A Home Inspector’s Perspective: Tips for Buying and Renting a Healthier Home

Wow. I even get a notification.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to another Change the year interview. My name is Kendra Seymour, and I am so excited today to welcome Sai Porter, who's going to be talking to us about his perspective as a home inspector on things we need to think about when we're buying and even running a home. So, Sai, thank you so much for being here.

You're welcome.

I actually discovered, Sai, somebody had shared your stuff on Facebook and TikTok, and you have quite the following and you're constantly sharing great tips. And I thought I have to get into contact with you because I know you have some great tidbits and gold nuggets of information to share with people.

I'm glad you reached out.

Okay, so I'm just going to jump right in because they want to hear from you and not from me. So why is having a good home inspector such an important part of the home buying process, in your opinion?

I think there's two big key points, because it's not just important in new builds, it's important on resale. So the reason it's important on new builds is people aren't really getting what they think they're getting. The market is more of a. The person selling to you is a car salesman, and he just wants you to buy the product. He doesn't care about the quality. So my job is to let you know about the quality. And also I go a little above that and I let my clients know how to get those issues or concerns addressed. Because a lot of people are convinced that, oh, the builder doesn't have to fix this, therefore, I just have to live with it, which is not true. Then on the resale part, I don't know if it's deceitful or just ignorance, but people who are selling their home don't truly understand the condition of their home. And I want the buyer to understand the actual condition of the home. And I think that's mostly it.

Yeah, I would agree with you there. You know, no. People talk to you about how to take care of your car, Right. You're supposed to change the oil, rotate the tire, you know, but nobody's really, like, talking to you about the unfun parts of home ownership. You know, those maintenance pieces, they're expensive. They're. They're not fun always. And so I think they tend to get dismissed. Now, you have said something that I love. You said that sometimes the cheapest inspection is the most expensive inspection. Tell us what you mean by that when you say that.

Yeah. And that that might even Be an understatement. It's just if you do not get a good home inspection, that home inspection did nothing but be deceitful information for you. Meaning if you got the cheapest home inspector, he's probably going to go in there and tell you, oh, the home is great. You better buy it. And then before you know it, you have a $300,000 repair bill and you're in a lot of trouble. And this is actually happening a lot on social media of these people, the buyers apparently having home inspections and then just having this huge money disaster on their hands and no one's there to help them.

Yeah, And I see this too, with. With the market the last few years being kind of crazy, people just waving home inspections left and right. Like, do you have thoughts on that?

So it was real bad during COVID Even in new construction, builders were not allowing home inspectors on the job sites because of COVID Yeah. So, yes, it was really bad a few years ago, but it looks like that has mostly gone away in my area. Most people I know of aren't waiving that. But the problem with new builds is people don't know you're supposed to get a home inspection.

Yeah, yeah. And we can. We can get into that because people assume that new builds, oh, they're perfect. There's nothing wrong with them. And at Change the Air foundation, we talk about, you know, how that's not an assumption you can make, that there are so many individual parts that go into building home and different trades, people and rush and, you know, things like that, that there can be a lot of problems in a new home. I know you get into that a lot. One of the things I did want to ask you about, because this is really interesting, you talk about this in your field like a standard of practice, and you talk about how important it is, you know, that those are minimums, and you often go above those minimums. So can you just talk to us like, what. What are you. What do you mean by standards of practice for your field?

You're right. And I feel I need to do a video really explaining the minimum standards, because they're way more minimum than people think they are. All the state requires me to do as a licensed inspector is to visually look at a few items and use a outlet tester and a screwdriver. And that's about it. I'm not required to walk on the roof. I'm not required to crawl through the attic. I'm required to only test a few outlets and switches and windows and doors. I don't even have to test all of them. So the minimum is way lower than you think. So I try to inspect everything reasonably possible. If there's a chair in the way, I'm not required to move it, but I'm going to move it. I'm going to do the best job I can, or what I would expect someone to do for myself. And then I do things I'm really not supposed to and kind of push it to where I put myself in harm's way to make sure the client is better protected because it's worth the risk.

Yeah. No. And, and you're in Arizona, correct?

Yep.

So is that, is that pretty standard across all the states that that there's. The minimum is so low or does it vary by state?

