Podcasts about hvac

Too many contractors on the streets not knowing their costs and losing their mind over pennies when it comes to the supply chain. Your suppliers are part of your team, working with them will help way more than it hurts. 

Heating systems are left vulnerable to attack in the high courts, cybercrime unicorns have become a reality (but what are they?), over 15 Terabytes of NFTs are made available for anyone to download ... and Carole reveals her Pick of the Year. All this and much much more is discussed in the latest edition of the "Smashing Security" podcast by computer security veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by Mikko Hyppönen. Visit https://www.smashingsecurity.com/253 to check out this episode's show notes and episode links. Follow the show on Twitter at @SmashinSecurity, or on the Smashing Security subreddit, or visit our website for more episodes. Remember: Follow us on Apple Podcasts, or your favourite podcast app, to catch all of the episodes as they go live. Thanks for listening! Warning: This podcast may contain nuts, adult themes, and rude language. Theme tune: "Vinyl Memories" by Mikael Manvelyan. Assorted sound effects: AudioBlocks. Special Guest: Mikko Hyppönen.

If a trade association is only as good as its leadership, then HARDI––the Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International Association––is very good indeed, thanks to the energetic and innovative direction of CEO Talbot Gee. Jason chats with Talbot about his formula for providing consistent, top-notch value to HARDI members. The equation includes plenty of workforce development, government advocacy, and gratitude for the biggest little industry most folks know nothing about. “You could be a supremely educated college graduate, or you could be someone who never once even considered or wanted to go to college. Maybe [you] barely got through high school.” Talbot confides, before revealing distribution's best-kept secret: “You could end up being a multimillionaire in this industry if you got the right stuff and work hard at it.” He has the stories to prove his supposition, committed to video for the documentary Hot Commodity, a  behind-the-scenes look at young people finding success in the HVAC industry. It's one of the many workforce initiatives that Talbot has been involved in, a concerted effort to build relationships with the next generation of decision-makers. In doing so, he's securing the current and future health of the industry. Whether he's promoting the HVAC industry, pushing the envelope of member offerings, or expanding his organization into Mexico, Talbot is laser-focused. HARDI's membership appreciates his work, especially regarding the many congressional fly-ins he's participated in on behalf of sector-specific issues. It's a form of advocacy that Talbot has helped foster. “I know people get uncomfortable when you talk about the connection of money in politics,” he says, “but there's a reason that all exists. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's not all bad.” One of HARDI's strengths lies in its ability to drive member engagement, reaching out rather than waiting for membership to respond. Talbot says the organization continues to lean into and learn from those efforts. “That's kind of one of those dynamics of just how our business is so different now than the way it was before,” he says, referencing not only the period just before the pandemic but also HARDI's overall evolution.  The organization has grown to three times the size since Talbot first arrived and has become a more consultative entity in the intervening years. That growth suits Talbot, who's constantly tuned into creating mutually beneficial strategies and partnerships for the people he serves. “Man, when you solve a problem for them,” Talbot says, “it's like best friends for life. They're the absolute most gracious people you could ever meet.” Watch Hot Commodity, the documentary mentioned in this episode, for free. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Hot Commodity DT069: Steve Deist on career paths and recruitment strategies in wholesale distribution CONNECT WITH TALBOT GEE & HARDI HARDI LinkedIn CONNECT WITH JASON LinkedIn *** Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.    This episode was edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.  http://www.distributionteam.com Special thanks to our sponsor for this episode: INxSQL Distribution Software, integrated distribution ERP software designed for the wholesale and distribution industry.

New research published by the University of Colorado Boulder analyzes the effects of different wavelengths of ultraviolet light on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.   The research found that a specific wavelength of UV light is not only extremely effective at killing the virus that causes COVID-19, but also that this wavelength is safer for use in public […]

Jenna Cottrell of 13WHAM in Rochester joins Goz to share her career journey. Topics include Growing up in Saratoga and how a basketball game decided her college choice The importance of internships Landing a job at ESPN out of college Leaving ESPN for Elmira, NY Joining the 13WHAM team Covering the Buffalo Bills including the viral Mike Evans moment Her battle with cancer and how you can help support this holiday season Getting There With Goz is brought to you by Jared Lozier of Northeastern Insurance. If you are looking to save money on your business, car, or more call Jared today at 518-956-3753. Johnstone Supply in Troy has been serving the Capital District since 1945 for all your HVAC needs. For all heating, air conditioning and ventilating needs call Johnstone Supply at 518-272-5922. Or visit them in person at 2600 6th Avenue in Troy, NY.

My pal Tersh Blissett from the Service Business Mastery podcast  joins me to talk about hiring and the 30 day period that comes afterwards. Tersh is an innovative and creative boss so this episode may help fuel your own creative spirit as well as give you a contrasting view of the hiring process.   Contact Zack at hvacshoptalk@gmail.com

Private Equity isn't the only way to hit $50 million...Chris Hoffman, President of Hoffman Brothers joins To The Point to talk about his greenfield growth strategy, the advantages to an Evergreen business model, and how he's making Hoffman Brothers the best place to work!

A quick episode on ethical HVAC sales, and how to build customer relationships.

*Tapes Thursday 1PMTHIS SHOW AIRS: TUESDAY 11.23.21 --------------------------------------------------*NOW LIVE STREAMING TO MULTIPLE PLATFORMS*Facebook / Youtube / Periscope------------------------------------------------------------------LISTEN MONDAY thru THURSDAY AT 4PM ON AM860 / 93.7 FM SMART TV OWNERS CAN SEARCH BINGENETWORKS TO FIND US ON Roku / Firetv / Appletv /Amazon*Sunday show 102.5fm THE BONE SEGMENT 1 (:16 min) 24:30 to 08:30 OPEN: Who we are, What we do, todays show... SPONSOR – REPLENISH IV SOLUTIONS PROPERTIES (2) ANTHONY RICKMAN ESQ. - THE RICKMAN LAW FIRM therickmanlawfirm.com What to look for hiring an attorney? How do attornies select cases that will defend? Anthony had a case where a child was shot by another chidhood friend, after conviction, the victims parents requested a meeting and worked TOGETHER with the shooter, to start healing for all. **TEASE COMING UP................ & A FEELGOOD STORY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEGMENT 2 (08:30 MIN) 08:30 – 00:00 SPONSOR – GOLF CART DEPOT PROPERTIES (2) GREGG BOWMAN – THE AC GUY OF TAMPA BAY acguyoftampa.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SEGMENT 3 (08:00) 24:30 to 16:30 SPONSOR – VETERAN GUTTERS PROPERTIES (2) GREGG BOWMAN – THE AC GUY OF TAMPA BAY acguyoftampa.com Gregg offers his vast knowledge of HVAC and reminds listeners its not the name of the machine, its the warranty and the INSTALL, that is critical. Get on the VIP program and avoid major repairs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SEGMENT 4 (16:00) 16:30 TO 00:30 SPONSOR -BROTHERS EZ MOVING PROPERTY (1) FEELGOOD STORY NICK SCHRIVER – DECORATING ELVESdecoratingelves.com Are you ready to make your home the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood? How about a Holiday display complete with music and stories! Nick can do all that for you and increase your property value with security and landscape lighting to increase yur property usability. 00:30 – 00:00 CLOSE...RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Frank asks Kathryn for an update on the tent she tried to set up in her living room as protection from the yellow jackets in her HVAC system. She got an epi-pen in case she gets stung again. Frank has a friend who says that some people claim to be allergic to things they don't like. Frank's wife Jere is allergic to cilantro and coconut. Frank asks Kathryn to explain the difference between VolOpera and the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre after seeing UTOT's production of The Magic Flute. Frank explains how deejays talk over the intros of the songs they play. Jere bought some hand-made Christmas decorations imported from Haiti at the fundraiser for the Haiti Outreach Program. Kathryn is preparing a Christmas card to send out with a photo of her dog on the back. Artie Rocket had an arithmetic assignment to only solve the odd-numbered problems on a worksheet. Instead, he solved all the problems in his head and only wrote down the answers that were odd numbers. Frank has no one in his phone's favorites list. He discovered that Jere has only two entries in her favorites list. Both were Frank Jr. Kathryn hasn't updated her favorites list in years. This episode is sponsored by BoneZones.com (don't forget the S). Buy books and other merchandise autographed by Body Farm founder Dr. Bill Bass at https://bonezones.com/  Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/  Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and now Facebook. Find us on social media:  https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh  Thanks!

