How I became a “retired” Home Inspector

I had been a somewhat successful Home Inspector in Florida for about three years and was looking forward to the start of the “IN SEASON” (this is the time from January through May that all of the “Snowbirds” flee the frigid north to winter and spend money in Florida. With a lot of Snowbirds looking to buy a new retirement “nest”, this was also the busy season for home sales, keeping both realtors and home inspectors busy. It is not uncommon for a home inspector to make 75% of his annual home inspection income by the beginning of July.)
It was December 7, 2005 (Pearl Harbor Day, for those who remember) and I was inspecting a condo for one of my “regular” realtors. I was early, but wanted to get started since it looked like it might rain. I set my ladder on the driveway to get a look at the roof (it was a foam coated tile and could not be walked on without damage). While scanning the roof for defects with my binoculars, I felt the ladder start to slip! Since I had both hands on the binoculars, (which meant none on the ladder or anything else stable) I didn’t have much choice but to fall with the ladder. I remember landing with my feet still on the rung of the ladder and falling over backwards. When I tried to stand, the pain in my feet was intense.
Someone called 911 and I was treated to the first ambulance ride of my life! To make a long, painful story shorter, I had shattered both heal bones and would require surgery, that ended up installing eight titanium screws and a plate in each heal. Recovery, though quicker than originally predicted, seemed long to me. I didn’t get to put shoes on again (then only loose sneakers) until March, and couldn’t drive until April.
Well, there went the “IN SEASON”, which wasn’t really that great since the over priced housing market had tanked, both nation wide and especially in Florida. Since there weren’t very many homes being sold, there weren’t very many home inspections, and a lot of home inspectors had a lot of free time.
Well, with my doctor’s recommendation that I shouldn’t climb ladders again (or more specifically that I shouldn’t fall from ladders again since, like Humpty Dumpty, he, or all the King’s horses etc. couldn’t put me back together again), my own instability and new found fear of heights (actually fear of falling, heights get the bad rap here), coupled with very little prospect of actually getting any business, prompted me to decide to retire from the home inspection business. (This was my second retirement, my first retirement was an early out from the auto industry in 2001, but that is another story).
So I decided to share my knowledge and experience by writing articles to benefit the entire home buying community, realtors, buyers, sellers and home inspectors. If you continue to visit these pages, you will find articles and more stories of interest (I hope) that will help make your home, buying, selling or just living in, experience a little easier.

Larry