Yeah. So most states that have a standard, almost all of them grab this similar standard from the national standard. So they'll either take it from Ashi or from Internachi, which are very similar. Every now and then I'll hear inspectors on social media tell me something their standards say, which I think is fantastic. So, for example, in Florida you're required to walk the roof. Arizona you're not. So there are still some pretty big differences in the state standards.

Yeah. I'm going to ask you about a roof here coming up in a second because that's an interesting thing. But you'd mentioned new builds. Talk to us briefly in your opinion, about the pros and cons of a new build versus the pros and cons of maybe a home that's been around for a while.

So I'm a huge fan of new builds, even though my social media may seem very different. I love the technology in new builds. I love radiant barriers. I'm a huge fan of the energy efficiency. Just everything they have is so fascinating that people really should look into the great technology we have for homes. But just like a used home, old homes still have similar issues because people are people and they do screw up and they may be honest about it and they may be deceitful about it. So a new build fee issue we have are damage or mistakes are happening and instead of fixing the mistake, they hide the mistake. So I would say that is the number one issue with new construction on old homes. They did build homes. Amazingly, they used better material. Just they did an awesome job. But homes do wear out. And as homes wear out, people may do a temporary band aid or they may do a really good repair. And so on resale, it's really hit or miss. You can buy an awesome used home that is in 10 out of 10 condition. Or you can buy one where everything's been Band Aid and you move in and you're going to pay $300,000 trying to fix it. So used home is hit or miss, new home, you're definitely going to have things hidden, but everything's warranted. And I'm a huge fan of warranties, especially our state warranty standards, which are actually amazing.

So I want you to actually touch on that because you've talked about warranties before on your Facebook page and let's unpack that there because I think there's a lot of misconceptions and I think there's some, you use the word deceitful things that sometimes happen, particularly with builders. So unpack warranties for us.

All right, So I do get in a lot of trouble when I bring this up because other contractors don't understand our warranties. So the builder's going to give you their warranty and their warranty is going to have some like structural warranty, maybe a lifetime roof warranty, all kinds of stuff. But that is the builder's warranty and they can void it and do whatever they want about it. It's up to their contract. The state law requires the builder to include an Azroc minimum warranty standards. This warranty is two years and it's going to have everything on there from creation of the home to cosmetics. And in that warranty it's going to have limitations. So a lot of the cosmetics are actually only warranted for a year. So within a year's time, the builder has to come up and maybe only one time, come redo the caulk, adjust the windows, adjust the cabinets, basic maintenance and cosmetic touch up. Then we have landscaping and vegetation, which now the ROC has actually backed away from even though it's in the ROC standards because it's too hard to prove who's at fault. So even though there's a state standard or warranty on vegetation, they actually don't take those claims. It's between you and the builder. And those warranties for the plants are going to be like 30, 60 or 90 days, but the state doesn't get involved. And then we have the 10 day warranty. The drama, it's not as bad as people think. Yes, it protects the builder, but it's. It should be there. You don't know if the homeowner is causing the damage or the builder's causing the damage. And if the builder caused the damage, technically you should be able to find that in 10 days. But sometimes it's really hard to find. And that's where the drama starts. And also sometimes the builder hides that so you can't find it until the 10 days. So damaged, caused by the builder technically needs to be found within 10 days of close. So, you know, the builder did it. And not a homeowner just causing damage because they want new stuff.

Yeah. And as somebody, we. We've bought a new home before and, you know, you want to read through that warranty. Right. Because it really spells it out. And I think most people don't know what it says or they call and they're like, oh, that' covered. And I've seen you pull up warranties and like, oh, no, this is covered. So read through it, I think is a important takeaway there. Okay, so let's talk about attics and, and roofs for a minute. Because you. You've done some interesting videos lately about that, and I love that you talk about you need to have someone physically go up on the roof. I know, you know, an inspector we've had previously is like, no, I'll just send my drone up there. So talk to us about roofs. What are we looking for? What are some red flags?

Okay, so, yep, this is also drama. So the number one way to inspect the roof, common sense is someone to physically be up there to touch things, to see things within a few inches of their face. That's the best way. The second best way would be drone. It's just not as good. The reason I say that is if you watch my videos, you'll see I will find flashing that's not even attached.