Welcome back to Renovation Made Right! Today, Dave and Brenda read your listener questions about incorporating HVAC vents into a design and the differences between utilizing a design/build company, architect, or contractor for a remodeling project.Hosted by David and Brenda Bryan. Produced and Edited by Merrill McNally.Find us @renovationmaderight on social mediawww.renovationmaderight.comwww.blackdogbuilders.comSend us your questions at renovationmaderight@gmail.com!

The architect, mechanical engineer of record and project manager of ASHRAE's new global HQ discuss what went into deciding which HVAC systems to use and how the building operates. ASHRAE Treasurer Ginger Scoggins, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, former chair of ASHRAE's Building Ad Hoc Committee, Gregory Walker of Houser Walker Architecture and Stanton Stafford, P.E., of Integral Group also share lessons learned (1:55 and 16:15) from this high-profile project.The trio discuss some of the challenges they came across, such as the task of creating a market-rate net zero energy project (2:13), building envelope issues (3:00 and 20:00) and adhering to a fast-paced construction schedule (3:19). Then, Ginger, Greg and Stanton talk about how the design team chose between two options for the building's HVAC systems (6:13) and how ASHRAE took a more innovative approach by choosing a technology not widely used in the Atlanta area (10:37). More resources:·  Read the Owner's Project Requirements·  View the concept schedule·  Learn more about the HQ project Seeking a job in the engineering field, or searching for the most qualified engineers? The ASHRAE career center connects opportunities and candidates. Go to jobs.ashrae.org.

In this podcast episode, Bryan and Eric Mele talk about sight glasses, the significance of subcooling in refrigeration, and liquid quality.   While we measure subcooling quite often in HVAC work, we rely on sight glasses and liquid line receivers far more often in refrigeration. You need a sight glass to determine the liquid quality in a refrigeration system. Subcooling is one way to assure liquid quality without a sight glass or a receiver.    Subcooling refers to the temperature drop below liquid saturation. Head pressure can dictate subcooling, and several other factors can dictate the condensing temperature, including stacking. We use sight glasses because a clear sight glass can tell us that we have a full column of liquid (therefore subcooling) without hooking up gauges.    In HVAC, we care about having a certain level of subcooling because we want to make sure the refrigerant is fully liquid when it reaches the metering device; no bubbles should be present by the time it reaches the metering device. Like the suction line, the liquid line is a place where heat can be absorbed into the refrigerant. So, some manufacturers recommend insulating the liquid line to prevent heat from transferring to the refrigerant in the liquid line.   Unit orientation also affects subcooling. For example, you can shorten the liquid line sizing if your liquid line goes downhill to the air handler. Conversely, longer lines and uphill liquid lines require special considerations when it comes to subcooling.   Eric and Bryan also discuss:   Liquid line receiver fill standards Subcooling and efficiency Sight glass placement Stacking liquid in the condenser Pump down strategies Mechanical subcooling Flash gas “Free” subcooling Ambient temperatures   If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.   Check out our handy calculators HERE. Check out information on the 2022 HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium/.

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you'll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Grant Merrill President & CEO at AES Clean Technology. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Grant, covering: Becoming the leader of the business that he dreamt of representing. The need for cleanrooms to work in an invisible way as the most critical square footage at the core of the facility. Having to keep up with demand during the pandemic with the swelling production needed due to covid vaccines. The new therapeutic areas that are driving market growth and the need to let science flourish. Why the CMO space is poised for growth in both drug substance and drug product. The simple but magical abilities of being able to communicate and building personal relationships. Grant Merrill has been involved with cleanroom design and construction for over 25 years. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and then immediately entered the world of critical facilities and the mechanical systems that support them. After a successful career in the industrial HVAC engineering business, Grant joined the AES team 20 years ago. Now as President & CEO, he leads multi-disciplinary teams to deliver complex cleanroom facilities to clients throughout the life science industry. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We'd also appreciate a positive rating! Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing. An international content, design and digital agency that helps companies in life sciences get noticed. 

Today's guest is Rockstar Rochelle Bonty of Missouri. Rochelle is a mother of 6 who started out working customer service jobs which she hated. From there she got a job with the union as a laborer and then moved up to carpenter. After being laid off from that job she moved to another company and worked in HVAC. But this time around she knew that it could happen again and so she started learning what it took to create her own business. Please do not tune out as I promise this will be one of the best comeback stories you hear for the rest of 2021. Her desire manifested into one of her senior managers showing her the paperwork necessary to start her business and become a women owned minority supplier. She completed all the paperwork and got her business certified as a license mechanical contractor. As luck and fate would have it, that second company informed her that she was going to be laid off. She informed one of the executives at the company that she in fact had all the paperwork and was a registered minority supplier. Once they learned she had a company they then offered her newly formed corporation a 6-figure subcontract to perform the work under her company name. I don't want to spoil any more of the story because it gets better from there. I just want you to tune in and make sure to show Rochelle some love in the comments because she chose herself the second time around. Hope you enjoy this episode of Making a Giant with Rockstar Rochelle and Maria Martinez.

