had a
pre-inspection done from a homeinspection.
Right.
You know, the home inspectionhas never killed that deal once
she if she had thepre-inspection done.
SPEAKER_02 (19:53):
By the way, sellers, even if you have a
pre-inspection, sellers arestill not required to fix
anything, but again, if ifbuyers know up front, hey, here
are the issues, here are the youknow, this is the range of
costs.
I mean, but again, it's the it'sthe full disclosure up front
where a buyer's not beingsurprised after they go under
(20:14):
contract.
I mean, most buyers are fine,they understand not every home's
perfect, but if they know aboutissues up front, again, they're
they're deciding to make thatoffer, knowing about things, and
and usually that leads to asuccessful conclusion.
SPEAKER_00 (20:29):
Yeah.
So you have, you know, there's aum a roof that needs replacing
within the next two years, andand this, and it's gonna cost us
fifteen thousand dollars toreplace this roof.
And here's the disclosure,here's your pre-listing
inspection.
Buyer comes in, okay.
Well, based on this information,I'm gonna give you X amount of
dollars for your home, and thenyou make the contract, they
(20:50):
don't come back and say, okay,now I want money for a new roof.
And so everybody is happy thatway.
Yes.
We had we had this agent I wastelling you about, um, had a
full price offer.
Actually, it was$50,000 over intoday's market.
They got a$50,000 over asking,and um, and they didn't even
want a home inspection.
SPEAKER_02 (21:07):
So because it was already completed.
Because it's already it wasalready and and multiple offers
and above asking prices arestill possible in this market.
Again, pricing it right, makingsure the conditions are right,
these pre-inspections, again,it's all about how the the
seller is set up for success uhin getting it sold.
In addition to home inspections,radon and pest uh and water
(21:28):
tests, you guys are are theprobably the biggest uh uh
septic company in the area, andmaybe, maybe, maybe not, but you
guys are doing so much withseptics.
Let's let's talk about theseptic uh business.
Let's talk about, I mean,because majority of people I
would have in Henderson Countymost likely have septics.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
40% of North Carolina is on septic.
Wow.
So um, and it it I really enjoyuh septic systems and and
explain it because most peoplehear uh a septic, they they
flush their toilet or they dothe sink or run the sink and it
goes in the ground and it'smagically gone.
It's just it just goes away.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Yeah, so um we educate ourclients and we we we show them
(22:12):
you know where their septicsystems are, how to take care of
them.
We have annual um pro uhmaintenance programs for septic
systems.
But um, you know, we we reallylove to sit down with our
clients and show them how aseptic system works, what
condition their septic system isin, and how to maintain their
system properly to make it lasta long time for them because it
(22:33):
could be costly to fix.
SPEAKER_02 (22:34):
Well, what's the most preventable thing you can
do with septics?
Preventable or or most of thethe best maintenance, or what's
the what's the what what do yourecommend for people to prevent
issues with septic?
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
Pump them every three to five years.
Okay.
Just get the solids out ofthere.
They start to build up, and theless solids that go into the
drain field, the longer yourdrain field's gonna last.
So regular maintenance of the ofthat septic system is key to
longevity.
SPEAKER_02 (23:02):
Because people have people have been you hear
stories, right?
Oh, you're never supposed topump it, but that's not true.
SPEAKER_00 (23:08):
No, and you hear this if it's not broke, don't
fix it, you know.
So you you might cause troubleif you pump it.
It's that's not true.
You know, the the the truth isthe less that's in there, the
less that's gonna get into yourdrain field, and the less that
it's gonna get clogged up andand and stop absorbing the
liquid that gets into the drainfield.
SPEAKER_02 (23:25):
And again, it's again out of sight, out of mind,
but the last thing you want todo is deal with it when when you
when it's there's a big problem,right?
SPEAKER_00 (23:34):
Yeah, but then then the county, you know, if you're
on a tiny lot and you have onlya certain amount of area that
you can put a drain field in andyou let that drain field go bad,
then then it gets expensive.
It can be costly.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (23:45):
So again, it's it's that what's ounce of provision
with a pound of cure.
SPEAKER_00 (23:50):
Yeah, right.
So we have a septic um uhmaintenance program, and a lot
of people that buy a house, andand my first time I did this
myself, you know.
They buy a house, I know I'mnonseptic, you flush the toilet,
you run the faucets, and youforget about it.
And eight, ten years later, ohwait, am I supposed to have this
thing pumped?
(24:11):
Where uh for 15 bucks a month,we we give them additives to
flush you know uh bac bacteriainto their system, and then
every three years our officecalls them up.
Hey, it's time for your freepump.
You get a free pump in threeevery three years.
Yeah.
So um, and they don't even haveto put it on the calendar
because we're calling themsaying, when do you want us to
come by and pump your system?