Yeah.

Or there'll be tiles that aren't even attached. A drone's not going to be able to do that. A drone's only going to be able to catch things that can be visually found, not physically found. Now, concrete tile roofs are 99% of our roofs out here. And that drives everyone crazy because you can't walk on a towel roof.

You can.

You just got to know how to do it. And if you're very heavy, you actually probably can't walk on it without causing damage. So, yes, roofs are very important to get up there. If you can't, drone would be the second step. Typically, our roofs last 30 years, and then between the 20 and 30 window, depending on how well you took care of it, you're going to start seeing leaks and other issues.

So is it ever, like, advisable for someone to hire a separate roofing company to come during that inspection window? Or is that more like you come first and you say, yeah, there's enough defects. Have a roofer come out and give you an estimate so that you can negotiate with the seller.

Yeah. So this is a hard topic. So what I do is I do a full inspection and I recommend me before you pay money on anyone else. But what I don't do is if you just have a concern with your roof, I don't come inspect the roof. I say, no, go get a roofer. But the downside to that, you'll see in a lot of my comments, is it's really hard to find a third party roofer who's going to give you an honest opinion because they want the job, they want your money. I don't get money outside of my inspection, so I'm more, I'm probably going to be more honest. But yes, you can have home inspectors that are honest and maybe they have a really good friendship with the roofer that they refer out. But that's supposed to be the purpose of a home inspector is a non biased opinion about the condition of that system. Whereas someone else wants your money and they could fib.

Yeah. Are there any like common errors or defects that you see a lot of the time in roofs that people should be aware of?

Yeah. So concrete towels break. It's not because they're fragile, they just break. And so I figured we're going to bring this up again later because I actually have downloaded the Phoenix, Arizona guide on how to take care of your home because it is one of the best guides I've ever seen. And you should send a roofer up on your roof probably every three or five years just to do the basic roof maintenance. Tiles are going to slip, tiles are going to break. I actually don't recommend you glue broken tiles. That's actually what led to one of my roof leaks. You should actually replace the broken tile because the glue is going to wear out over time. Whereas that new tile is going to last the life of the roof as long as it doesn't break and then flashing gets loose. Birds cause a lot of damage to roof. There's just lots of things that happen to your roof that have to be maintained.

Yeah, I was going to ask you about chimneys, but now that I think about it, that's probably not particularly common in Arizona.

Very rare. We do have chimneys, but no one uses them. So they just sit as decorative and. Yeah, chimneys. Not much to talk about for me.

Okay, okay. No, that's, that's completely fair. All right, so if we're kind of moving through the house, you know, we're at the top of the house. Let's go to the, the bottom of the house. And I want to ask you about foundations. Now, I know this varies greatly by geographic area. And so in your opinion, you know, slab, crawl space, basement, what, what do you see the most of? And you know, what are some red flags? What are you looking for there?

99% of the homes I do are concrete slabs on grade. Since 2004, we've transitioned to post tension slabs. And almost all homes nowadays are going to be post tension. So I will do crawl spaces, but very rarely. And it's usually because I'm doing a manufactured home in a retirement community that I'm well known in because most people can't find fit in those crawl spaces. Now, our foundations, we have a few huge red flags. So the homes built before post tension, we have certain areas that had very expensive soil. So we have entire communities that have sunk. And anytime I'm in that community, that alone is a red flag. So if you're out here in Arizona buying homes before 2004, be careful because you could be in an area where we have serious foundation issues, where lots of class action lawsuits happened. The other issue with homes before 2004 is we have horizontal cracking. So a lot of those homes before post tension, they have rebar. They used a rebar that's metal, and it's going to absorb moisture and start to rust and corrode. And as it expands, it causes a crack along the foundation. And I did a video of me walking through an entire neighborhood where almost every single home had this separation. It's not a huge deal, but if you don't take care of it, it can get much worse, leading to much more serious foundation issues. But foundation issues are actually pretty rare here outside of the horizontal cracking and the communities that sink.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's definitely a red flag. Maybe ask the neighbors too. I always tell people, if you're buying a home, don't be shy about knocking on, say, hey, I'm thinking about moving into the neighborhood. What can you tell me about this home or the neighborhood in general? You'll get a lot of information. So not exactly related to this lab foundation, but the exterior of the home. You know, we talk at change the air foundation about, you know, problems with moisture and things that like that that can lead to mold. What about, like, grading and drainage? Do you ever pay attention to that and the impact it could have on the home?