The voice of Hobart and William Smith Athletics and popular Finger Lakes radio personality Ted Baker joins Goz to discuss his career journey. Topics include Landing his first radio job Covering high school football in Texas Calling D1 hockey at UMass and more Moving to Geneva, New York to become the voice of Hobart and William Smith Athletics Why he decided to join FingerLakes1.com Best advice for an aspiring broadcaster Getting There With Goz is brought to you by Jared Lozier of Northeastern Insurance. If you are looking to save money on your business, car, or more call Jared today at 518-956-3753. Johnstone Supply in Troy has been serving the Capital District since 1945 for all your HVAC needs. For all heating, air conditioning and ventilating needs call Johnstone Supply at 518-272-5922. Or visit them in person at 2600 6th Avenue in Troy, NY.

Being self-employed can be great. It can also mean late nights and long ass weeks. As a bonus you can join the guys when they say pound sand to those "work/life balance" nerds.  

Tom "TJ" Hartnett, Director of Coaching and Training for RYNO Strategic Solutions joins To The Point! TJ dives in deep with host Chris Yano about his philosophy of training and coaching in the trades, why he joined the RYNO team, and what has him so excited about Traxion.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Home HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. We've previously covered server room cooling, and the show is interrupted at the end by a classic. In the news, New York is taking some action on robocalls (though it's honestly too late at this point), people are upset that Microsoft is forcing Edge on Start Menu web search results, and Unity acquires Weta Digital.

Frank and Kathryn are recapping Marble City Opera's fundraising gala, called “Diving For Pearls.” Kathryn and other singers performed several songs during the evening in flash mob style. Frank was the emcee.  Kathryn told Frank where to stand during her performance of “Glitter and Be Gay” so that she could pretend to insult him during the song. Singer Whitney Wells is “best friends with” several Disney princesses at various princess parties around Knoxville. Frank recently hosted six episodes of Up Close for East Tennessee PBS. He recorded interviews with Ashley Georgakopoulos, Jeff Joslin, Logan Murrell, Dr. Jerry Punch, Leanne Morgan, and Don Dare. Kathryn still has yellow-jackets in her HVAC system. She tried to set up a tent in her living room but inadvertently bought a tent without poles. She had to stay in a hotel instead. Frank and Jere took care of next-door-neighbor Nancy's cat when she went to New Orleans. Nancy gave Frank and Jere a bag of coffee from Commander's Palace and some fig cookies from Angelo Brocato's. This episode is sponsored by The Middleburg Barn at Fox Chase Farm. The Middleburg Barn is a perfect venue with rustic luxury for your wedding or special event. Located 40 miles outside D.C and 25 minutes from Dulles Airport. Visit https://www.themiddleburgbarn.com/ or call 540-687-5255. Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/  Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and now Facebook. Find us on social media:  https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh  Thanks!

In this lively #NomadFuturist podcast, Michael Butigian and Jim Lubratt, award winners at Data Center World 2021, share their respective career journeys in the world of critical infrastructure and HVAC, and their common passion for leaving behind a better world.   Their journeys reveal some commonalities. Both men were athletes in college, Butigian playing basketball and Lubratt playing hockey. Both concluded that they were not going to be able to go pro.    Butigian left college and did a four-year stint in night school to learn HVAC and found that he had a strong affinity for the field. He founded CCIA Mechanical which provides commercial and residential HVAC and cooling solutions in the NY tristate area.   Lubratt studied mechanical engineering and ultimately joined his father's firm SVL, one of the Midwest's largest commercial heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) and cleanroom equipment dealers where Lubratt is now vice president.   Both men became involved in the world of data centers where cooling is an essential aspect of operations. And both became fascinated by the energy-saving nano cooling system offered by Hydromx Inc., where Butigian serves as COO and Lubratt is an investor and board member.   They share a commitment to reducing energy consumption and leaving a better world behind for future generations. In Lubratt's words:   “You get to a point, it's not really about the money. It's about making a difference, doing something for the better.”   Butigian and Lubratt also share a recognition that the data center world has a tremendous need for people in the trades and they encourage young people to consider the trades as a viable career option. In Butigian's words:   “…too many kids are going into college for the college experience and coming out with no skills. Trades are really hurting. So, I really would encourage young people who are not going to become lawyers and doctors and accountants to really think about trades, because trades are always going to be needed.”   Lubratt also makes a point that critical infrastructure is a people business and encourages young people to be networking and reaching out constantly.  “Meet people…whether on Zoom or face-to-face. Get to know them. Figure out what makes them tick, what do they want, what drives them… As soon as you figure out people's likes, needs, and wants, you can figure out how to integrate that into your business and how you can help them.” Butigian regrets not learning more about accounting early on and has the following advice for the young:   “When you're taking an accounting class, pay attention! To me accounting is the ninth element that just cannot be explained…If you're new to the working world, find that accountant in your company and become their best friend. Take them to lunch, learn what they do.”   In summing things up, Lubratt conveys the importance of taking care of other human beings, and that extends to taking care of planet Earth.   “We've got to help this planet. We've got to help this globe that we live on…so, it's going to take a lot of smart people to get it done.”    Michael Butigian is Chief Operations Officer at Hydromx, Inc. whose unique nano fluid cooling heat transfer solution helps save the planet by providing affordable, https://www.hydromx.com/our-technology/ (dependable cutting-edge technology) to reduce the use of energy through the increased speed of heat transfer in closed-loop hydronic heating and cooling systems. Butigian is also President of C.C.I.A. Mechanical which has provided HVAC services to commercial and residential clients in the NY tristate area since 1987. Butigian is a Master Mechanic expert in all phases of HVAC since 1973. He lives in NY and is married with four children.   Jim Lubratt is Vice President at Schwab-Vollhaber-Lubratt, Inc (SVL).

SHOW NOTES: Have you ever been surprised by a big electric bill? We'll share the most common places energy is wasted. If you're shopping for a home, buying an older home can be a good deal – but only if you're ready for the restoration and repair that come along with the job. We'll share tips for buying and repairing older homes. Do your faucets sound like they are crying out in pain? Faucets that sound like screams, squeal or whistle can get pretty annoying. We'll share has silence noisy faucets for good.  Plus, answers to your home improvement questions. Marilyn is wants to know whether it's better to rent or buy for her military family. John from Missouri needs to fix plaster walls after having a leak behind the wall. Deane needs some tips on steel windows built into her wall and whether she should repair or replace them. Robert wants to know what to do when the insulation in his attic has settled. Wendy from West Virginia wants to know what the difference between a commercial and residential building in terms of codes. Stan in Massachusetts is needs advice on how to proceed with a ceiling leak caused by defective pipes in his plumbing. Kathy from Michigan wants to know why her cinderblock house causes paint to peel very easily.  Gina has wants to know if she should install a high efficiency HVAC. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we watch a movie where everything is made up and the characters' names don't matter. Santa is a naive baby-man who doesn't understand the concept of "stranger danger." Bears are men in a terrible costume crawling on their hands and knees, and robots are HVAC vents and cardboard. Get your sleep spray and your food pills ready, because this movie is out of this world (and also really, really bad). Like us at Facebook.com/rottenorrighteous Email us: rottenorrighteous@gmail.com We are available to listen too at the following Pod-catchers: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rotten-or-righteous-podcast/id1512682948
 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/33bd23ef-92ea-4466-bdc5-b9e4f0619530/rotten-or-righteous-podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rk14D9GtBYgwHdA5l4q4l?si=vQQZh-3jS3CdUZ7q3q2Cvg Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOjgxNDUzNTQwNy9zb3VuZHMucnNz iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-rotten-or-righteous-podcas-62777595?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=true SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/zachary-karl-guiler

The guys reveal all the secrets of how they get thru the week without a single hiccup in the schedule. Just follow our simple, 99 step process and you too will be barely getting by like us! 