SPEAKER_02 (24:31):
Right.
Well, uh, talk about theadditives.
I mean, that is something youguys recommend.
SPEAKER_00 (24:35):
Yes, yeah.
It's it we have additives thatuh it contains bacteria and and
uh they it also eats grease.
So even though you're notdumping a lot of grease you know
in into your septic system, downyour drains, some of it gets in
there and it can cause issues.
And and this uh the these uhchemicals that we're giving them
uh breaks all that down, breaksdown uh bacteria is breaking
(24:56):
down the solids and eats thatgrease so that it doesn't become
issues in your into your drainfield.
SPEAKER_02 (25:00):
Not only are you guys doing the maintenance and
repair and service, but you alsoinstall new septic systems.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Yeah, yeah, we we're doing it all and and advanced
systems too, pump systems andand drip systems, so um
difficult systems systems, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:17):
And what uh uh well not the well, I mean what what's
a new what's a normal systemrunning these days?
I mean like uh it maybe youdon't want to put you on the
spot, but I mean like I I'm sureevery it depending on the
bedrooms, depending on the drainfield size, the location.
I mean, like there's probably somany factors that it's probably
hard to even say that.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
So it's it's okay.
It it's it you know, it dependson the site and how big it is.
You know, if it's a steep siteand you're going off of a cliff,
then it's gonna be preparation.
Yeah, yeah.
So, you know, you can ten tofifteen thousand is for a normal
system.
For a normal system, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
It could be a little bit lessand and not usually on a typical
system over ten, fifteenthousand.
SPEAKER_02 (25:58):
Uh-huh.
And and again, these are now howmuch in advance notice you guys,
I mean, like how far are youhaving to plan ahead for these
systems for people that aredoing new construction homes?
SPEAKER_00 (26:09):
We're booking it in December right now, so
mid-December is where we'rebooking about right now for
repairing.
Uh we can inspect next week, butuh but repairing or or
installing new systems in themiddle of middle December and
going back to the cost, youknow, that's a typical new
system.
Yeah.
Uh repairs, you know, we've seenyou know 100,000 plus uh dollar
(26:31):
systems having to go in becausethey have no place to put them,
and we have to put many, manytreatment plants on site uh to
actually treat the sewage towhere um the they can put it
back in the ground.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (26:43):
So um I mean anything's possible.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Right.
Anything's possible, but youdon't want to have to go that
route.
SPEAKER_02 (26:49):
No.
Again, that and that's again,you guys are willing to take on
any challenge and and figure itout.
But I mean it repair repairs ofexisting, especially systems
that don't have any repairissues, is possible, but can be
extremely costly.
SPEAKER_00 (27:03):
It can be, yeah.
And oftentimes it's not.
SPEAKER_02 (27:06):
You know, we can still fix the system for less,
but which by the way, just likewhen buyers are selling or
buyers are purchasing a newhome, it equally as important as
the home inspection, the radon,and the and the pest.
I mean, you're remiss if youdon't do a septic inspection if
the house has a septic.
I mean, I in my career we'vewe've uh uncovered septic
(27:27):
systems that were there's beenadditions of houses built over
from for whatever reason overthe years.
I know you've you've had accesswithin in a kitchen floor.
SPEAKER_00 (27:37):
Yeah, the kitchen floor.
Yeah, or or the dining roomfloor too, yeah.
So it's it happens.
SPEAKER_02 (27:43):
It can happen.
And again, if you're gonna buy ahouse and it has septic, it's
just as important to do theseptic inspection and to find
and and locate and to do the tomake sure everything's uh on the
up and up, and and you as abuyer can decide if that if
everything checks out.
And again, if it doesn't, it'snot the end of the world.
The buyers and sellers canchoose to negotiate uh for
(28:05):
credits, they can choose tonegotiate for repairs.
Again, all of this this is thebiggest financial transaction
most likely you'll do in yourlifetime, and it's so important
to gather this information.
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
Yeah, we we had a a client from last year that
didn't get a septic inspectionand called us out.
Hey, my my my uh sinks aren'tdraining, and the septic tank
was under the concrete porch inthe front, and so uh the county
came out and gave wrote a permitfor that, and we replaced that
tank and we're finding the drainfield, and where's the drain
(28:38):
field?
Oh, the drain field is under theslab underneath the house.
So they ended up having to put adrain field and a tank in
because they didn't do theinspection to begin with, and
they would have had the sellersfix it, or just not buy it.
SPEAKER_02 (28:50):
Or did that mean but that that talk about an
expensive repair and and and noone wants to take I mean again,
it's let's be honest, it's it'sit's a challenging enough
economic environment where Imean for a lot of people getting
a home is is they're stretchingto make it happen.
It's five hundred thousanddollars for the average single
family home price is$540 in thelast 12 months.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
That's crazy.