Yeah, it's crazy because we even have to get the, the grade inspected on new builds. But we are. I bet you we're the worst people in the country with grade. We don't put in rain gutters, downspouts. We don't grade away from our home. We are terrible. So 99.9% of the homes I inspect, I do call out the grade because it's either negative grade, water's pooling longer than it's supposed to. On new builds, water can't pool on the grounds longer than 48 hours. And we're just really bad when it comes to grade.

Yeah. So, I mean, the rest of the country, if, hopefully, if you're someplace where you're getting a lot more rain, you have gutters and things like that, and you're paying attention because you don't want that wicking, which is when the moisture moves up the walls or inward vapor drive. Do you ever. I'm curious because I've seen this happen on a few homes for people who reached out. If you have sprinkler systems, do you ever pay attention to that? Because I've seen people essentially watering the sides of their walls, and then they have moisture and mold on the interior, and they're like, all confused, like, well, how did this happen? Do you have any thoughts on those sprinkler type systems?

I do, and I got a story, so.

And you have great stories, so throw them in wherever, or examples, please. I should have said that at the beginning.

So. So it's short, but inspecting the landscape system is outside the scope. And a lot of inspectors don't get involved with that. I test every single landscaping system. If it's shut off, I'll manually test it because it's important. A lot of times the sprinklers do spray on the home, and it is. It's a huge deal. So we had one where the landscaping was spraying on the home and the home was being rented out. And I pointed it out. They had a contractor come out. It turned out to be a $14,000 repair from one sprinkler spraying on one exterior wall. Like you said, water got in there, mold. Eventually that vapor barrier got damaged. It got through it. Disaster. So, yes, sprinklers cannot spray on your home. There are going to be some minor exceptions. I know Texas does have to water their soil in certain areas, but here, no. Keep water as far away from your home as you can. Don't let shrubs, don't put flower beds up against your exterior wall. Just keep moisture and grade as far away from your home as you can.

I love that. Now, in Arizona, I imagine if we can talk the exterior for a minute because sometimes we see this like stucco versus, you know, traditional siding. I don't know if you guys do brick or stone. Do you have any considerations for people when it's about, you know, the exterior, especially if they're building and you have some say over that?

You know, I was really tempted to do a video on this about two days ago because we just had a whole bunch of rain. This was a brand new home. It was stucco. It had been raining for about eight hours, so everything was soaked. But the stucco wall was already dry. So stucco is actually fantastic out here. I love it. A lot of people don't like the look. So a lot of these newer homes, you're starting to get options. Before you didn't have options. So you can get hardboard siding or some type of faux stone or brick siding on your exterior wall. But stucco definitely does dominate the market out here, and it is. It's a really good product. Just what bothers people is when you can poke a hole all the way through the exterior wall. But that's probably drama for another day.

Yeah, I see poking lots of holes in your videos. It's definitely alarming and interesting. Um, back to the interior, though. So we had talked about, like, slabs are predominant in your area. What about flooring options? Because, you know, there's hardwood, people like that. It's easier to clean. You have less off gassing and things like that. Well, it depends. Usually you have less off gassing. But I have seen homes where there has been moisture trapped between the wood and the slab foundation and then mold has been allowed to grow. Is there. Do you have any thoughts on that or preventative tips or things you're looking for?

That's. That's rare here. The majority of our homes are going to have concrete, tile. Wood still exists usually in the higher end homes, but we are so dry. A lot of our mold issues are totally different. Our mold issues are caused by active leaks that still exist. Not always because something got wet because it dries up so quick. Rare exception. A big roof leak one time is enough to keep that interior wall moist long enough for pretty large mold issues. But mold under the floor, usually from a toilet or a shower pan failure, something like that. Not just naturally occurring.

Okay, so let's talk about the kitchen, because that is the heart of the home, you know, especially if kids. I feel like I'm constantly in the kitchen making snacks and meals. I eat all the time. And, you know, what are some things that you're looking for in kitchens? And red flags, because there is a lot of plumbing there and it's an expensive part of the home. So what are you. What are you watching for?