SHOW NOTES: If we had to name a project that can really change the look of a kitchen, or even a bath, replacing the countertop would be high on the list! But while removing and replacing a countertop is a costly and complicated project, simply restoring the surface with a stone coating is not. We show you how to do it in a weekend! There's nothing like a good, steamy shower – BUT too much moisture can cause paint to peel, and mold to grow. We'll share a solution to keep that moisture in check. Consumer Reports runs thousands of products through thousands of tests every year to find the ones that provide the best performance and value. But they also point out many to avoid. We'll share appliances that earned the not-so-prestigious do-NOT-buy recommendation. Plus, answers to your home improvement questions: Brian from Delaware and wants to know more about the best water softening systems to get rid of hardwater. Marta in Iowa has concrete steps that are separating from her driveway and needs a solution. Doug in Texas has a 30-year-old home and wants to know the best way to add insulation to his attic. Susan from Pennsylvania wants to know how to scare off a woodpecker eating away her home. Anthony is calling in with an odor coming from his stove top. Alberta from Arkansas wants to make it easier to open up her vinyl drop down windows. David from Oklahoma is asking how to clean his HVAC vents without spreading dust throughout the house. Jeff in Delaware is having a sulfur odor coming from his well even after having a filter installed. Joyce from Missouri needs help refreshing the grout on her ceramic tile. Josh in California needs help replacing 45-year-old copper piping with Pex. Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goz is joined by Siena College's Kelly O'Donnell Topics include A run-in with Don Mattingly sparked his interest in sports Deciding on Syracuse over a college soccer career Landing his first TV job in Alabama Gol-Tv and broadcasting soccer matches from around the world Joining the team at CBS6 Albany Leaving to join Siena College's Communications The future of sports broadcasting/career advice to his students Getting There With Goz is brought to you by Jared Lozier of Northeastern Insurance. If you are looking to save money on your business, car, or more call Jared today at 518-956-3753. Johnstone Supply in Troy has been serving the Capital District since 1945 for all your HVAC needs. For all heating, air conditioning and ventilating needs call Johnstone Supply at 518-272-5922. Or visit them in person at 2600 6th Avenue in Troy, NY.

Join us as Ken Goodrich takes us through the 7 Centers of Management Attention! In this fourth and final part of our 4-episode series, we'll be looking at the last part of the equation that ties it all together: Client Fulfillment. We know you'll enjoy this incredible episode, and hope you're finding value in Ken's BILLION-dollar building blocks for use to grow your business!

Frank thinks Kathryn looks well-rested after a night in a hotel. Kathryn and her husband went to a hotel when a swarm of bees or yellow jackets got into their HVAC unit. Frank would consider being a beekeeper if he had time. Frank has been busy with three TV shows: East Tennessee PBS Scholars' Bowl; Up Close; and Living East Tennessee. Frank recently recorded interviews with singer Logan Murrell and sports broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch. Frank guest hosted several episodes of Living East Tennessee on WATE-TV. The opening of their Halloween episode was used in a segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on October 31. Frank heard from several old friends who were surprised to see him on HBO. On Halloween, one of the families in Frank's neighborhood went trick or treating as nocturnal animals. The kids were dressed as a sugar glider and a bat. The mom was a fox. Kathryn's brother and family dressed as Jurassic Park characters. Frank's grandson Artie dressed as Voldemort and wanted an authentic-looking wand. This episode is sponsored by Steve's Tree Service. They have excellent ratings on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and neighborhood apps. Steve's Tree Service serves Knox, Sevier, Blount, Anderson, Loudon, and Jefferson Counties. Call 865-257-6214. Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/  Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and now Facebook. Find us on social media:  https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow  https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh  Thanks!