SPEAKER_02 (29:14):
So again, the biggest the biggest, the best
money you can spend.
And and you know how it is withuh medical advice, um, where
doctors are telling you this iswhat you should do, and then
guess what?
If you don't do it, the doctorsactually have you sign called an
AMA against medical advice.
If you choose not to followtheir advice, we have a similar
(29:36):
document in real estate whereit's called the professional
services uh disclosure.
And it's like, hey, we recommenda home inspection, we we
recommend a pest inspection.
By the way, if your real estateagent's not doing that with you,
there's some major red flags.
But we actually have clientssay, Yes, I want it, or no, I
don't.
And this is almost like a again,against in medical advice, if
(29:59):
you don't do a home inspection.
Inspection, you're actually as aclient signing that.
I'm I'm knowingly choosing notto do that.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
If a doctor handed me that sheet, I'd say, wait a
second, go ahead and do whateveryou need to do.
That's right.
SPEAKER_02 (30:10):
And again, this is uh though it's not our health,
this is our financial health,and again, it's so important.
So we're so grateful for ourpartnership with Jim Rawlings at
the quality home consultants andseptic uh solutions.
You guys are amazing.
35,000 plus home inspections,10,000 plus septic inspections.
And again, here I mean it'samazing.
(30:31):
You guys, you have an incredibleteam.
How many inspectors do you guyshave right now?
SPEAKER_00 (30:35):
You said eight home inspectors, eight um septic uh
inspectors, and we have fivefabulous uh office admin.
SPEAKER_02 (30:43):
Your team is amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (30:44):
Yeah, the our admin is is top-notch.
SPEAKER_02 (30:47):
Yeah, that's that's what makes all the difference.
I and I say that about ourattorneys we work with, they're
only as good as theirparalegals.
Yeah.
And just like us and you, Imean, like we're only as good as
our staff and our team, andthat's what makes it all all
possible.
So, Jim, so grateful uh thatyou're with us this morning.
Anything in wrapping up you wantto make sure our listeners
what's the best way to forlisteners to get in touch with
(31:08):
you guys?
SPEAKER_00 (31:09):
So you can get us on the phone at 828-687-7221 or
qualityhome consultants.com isis our website, and
qualityhomeconsultants atgmail.com.
You can get a hold of us eitherway.
SPEAKER_02 (31:23):
That is awesome.
Again, grateful, and again, weradon's so important.
I mean, all these factors, andagain, we clients and potential
clients and potential buyers,potential sellers, they they can
have these conversations withyour staff and asking what's the
what's the best plan forward.
So, Jim, thank you so much forbeing here and to our listeners.
We're here every Thursdaymorning right after the 10
(31:43):
o'clock news.
Uh, we also podcast.
If you didn't get a chance tohear the whole program, you can
we're gonna have this up on apodcast so you can hear the
whole program.
Of course, reach out to Jim andhis team.
And then if you're consideringbuying, selling, or investing in
real estate, give us a call.
If you're thinking about acareer in real estate, we're
growing, we're hiring moreagents.
We've we've had an incredibleyear.
Uh, can't believe how quick2025's flown by and uh, you
(32:05):
know, Thanksgiving's around thecorner, so is Christmas.
But I'll tell you, we're just asbusy as ever uh year-round.
And again, we have a great team,great staff, and again, grateful
for the partnerships uh with JimRawlings and his team and what
make it all possible, ultimatelyto serve our clients.
But thank you so much for fortuning in this this Thursday
morning.
Uh grateful to be here with you.
(32:25):
Tune in, give us a calldirectly, 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealastatebygreg.com.
And be sure to follow us onsocial media.
We have a number of open housesthis weekend as well.
You can check those out.
Take care, and we'll see youtomorrow morning.
(32:47):
You've built a lifetime ofstrength, wisdom, and
independence.
And here's the best part (32:52):
you still have it.
Every decision, every step,every next chapter is yours to
choose.
Selling your home isn't aboutletting go, it's about opening
the door to more freedom, moretime for what you love, more
energy for the people andpassions that matter most.
(33:13):
At the George Real Estate Group,we believe independence isn't
behind you.
It's right here, right now.
Our team goes beyond buying andselling.
We're here to help you protectyour wealth, preserve your
legacy, and make sure Uncle Samdoesn't become your biggest
benefactor.
We'll guide you every step ofthe way towards your next
(33:35):
chapter, your next opportunity,and your freedom on your terms.
Call us at 828-393-0134.
Find us online atrealestatebygreg.com.
SPEAKER_01 (33:48):
Thank you for listening to the George Real
Estate Group Podcast.
Tune in next time for moreindustry news, updates, and real
estate tips.
You can reach Greg, the GeorgeReal Estate Group, at
828-393-0134 or atrealestatebygreg.com.
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