So it is. And it's actually kind of funny. The kitchen is one of more. My more minor areas where not much happens. New builds, it's a big deal because that's 100% where I spend probably most of my time, because the cabinets are going to be damaged, the counters are going to be scratched or broken. But on resale homes, I'm in and out of the kitchen pretty quick because the only thing that's really going to leak is going to be the refrigerator, the dishwasher, and the sink, Nothing else. And they're usually pretty obvious finds. The downside with the refrigerator is when it leaks, it's usually behind it. So I do try to always peek behind the refrigerator or run thermal camera in the kitchen because some of those leaks can be a lot harder to find. But the kitchen is usually not that bad.

Yeah, I mean, you kind of know where you're looking. You definitely have those, like, obvious points that you're checking, and people really should be pulling out their. Their refrigerator if you haven't, you know, you're going to see a lot of dust bunnies and hopefully that's all you see. But, you know, maybe the random cheerio or whatever, but hopefully no leaks. When we went, let's talk about bathrooms, because that's another area. Lots of moisture, lots of money and time spent there. What are you looking for? And you've done some really cool videos where you have, like, little hacks. And I've seen you do like, you know, shower pan test and things like that. Talk to us about that because I don't know if homeowners realize, like, you know, all the things that you guys do to kind of inspect a bathroom.

So on resale homes, the majority of my time is the bathroom because that, that's where the leaks are going to be. And they can be anywhere. They can be at the tub overflows, they can be at the shower, waterproofing failure, the sinks, the toilets, and they almost always leak. So I spend a lot of time trying to test everywhere water exists. And it's. It blows my mind how many people think that an overflow is supposed to leak or a shower is supposed to leak if you put water in it. So, yes, I spend a lot of time in showers, not just finding the leak, but trying to prove that the leak is a problem and it's not normal.

What tools, what tools are you using? In the bathroom.

All right, so we've got the thermal camera. 100%. I run water way longer than anyone else. I can run water in a bathroom up to 30 minutes, and then I'll even do water tests for up to three hours. I'll even go into the bathrooms first and prep everything. Like, if there's a shower, fill it with water and let it sit during the entire inspection and then come back to it. So not just tools, but I run water everywhere. Moisture meter. I don't use any type of humidity tester. We may get into that a little later. My funnel drives people crazy. I do try and get water inside that overflow without filling the entire tub. I just find it being very dangerous to do so. I know a lot of stories of people flooding homes and costing thousands and thousands of dollars in damage because they fill the tubs and forget. Or they fill the tub and something fails. Even new builds, a lot of them, will not let you fill that tub just because it's so dangerous.

Yeah, I mean, a bathroom is definitely not an area you want to overlook because.

And.

And that always blows my mind because it's so expensive to, like, mediate or tear out and fix that. It's worth having whoever you hire take the time to do that. Well, and I love. I think I've seen videos where, you know, you'll let the water run for a little bit, and then you'll go to the level below, and you'll use your, you know, thermal imaging camera, and you can actually see where the, you know, moisture is starting to pool. But it's not obvious yet on the drywall, or maybe the drywall's been painted and you can't tell. Interesting. I love that. Now, again, this may be different because of where you're at, but H Vac systems, I know you guys probably have a variety of options out there, Even swamp coolers I know I've seen in Arizona. So talk to us about that. What are we looking for? Because you shared a really funny video recently of, I believe it was air conditioning coming out of an electrical outlet.

That was funny. That's probably my favorite video.

Yeah. Yeah. So talk to us. What are you noticing here? What are some pitfalls? What do we want buyers and stuff to be aware about?