Should you buy a portfolio of homes instead of one at a time? What are the benefits of this? What are the downsides? Why would anyone want to do this and how do you go about doing it? In this episode Tom, with his experience with portfolio acquisitions, leads this weekend wisdom episode to get to the bottom of these questions.  --- Transcript Before we jump into the episode, here's a quick disclaimer about our content. The Remote Real Estate Investor podcast is for informational purposes only, and is not intended as investment advice. The views, opinions and strategies of both the hosts and the guests are their own and should not be considered as guidance from Roofstock. Make sure to always run your own numbers, make your own independent decisions and seek investment advice from licensed professionals.   Tom: Greetings, and welcome to The Remote Real Estate Investor. On this episode, I'm joined by   Emil: Emil Shour   Michael: and Michael Abaum.   Tom: And on today's episode, we're gonna be talking about portfolio acquisitions as well as portfolio management now, you know, obviously, with a portfolio, it's a little bit more money to get into the game and to buy multiple properties at once. But there are a ton of advantage. So within this episode, we're going to talk a little bit about reasons why some tips and different phases and acquisitions and management, and a little bit in between. Alright, let's get going.   All right, excellent weekend wisdom today. So we're going to be talking about portfolios. And for the conversation, I think I'm going to be really leading a bunch of it and Michael and Emil are going to be peppering some stuff in, but I'm going to talk about my experience in going through a portfolio acquisitions.   I'm going to start by talking about the benefits, and then we're going to go into the specific process some different ways to go about it. So Michael and Emil, I'm gonna I'll start but you guys can feel free to pepper in. So I'll start on the acquisition side, there's some benefit in buying portfolios in that you can deploy more money at once,   Emil: What is a portfolio for people who don't know what a portfolio is   Tom: Excellent hosting Emil. So a portfolio would be considered buying multiple properties at once from the same seller. So Roofstock has some cool features around buying portfolios, just a quick plug for the marketplace. But you know, these what we're going to…   Michael: And selling!   Tom: That's right, and selling so you know, but this, this episode is going to be agnostic to where you do your buying and selling as all of our advice is. But we're gonna be talking about Yeah, specific portfolio related stuff. So any other clarifying questions there for me Emil?   Emil: No, that was it. Continue, I'm sorry to interrupt.   Tom: Okay, so we're gonna start with benefits. So one of them as I was getting going, is the ability to deploy more money at once. Oftentimes, when I'm in acquisition mode, I have a target amount of dollar that I'm trying to spend. And it's much easier to get to a bigger dollar amount in buying multiple homes, right? Pretty, pretty straightforward. But there is for sure, some real benefit to that. The other benefit is, this is somewhat intuitive, it's kind of like going to Costco where you're, you can get a little bit of a discount, I'd say versus just buying individual properties. Oftentimes, when I'm submitting my offer on a property on a portfolio, I'll just sort of put a blanket dollar amount for both of them. And when I'm underwriting them, you know, I'll put in the specific individual numbers. But at a, generally speaking, in making that portfolio acquisition, you're usually to get able to get a little bit more of a discount to the marketplace.   The benefits on the operation side is typically portfolios are in the same market. So I love being able to scale a little bit quicker. In a market, perhaps this could lead to some discounts from the local property manager, because they're managing properties, perhaps even discounts related to the lender, or the lender, and maybe the lender, but the insurance as well. But generally speaking, you're OPEX can could see a benefit or a boon by doing things in a little bit of scale, just because you're able to get a little bit of economies of scales from the vendors, perhaps if you're able to negotiate that.   Michael: And what is OPEX Tom?   Tom: OPEX would be operational expenditure. So perhaps your property management fees all basically blanket for that right. Am I articulating that correctly? Michael?   Michael: Yeah, totally.   Tom: Any other benefits you guys see on the acquisition operation side that I may not have touched? Oh, I see Emil's is raising his hand. Emil!   Emil: I think one benefit to buying a portfolio is that you have less competition. I don't think people are as attracted to portfolios because you know, you have to you have to put more money down you're buying multiple you know, the seller may choose to only sell the portfolio right? I have these three properties. I will not sell them individually. You have to buy all three. So that will create less buyers I think. So if you play that right, you know you're doing I think that can be an advantage to you as the buyer.   Michael: I'm gonna I'm gonna push on you both a little bit. You both now have mentioned needing more money or the portfolio being more expensive but is it always?   Tom: Not necessarily, I think that like the cost per unit should be less, because you're in practice, you're getting a little bit of a discount. So but I mean, if I'm going to buy a super expensive house somewhere, right, I'll be deploying more money doing that, Michael, but yes, Michael.   Emil: Yeah Michael.   Michael: You can't just say my name and then assume you are  making your point.   Tom: That tone, it kind of works. It kind of worked   Emil: You're wrong. Here's why. Michael.   Michael: That's exactly the point that I was hoping to tease out of you guys that, too, by the same type of asset? Yes, of course, with more with more properties in a portfolio, that will be more expensive. But to your exact point, Tom, if you were looking to go buy a $500,000 single family home, or a $300,000 portfolio, I mean, you could do that. So the fact that it's a portfolio doesn't intuitively mean that it will be more expensive, even on $1 per unit basis, or on a just total dollar amount base.   Tom: Yep. Great point. Michael. See, I said your name that time.   Michael: It's not what you say but how you say it.   Emil: Inflection,   Tom: How you say it. So great point, Emil, great point Michael. barrier to entry less buyers. And Michael, you know, there's different ways to spend more capital, anything left here on the benefit side, or she would jump into some kind of tips and tricks along the way?   Michael: When it comes to the financing of portfolios, it can often be done a little bit differently. And so it can be really advantageous, depending on how you're going to finance it, there's something called Portfolio loans, they kind of have a double meaning people refer to them and use them in slightly different capacities, some people will refer to a portfolio loan that remains on the books of the lender, it's held in their own portfolio. And so that's technically a portfolio loan.   But then there are also Portfolio loans that actually spread across a portfolio, a single note across multiple properties inside someone's portfolio, that's also referred to as a portfolio loan. So you just want to understand who's using the term and what and how they're referencing it. But if you go get a portfolio loan, let's say across five properties, you get a single note that encompasses all five properties. That's only one loan. And that's not going to be a Fannie Freddie traditional or conventional loan. So that's not going to use up one of your 10, verses, you go finance those properties individually, if they're all single families, you're going to go use five, five loans of your 10 loan limit.   And so from just a ease of financing perspective, portfolios can be great. And then they also can be easier to cash out refi of or get a line of credit against, because they will often be looking at the total equity as opposed to individual properties. And then you can also Tom, as you mentioned, get savings when it comes to the actual financing costs, because you may only be originating one loan as opposed to five separate individual loans.   Tom: That makes sense, I'll walk through a little bit of my my use case, and then tease out some specific tips and stuff that I thought was effective along the way. So I bought a portfolio out of it Atlanta, it wasn't a big portfolio, it was three homes, but they were all in, you know, fairly nice neighborhoods, I within the offering process, I you know, offered on the three of them and got a little bit of a discount. And the seller was kind enough to let me set them up into unique transactions. So even though I like made the offer negotiation on as of the three of them at once, we are able to close the three of them separately, because I hadn't filled out my 10 loan loan limit. So I had individual loans and individual transactions.   Normally with a portfolio transaction, it would be just, you know, the single transaction to close all three. But in this particular use case that I had, I broke it up just because I wanted to take advantage of that cheaper financing that I had available.   Let's see in so I acquired them three separate transactions after the negotiating on them as individual, excuse me three individual transactions after negotiating them as a portfolio transaction. And then just load them all up with a property management that a company that I'd worked with before that I had a lot of trust in and was just able to kind of quickly scale that group up a little bit more with some more properties.   Some tips in in doing it I had alluded to this a little bit before but you know, really rigorously underwrite each individual property and come up with an appropriate discount. And, you know, with the sort of portfolio transaction, there definitely is something to getting a little bit more of a discount. So I had underwrote, each of them kind of came at a price and then added it all together and then like hair, cut it off another five or 10%. So in use that sort of as a starting place from it, and from the sellers point of view, like you know, who cares on where the dollar amount is going towards each one. I guess in this case, it did matter because we ended up doing individual transactions, but you know, thinking of it all kind of holistically together. The three properties that make up the whole of the portfolio.   Michael: Tom, I'm curious, in that transaction for a due diligence perspective, did you just look at one of the properties and kind of say, Oh, well, it's the same owner. So they're likely going to be in similar condition? Or did you do inspections on all of them? Talk to us about how you did that.   Tom: Yeah, so I did inspections on all of them. And the way that portfolio transactions are set up, there's a lot of flexibility. I've seen portfolio transactions where someone would have maybe, you know, 20 properties, and they're allowed a certain number of kick outs. So depending on the size of the deal you're doing, you can get kind of creative with that. And when I say kick outs, it means, okay, I'm planning to go buy, you know, 18 properties, I'm going to make an offer on these 20. And if two of them don't look very good, I can say, Nope, take that out of the portfolio transaction.   So there's really some flexibility in the way that these contracts can be structured, of doing these portfolio deals, and it's, it's like, oftentimes very much kind of creativity of the buyer and the seller on how they want to get comfortable to make the deal happen.   Michael: That's great.   Tom: What are some other kind of fun portfolio stuff. So I'd mentioned Roofstock has some really cool tools for for buying portfolios, go ahead Emil.   Emil: I keep raising my hand, I'm being very polite today.   Tom: Throw some elbows, Emil,   Michael: Class is in session.   Emil; In trying to remain neutral and unbiased on our podcast, what would you say are the disadvantages of buying a portfolio?   Tom: So downsides of a portfolio would be perhaps you you know, don't do the same rigor and underwriting property and individual property as you would in a portfolio, I could say that could be mitigated by by doing the work right by doing the same level of rigor, but you know, perhaps if it's like a bigger portfolio, maybe 20, homes, 50, homes, whatever, it can be hard to apply the same sort of, you know, level of diligence.   The other one is perhaps if it's in a market that's newer to you, or the property manager, is someone you know, you haven't really established that trust with yet, there could be an issue. And instead of just having, you know, one bad apple, that's going to be two bad apples, that you're managing with that with that property managers. But again, that can be mitigated by being really thorough in the way that you're evaluating your vendors. And, in doing that,   Michael: Another risk to think about is your aggregate risk from a natural catastrophe standpoint. And this is something we looked a lot at in the insurance world is if we have too many properties that we're insuring in this one general area, and there's a fire or a hurricane or a flood, it's going to damage all of those properties. So same thing, same risk to you as an owner operator, if there's a catastrophe in the area, that could affect all of your properties unilaterally. And so that can be problematic. So you just want to be sure that you have kicked butt insurance, sound type policies with great carriers.   Because what we saw happen in 911, to use as an extreme example, is a lot of insurance companies actually went out of business, because they had taken on too much risk in the area. And they just were paying out all these claims. And so after post 911, there are a lot of carriers that just went out of business. And so people think, Oh, I have insurance, that's great. But if the insurance company has taken on too much risk in an area, you could go out of business, which is a pretty scary thing to think about. So highly unlikely to happen. And I don't want people running to their insurance carriers, like Oh, my God, you know, I want to make sure you're still gonna be in business. But just something to think about as an operator getting heavily involved in a particular or singular geographic area.   Tom: Natural disasters, and other ones perhaps or something, if you're buying in a smaller area in something major happens the economy, you know, by by getting more concentrated in an area, there's there's a little more risk of a single point of failure. I would say I mean, that that doesn't keep me up at night. But in in the under the guise of coming up with more reasons why getting geographically dense with the portfolio would be a bad idea. That could be another reason   Michael: Something else is just systematic and habitual issues. So if the owner never cleaned the filters for any of the HVAC or HVACs properties like that might not come up in inspection, but you might start losing all of your furnaces simultaneously across the portfolio. So deferred maintenance, how one property is maintained in a portfolio is likely going to be indicative of how the other properties are maintained. Hence the reason for my prior question, Tom, about the due diligence, I think it is important to evaluate kind of each and every property to verify or nullify that, that assumption.   Tom: 100%. And to piggyback off of that point, perhaps the the seller, the properties are occupied and the tenants weren't screened properly, or perhaps the the previous property manager did a bad job and you're inheriting a hornet's nest of angry tenants. So, again, did I sort of single point of failure in doing that? But like I said, like I think in going through the proper diligence process those risks are can be mitigated quite a bit.   Tom: Awesome. All right, guys. Well, I hope you enjoyed the episode if you could, like subscribe, all that good stuff we always appreciate that. And as always, Happy investing.   Emil: Happy investing.   Michael: Happy investing.