So there are certain parts of the home where we're guaranteed to have issues. So plumbing. If I don't find a leak, I'm worried I missed it. They're that common when it comes to H vac, 99% of the time, there's something that needs to be serviced because I personally will service my system once a year. And a lot of homeowners don't do that. They don't clean them. They don't even change their filters. So on the H VAC system, I do spend a lot of time heating up the home and cooling the home. And I measure the splits different than an H VAC guy. So that drives them bonkers. So I've even pulled up articles from big name companies telling you you should actually test it the way I test it. Because the way an H Vac guy test it is irrelevant to a homeowner. The homeowner doesn't care how well the splits are at the system itself. They want to know how well each room is cooling and how comfortable they're going to be in every room. So when I test the system, I test every single register and seeing if it's getting a very good quality split. The downside to that is there's no state law or even a standard on what that split has to be. And even the manufacturer themselves will have a ginormous range from anywhere from as low as 10 degrees up to 25 degrees. But most of the time we have heat pump systems because of that. Usually we can't run half of the system because it's either too cold outside or too hot. Now some inspectors will briefly turn it on. That's understandable. You just have to be careful because you can damage the system. Running these systems when the temperatures aren't right. Gas furnaces, I probably come across them only 20% of the time. That's how common our heat pumps are. The only downside to that, in new construction, we're starting to really get away from gas. I don't know if it's because electric systems are so efficient now or gas companies have jacked up the rate so high, but we're starting to see less and less gas in homes outside of the cooktop. Just because people want their gas Cooktop.

Yeah. Yeah, they do. So I have to ask, though, so what. What happened to that home where the electrical outlet was blowing out air conditioning? What was the defect there? Story?

The air conditioning was more of a joke. What it was is there's a part out here where they have very high winds. A lot of walls get blown over. It was extremely windy that day. And that outlet was on an exterior wall. And as I went to go test that outlet, I felt a gust of wind blow on my hand. I'm like, are you kidding me? And I know exactly what happened when they do These homes during the pre drywall stage. Some builders are really good at sealing all these little holes, including the ones behind the junction boxes or outlet boxes, Whereas other builders are extremely lazy, filling all these air gaps. So I'm pretty confident they did not fill the holes behind that box. Gusta1 came in and just came right through that box and into the home. It was just really funny. They just didn't air seal the home very well, which is kind of shocking because these homes are energy efficient. Not very energy efficient.

Yeah, that's funny because I was like, what is. Like, is there a duct there and it's leaking into the wall cavity? I'm like, there's no way that that is. That is. Okay. Okay. So let's speak a little bit more broadly, because I'm all about. And it changed the air. We want to empower the homeowner. There are certain things that I know I own tools to kind of inspect my home regularly. What are some things that you think a homeowner might want to purchase that can help them kind of stay on top of issues? So they've moved into their new home, and they want to keep it this nice, happy, healthy place. What. What do you recommend they have on hand?

So one thing I recommend is getting that file that I talked about from the city of Phoenix. It is not just great for people in Arizona. I think it's great for people across the country. It gives you basic tools. What a homeowner should have, when they should take care of certain products, when they should call a roofer, when they should call an H Vac guy. It even includes a lot of emergency numbers for, like, domestic violence or child abuse. It's caught everything every homeowner needs to know. Outside of that, there are some bigger items that aren't well talked about. So you should monitor your humidity levels. That's a big deal, especially when it comes to mold. You should also monitor your radon levels. Radon's not talked about. It's not a big deal here in Arizona, but I believe everyone needs to monitor their humidity and their radon. The humidity is a tough topic because eventually there needs to be some type of mold monitoring system. I know they're working on it. It's not out yet, and it may be a long time till it comes out. So monitoring your humidity is going to be the next best step. And then everyone needs to monitor the radon. You can go get one for like 150, $200, and they last, like 10 years. You just need one. Put it in the Middle of your home and you're good outside of mold and radon. I'm not too scared about much else because everyone else is going to have smoke and co detectors. They're just not going to know about the other two important parts.

Yeah. And for those who don't know, like, you can get. It's a hygrometer. You can get it for like 11 bucks on Amazon, you know, like a little one, you know, that measures your humidity. And you can have one on each floor and you want it generally below, you know, relative humidity, below 50% to kind of, you know, discourage any kind of mold growth. But that's a pretty easy one. What about like a thermal imaging camera? Do you have any thoughts on those?

Yeah, so those are a little more expensive. Black Friday last year it dropped down to like a hundred bucks. And I was like, oh, I got mine. Yeah, I wish everyone would have got one then. They are amazing. They're not just amazing at finding leaks, they're amazing at finding all kinds of issues. I found electrical hitting over 300 degrees. I found roof leaks all the time. And it's not just me. Any homeowner can use it. It just takes a little bit of practice. You just have to know it's measuring temperature. It's not measuring moisture. Moisture is just usually cold. And therefore that cold spot is either going to be because of moisture or because of insulation. It's usually one of those two. And then if something is extremely hot, then it may be an electrical issue or maybe you have a hot water leak. It can be something else. But yeah, thermal cameras, fairly cheap and they can be used for all kinds of little tricks on finding either expensive issues that are going to get much worse or dangerous issues that could be dangerous.

Yeah, and I, and I love that. And yeah, like you said, it's maybe not something the first tool you buy, but for those who are kind of, you know, interested in going to the next level. I know it took me a few years, but I bought mine and I, I love it. And I, I do use it to periodically check my home. And you know, what I love that you mentioned is that it doesn't measure moisture, measures temperature. And so you would follow something. If you have a suspicious spot in your ceiling, you'd follow that up with maybe like a moisture meter, which you can get for, you know, a decent one for like 40 bucks online. I use that all the time around my toilets and things like that to stay on top of leaks. Do you have any thoughts on moisture meters before we move on?

So it's funny because there's some crazy expensive ones.

There are.

I think you're crazy buying a $500 moisture meter because it's wet or it's not.

Yeah.

If it's slightly wet. Things are allowed to be slightly wet. We have humidity in the air. Drywall does have some moisture levels in it, so you don't have to get that nitpicky. It's either wet enough to cause a serious issue or it's wet enough to not worry about. So, yes, go get any cheap moisture meter. I don't even care if it's pinned or pinless. Just go get one. And I just even got an email this morning about someone who bought the camera. Oh, I got all these purple spots. I got tons of roof leaks. No, follow up with a moisture meter to know if it's moisture, because if it's. If it's giving like a 5 or 10% reading, it's not. It's just cold air. It's normal. You can insulate your home a little better.

Yeah. And you definitely. Yeah, people freak out sometimes and they'll have it. It'll hit metal or something, and I'll jump to 100%. So you need to understand that. You need to understand what the baseline for the material is and to make sure that, you know, moisture meters, most of them have, like a setting, you know, is it soft wood setting or drywall? So. So, you know, read the directions before you freak out. Always, Always smart. So if someone was looking to buy a home today, what are some tips you would just give them?

It's starting to change because I have a crazy story I'm not allowed to share yet. We're getting the state involved. I'm going to hopefully talk about it in a week. But I used to not think it's that big of a deal to make sure your inspector is licensed and certified. Well, it's way bigger of a deal than I thought. So, number one, if you're buying a home, get it inspected and make sure that person is who he says he is. So make sure that inspector is licensed and certified. A lot of states require it, and if the state doesn't, you should be hiring one that's at least certified nationally. So he's either a member of internachi or ashy. That's the number one big deal. I don't care how cheap he is. If he's not licensed and certified, you got to find someone else. Other than that, you just got to do your research and know what you're getting. Because Work is not created equal. Everyone does cheap work, better work, and it comes at a price.

So I'm going to ask you, and I don't know how you feel about this question, but I. One of our first house that we bought that had had all the issues, we hired the inspector that was recommended by a realtor. And in hindsight, I wonder if maybe that wasn't a mistake because he probably has a financial interest in seeing her deals go through. And I, I sometimes struggle with that. So how, how do you find, like, someone who's going to, you know, work at your level? Because if I'm just the average person and I go on, you know, one of the review sites, like, oh, you have good reviews, but what are people basing that off of? Like, how do I really find someone who, who cares and will go to the level that you go to? Any tips?