Great conversation with Tim DeStasio from Southern Comfort Consulting And Service on how he chose his career path and his dediction to HVAC excellence. NiceJob for reputation marketing https://nicejob.grsm.io

This is the 9th installment in our coverage of Regeneration: Ending The Climate Crisis In One Generation by Paul Hawken – and today we're going to feel the buzz of ENERGY as we discuss renewable energy – green energy. We'll talk about electric cars and transportation methods, heat pumps to warm and cool buildings, and energy storage on large and small scales. If you're new to this series, I encourage you to go back to the introduction, and listen to the episode where I interview Paul, just before this book series began. That will provide all the context you need and get you thinking about what regeneration means to you. To make your discovery process easy, links to each episode are included in chronological order below time stamps. You can also visit CareMoreBeBetter.com for access to the complete series simply by clicking on the Regeneration Category of podcasts. Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction 02:30 Defining Regeneration As It Relates to Energy 04:51 Solar Power 06:20 JP Morgan Chase: A Culprit In Sustaining Fossil Fuel Use 07:45 Electric Vehicles + The Problem of Elon Musk 10:10 Geothermal Energy and Heat Pumps 12:44 Electrify Everything 13:48 Energy Storage, Battery Improvements + More 17:00 Microgrids 19:33 Summary + Takeaways 20:48 Next Week's Deep Dive Into Regeneration: Industry including Big Food, War, Fashion, Plastics and Poverty (wow -- big topics -- and a lot to cover!)   References:  Introduction to Regeneration: One Billion Climate Activists Strong: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/one-billion-climate-activists-strong/ Regeneration Interview with Paul Hawken: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-ending-the-climate-crisis-in-one-generation/  Regeneration Part 1 Oceans: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-1-oceans/  Regeneration Part 2 Forests: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-2-forests/  Regeneration Part 3 Wilding: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-3-wilding/  Regeneration Part 4 Nexus: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-4-nexus-climate-activism-tool/  Regeneration Part 5 Regenerative Agriculture: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-5-land-regenerative-agriculture-and-soil-restoration-to-reverse-global-warming/  Regeneration Part 6 People: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part-6-people-indigeneity-and-our-role-in-reversing-global-warming/  Regeneration Part 7 Cities: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part7-cities-green-architecture-living-building-challenge/  Regeneration Part 8 Food: https://www.caremorebebetter.com/regeneration-part8-food-localization-and-decommodification-to-end-the-climate-crisis/  Regeneration: Ending The Climate Crisis In One Generation was published on September 21, 2021 and is available at all your favorite booksellers. Visit the Regeneration website for details, resources, and valuable tools for anyone interested in becoming a climate activist.  Regeneration + Nexus: https://www.regeneration.org  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regenerationorg   Join the Care More. Be Better. Community! (Social Links Below) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCveJg5mSfeTf0l4otrxgUfg Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/CareMore.BeBetter/   Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter  LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better   Twitter: https://twitter.com/caremorebebettr   Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/CareMoreBeBetter  Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/care-more-be-better   Support Care More. Be Better: A Social Impact + Sustainability Podcast Care More. Be Better. is not backed by any company. We answer only to our collective conscience. As a listener, reader, and subscriber you are part of this pod and this community and we are honored to have your support. If you can, please help finance the show (https://www.caremorebebetter.com/donate). Thank you, now and always, for your support as we get this thing started

In this podcast, Steve Rogers from The Energy Conservatory explains some pro tips for pressure measurement.   There are three common types of pressure measurements: absolute, gauge, and differential. Absolute pressure is the pressure in a particular space in reference to a complete vacuum. (All absolute measurements use the zero point as a reference.) Gauge pressure uses atmospheric pressure as a reference point (which varies with altitude and location). Differential pressure relies on two connections (one of them is a reference point to the other).   The Energy Conservatory recently designed a manometer (DG-8) that differs from the standard manometers. The purpose of that manometer is to make pressure measurements in a more cost-effective way. Most manometers have similar sensors (diaphragms move with pressure, and the measurement read is the resulting difference in resistance). However, the DG-8's methodology can help it yield much more accurate measurements.    When dealing with small pressure measurements (like Pascals), the DG-8 is one of the most accurate manometers you will find on the market.   When you look at room pressure, keep in mind that pressurizing one room will depressurize another. Temperature differences also impact the pressure, and the HVAC unit can cause differences in pressure to arise as a result of temperature differences. When you run the kitchen or bathroom exhaust and expel a lot of air in your home, you can also bring the home under negative pressure; that can even cause your water heater to backdraft.   Steve and Bryan also discuss: Blower door manometers vs. DG-8 manometers Pascal scale Room pressures and air paths Infiltration and its effect on load calculations Dominant duct leakage Combustion appliance zone (CAZ) testing Mechanical ventilation and pressure Orphaned water heaters DG-8 and the TrueFlow grid   Learn more about the DG-8 HERE.   If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.   Check out our handy calculators HERE. Check out information on the 2022 HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium/.

The world of commercial water boilers can be a little bit confusing and overwhelming. One of the reasons is the technology has evolved immensely in a short period of time, and if you didn't keep up with the pace, you might fall behind. Luckily, Brad Carll (Camus Hydronics) and Jeff Henderson (Midwest Machinery) provide a great 101 discussion about boiler technology and operation.

Goz is joined by radio personality Candace. Topics include Growing up in San Diego How she landed her first radio job working at a gas station Landing a job at Syracuse's K-Rock 2010's Syracuse's 95X vs KRock's rivalry and how the "Zombie Walk Out" changed her career Moving east to Albany and her experiences on different music stations in the Capital Region Best advice to landing a job with a music radio station Getting There With Goz is brought to you by Jared Lozier of Northeastern Insurance. If you are looking to save money on your business, car, or more call Jared today at 518-956-3753. Johnstone Supply in Troy has been serving the Capital District since 1945 for all your HVAC needs. For all heating, air conditioning and ventilating needs call Johnstone Supply at 518-272-5922. Or visit them in person at 2600 6th Avenue in Troy, NY.

Listener topic suggestion: Union -vs- Non-union, what are the benefits/differences between the two for a trades worker? 

In this episode of the HVAC Uncensored Podcast Gil talks with Ben Poole HVAC Business owner and owner of the hit brand HVAC Tactical. They talk about the trade and different aspects both of dealt with but the big news is The AHR Expo. the AHR Expo 2022 will be Las Vegas. The day before Ben will have his 2nd annual award show giving back to the techs. Most awards are for sales these awards are for techs listen for details. You don't miss how to enter and how to get tickets to attend. 

Working with your family can be tricky...especially when it's your spouse. Brad Casebier, President of Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning joins To The Point to explain how he and his wife Sarah used their relationship to grow a 50 million-dollar powerhouse in Austin, TX. We talk about Brad's new book, Survival Guide to Working With Your Spouse and go through his journey from plumber to running an incredibly successful business with his wife!

On this episode of Tool Wife the Podcast, Kathleen and Brent give an update on life lately. There has been a lot going on and they're here to tell you all about it. For this week's topic Kathleen gives a great example of how the skilled trade industry offers limitless possibilities. There is so much value in the trades! 

This podcast is an MP3 version.

We chat with Chris and Cory from emotorsdirect.ca about some different motors commonly used in the HVAC industry and how they function. NiceJob for reputation marketing https://nicejob.grsm.io How HVAC Motors Work Article https://www.hvacknowitall.com/blogs/blog/767541-how-hvac-motors-work#.YXyCTlNE2DY

Happy Financial Freedom Friday and  welcome to the 800+ Financial Freedom Podcast. I am your host Financial Life Coach Selena G. Thank You for joining along with me as we discuss Home Maintenance On A Budget.How much to budget for home maintenance?One popular rule is to set aside 1%-3% of the home's value for a home-maintenance fund.Today, I am going to go over a checklist of common home maintenance items.1.) Have the HVAC system routinely serviced  2.) Replace air filters 3.) Vacuum air vents to remove dust4.) Clean garbage disposals5.) Clean out/lubricate window tracks**Don't forget to go on Amazon to purchase my new book " The Ultimate Guide and Tips Towards Financial Freedom". My book is filled with all the tools and resources you would need to take you to the next level financially. I am so glad that you have tune in to the 800+ Financial Freedom Podcast. Share it with your family and friends and leave a review. And always remember. 800 It's not a number, It's financial freedom. Be Bless!www.selenagibbons.com

On this episode of The Build Podcast, Matt and Tim Hill discuss all things maintenance: annual maintenance, seasonal maintenance, and all the things you need to think about after you've completed the house to make sure it continues to function in tip top shape. They'll also introduce some considerations for both pre and during construction that will help to support a “maintenance free” house – but really there is no such thing as a maintenance free house—but a house that will ultimately look, feel, and perform just as well.