Yeah, that's a really good question. So I think home inspectors, all of them, are going to be slightly biased because of what you just said before. I did very well on social media. 99% of my business was realtor referral. And so I'm sure there's a slight bias because we want that realtor to continue to recommend us, otherwise we're not going to get any work. Now, I cheat now because 99.9% of my business actually comes from social media. It's so bad that I usually can't help the realtors that have gotten me where I'm at today. So I'm trying to make special arrangements so I can still take care of them like they took care of me. So there are good realtors out there, there are bad realtors out there, There are good home inspectors out there. There's bad. There's good and bad of both. So that's why it's so important to do your, your research. A realtor can recommend a really good home inspector. There's a lot that recommend me, and I think they're recommending a good home inspector. But you also got to do a research because we had a home inspector that was not licensed, that was being referred by a realtor who knew he was not licensed, which just blows my mind. So if your realtor, I feel if you have a realtor you trust, they should be giving you a good, honest home inspector you should trust. But you should still do your research and make sure he's licensed and using proper equipment. So license is a big deal. And in my opinion, I think a thermal camera is a huge red flag. If they're not using that $200 part. That's mind blowing because it's cheap, easy to use, it'll protect him from any lawsuits, and it will protect the client from any impossible to find issues. If you didn't have that one tool.

Yeah. I'm curious, do you have any deal breakers when it comes to buying a home? Like, if you were looking for a home, you'd be like, nope, absolutely not.

Kind of. So, like I told you, I really liked new builds, which means I do not like old homes. I personally would never buy a hundred plus year old home. If you Google the lifespan of a home, it's supposed to be around 100 years. So technically, that home is way past its life. Meaning you're going to have foundation issues, structural issues. It could be a huge money pit, but you could be lucky and have one of those awesome antique homes. We have a historical district here of homes over 100 years that are awesome. It's just not for me. So deal breakers for me. I'm just a huge fan of new construction. I like, I like it when people focus on Homes after 2004. So when my friends and family call me, I tell them, try and look at homes beyond 2004. Try and stay away from the older homes just because you're going to have more money, you're going to have to invest in that home if the seller did not already do it.

Yeah, that's great. Great information. All right, as we wrap up here, I'm going to. Just because you have such interesting stories, what is the craziest home inspection story that you are allowed to share with us?

I was really bummed the news story didn't share it. I think it was just too crazy to share. But it's that pee story.

Yeah, tell us about that.

So he actually turned out being an old childhood friend, and he found me on social media and said, oh, you got to come out here and hear my story and inspect my home. So I went out there the day of close. So I think he closed in the morning and I was there in the afternoon. And we were ripping up carpet because they had peed in pretty much every single room of the home. And it wasn't just a little bit. These sections of pee were like 4ft by 4ft everywhere. And people are like, how'd you know it was pee? The home smelled like pee. It was pee. Plus, you rip it up, pee leaves that orange stain a little different than water. And just what they did to that guy's home blew my mind. I would definitely rank that as number one and the funny thing is, after I shared that story, people now had that fear behind them and they would actually go to their homes as they're being built. And they were sending me videos of their contractors peeing on their walls while they were being built. So it's happening. You need to keep an eye on everyone in your home because to me, that's disgusting that it's hard to get worse than that.

Yeah. I mean, I've seen videos and stuff. You know, feces and crawl spaces because they're not providing, you know, restroom options for people as they're building the home. I mean, that's just insane. Was this a new build this happened in?

Yep. Brand new home the day of close, full of pee in all the rooms.

Wow. Yeah, that definitely puts kind of a, you know, taints your. Your new home, move in day experience for sure. Wow. Now I know you said this. How does somebody find you on Facebook or TikTok though? Because you do have great information there.

So they can pretty much Google me on TikTok. Just search sci fi home inspections. One word. Facebook's a little more difficult. You'd actually have to search my name, Cy Porter. And it's a weird name. So Cy Porter. And you should be able to find me pretty easy.

Yeah. Lots of great and helpful tips. And, you know, people saying, we wish there were, you know, someone like you in because you don't travel. Right. You're just Arizona. So someone out of state can't be like, come inspect my home.

For now, I do have dreams to travel and just share everyone's story because it's a little unfair that we get all the stories out here and there's so many people that need their stories told as well.

Well, wonderful. Well, thank you so much for joining us today.

You're welcome.

And for everyone listening, thank you. If you found this helpful, do me a favor and head on over to changetheirfoundation.org and sign up for our newsletter because it really is the best way to get great information like this directly to your inbox us. And if you like this episode, be sure to check out the companion pieces to this series where we talk with Heather Rose, who's a realtor, and Michael Strands, who's an indoor environmental professional, about their tips for buying and running a home. But Sai, thank you so much. You have a great rest of your evening.

You're welcome. Thanks.

Take care.

Bye.