Pam Pybas is the owner of Inspect It Like A Girl, a Certified Master Inspector, and a wealth of knowledge for homeowners and property investors. In this episode, Pam shares what she looks for during inspections, explains her rigorous process, and gives tons of tips and tricks for remote investors to keep their investments in top shape. Pam's links: Website: inspectitlikeagirl.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/InspectItLikeAGirlRidgeland Podcast: www.npr.org/podcasts/486075865/fix-it-101  --- Transcript Before we jump into the episode, here's a quick disclaimer about our content. The Remote Real Estate Investor podcast is for informational purposes only, and is not intended as investment advice. The views, opinions and strategies of both the hosts and the guests are their own and should not be considered as guidance from Roofstock. Make sure to always run your own numbers, make your own independent decisions and seek investment advice from licensed professionals.    Michael: Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of The Remote Real Estate Investor. I'm Michael Albaum and today I'm joined by Pam Pybas from inspected like a girl. And Pam is going to be talking to us today about all of the things that she looks for during her investor home inspections and some things and tips and tricks that you can do as an owner, both in your own home and your investment properties to help them last even longer. So let's get into it.   Pam, thank you so much for taking the time and joining me today. I really appreciate you coming on.   Pam: Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for the invitation.   Michael: Oh my gosh, I'm thrilled to have you here. You're a home inspector and your business is called Inspect it Like A Girl right?   Pam: That's right. Our tagline is inspected like a girl because we look better.   Michael: I love it. I love it. How long have you been? How long? Have you been inspecting homes?   Pam: I started in May of 2003. I'm in? Yeah, we're in Central Mississippi, Tri County area right around Jackson. Yes, Metro. Well, Mississippi didn't have a lot of Metropolitan. Yeah, we Yeah. Anyway, we're super smaller, tiny, teeny, tiny little state. But yeah, I'm in Central Mississippi. I'm from here. So my dad was a contractor. So that's how I got involved in it.   Michael: I was gonna ask okay, so you kind of grew up around construction and the home business.   Pam: I was cleaning job sites when I was in middle school. I was told my dad told me if I wanted dinner, I had to clean up the sawdust.   Michael: It sounds like he ran a tight ship.   Pam: He did. He did. My mom was a painter. And my brother was a finishing carpenter. So we the whole family was.   Michael: The whole family!   Pam: Mhm.   Michael: Oh, how great. Well, one of the reasons I wanted to bring you on today is just to give folks an idea about what to expect out of a home inspection. And I think a lot of things that come up in inspections really catch people off guard, and people make mountains out of molehills. So I would love if you could talk to us today about what are things that you're looking for when you go inspect a home? And what are maybe some things that sound like big things, but maybe really aren't such a big deal?   Pam: That's a great question. Um, you know, the, unfortunately, what's happened in the inspection industry is that the report sometimes is used to beat people up. And it turns into this big war over what we're going to fix and not fix. So I love that question. And especially from an investor perspective, you know, and I've been working with investors a little over 10 years now. And we actually do an investor inspection, which is, you know, my assumption is that investors know how to put the pretty on the pig. But they they're not real sure what, you know, from a general maintenance perspective, what are you going to be your big deals?   So when I'm working with investors, I'm looking at what's going to be your big ticket item. So your roof, what's your, what's the condition of that roof? How much? How much more time do you have with that roof? Now in Central Mississippi, we're going to be different than other parts of the country, because we have these things called hail storms. And   Michael: I've heard of it   Pam: Yeah, it's it's we had, we've had some catastrophic hail storms. And so you know, the condition of your roof, and you just have to remember from an investor perspective, what your insurance is going to cover and the age of that roof. So we just tried to give them, especially when we're dealing with remote folks, we take a ton of photographs, because we want to give you a really good idea of what that roof looks like. And we also we differ from some other inspectors, and that I'm trying to take as many photographs as I can because everything is digital now it's not like you're going to have a book or a thing of paper, it's going to be so we're going to take photographs of the roof all four sides, if we can get to it then we're going to give you a lot of photographs of the attic and what that looks like your access there. And so you know, because the roof could end up being a very expensive fix if you're gonna have to come in and put a new roof on you want your you know, deferred maintenance and all that.   So we're looking at the roof we're looking at you mechanicals, um, if you know how old is your heating air, we don't care much about heat here in Mississippi, we're a little bit   Michael: You've got plenty of it there.   Pam: We got plenty of the hot stuff, but your air conditioner because that's going to be a call of if a tenant gets moved in and they're not comfortable, then you're going to end up with a bunch of phone calls. So we're going to really look at that air conditioning system and how its installed. And I talk about this a lot on my own podcast is that even if you've got a newer system, if the whole system has not been maintained, you could really have some problems from putting a new system in.   So, we tried to, in our inspection, let the investor know, you know, you've got a new system in but your ductwork is old, and it looks like you're starting to get some condensation from that. So you may want to invest a little bit in sealing all that up, so that you don't end up, because I actually just did a, we do consulting work as well. And I had a client who had a tenant in a property, and you know, bless God bless them, just God bless them, all these tenants. But they're not paying attention. You know, and I tell people all the time, they're not, it's not a conspiracy against you. Because they didn't tell you something. The busy, they got kids, they got jobs they got, you know, there's a lot things there's a pandemic going on, and a lot of things going on, right.   So this tenant did not realize that there was mold in the closets, until it was catastrophic. And it was the result of an air conditioning job that got put in that wasn't done well. And so now we've got a problem that could have been fixed, you know, for a couple of $1,000 ended up costing over 80 grand to come in and do a roommate over media, I know drop jaw dropped the jaw,   Michael: Holy smokes, bringing the crane to pick up my job, the floor   Pam: Oh, it was a mess. And, you know, um, we were able to come in and work with this client and the insurance company actually paid. Guyana wrote her a check for 82 Five. Because, it wasn't the the system wasn't put in, right. And so if I could stress anything with your investors is I know property managers will do the spot checks, but what you really want to think about is getting an inspector in there on a yearly basis to make sure you don't end up with a situation where you're, you know, it's a couple $100 To get an inspector to go in there and check things like you know, water air conditioning, you know, water heaters, and, you know, so the other things we check, I don't know, somebody really needs to explain to me why we started putting our water heaters in the attic, helped me understand why somebody out that was a good idea.   Michael: I've never seen that before or heard of that happening. I don't think it's a good idea.   Pam: It's a horrible idea. And they do it a lot here in Mississippi. And one of the reasons that we get away with it in the south is because we don't have freezing temps see so we can throw the stuff or air conditioning systems in our wall. Well, what we found out was if you don't maintain that, and that water heater decides that it wants to go byebye, and then you know you got a rainstorm in your house. Right? Because I don't guarantee you that tenants not gonna go up there and check that pan to make sure there's no water in it.   Michael: No, no. And how are you supposed to exercise the pressure relief valve with it up there?   Pam: Well, then that's such Yes. How?   Michael: Interesting.   Pam: I know, I just it's just beyond me. We move in towards, you know these rental properties. Normally, you're not going to put a tankless water heater in there. That's huge here with our new construction. And Pammi even had one put in at my house built 58. About 15 years ago, I took all that crap out of my attic. And I stuck it I put my water heater tankless water heater on the outside of the house and put my air conditioning unit in a closet and we've lived happily ever after since then. But   Michael: Oh good.   Pam: Yeah, going back to the question. So we're looking at your big ticket items. So you know, your roofs, your mechanicals, your electrical. One of the things that we're seeing with our investors is that and I have a really good friend who owns a lot of investment properties in the Jackson area is she was she had to change insurance companies and she's got now she's got like four or 500 units, okay. And she for whatever reason, and we haven't dinner that the night she said yeah, we had to change insurance companies, and they made us do an inspection Have all the wiring and then they had to now something that she wasn't thinking about or anticipating as far as an expenditure, she's going to have to update all of her older panels. And drop. Yes, hello.   Now, if you've got 10 properties is a lot deeper than 400 properties, and she's not going to have to do them all. But you know, your electrical really needs to be maintained and checked, because the last thing you want is an electrical fire in a in a, you know, a rental house. So we check all that out. You don't have to bring it up to, you know, current building standards, that would be cost prohibitive. But we do need to look at some safety issues and make sure you know, things are safe, I guess. And some of these panels in these older houses have just moved beyond safe, they're just not safe anymore. So electrician needs to go in and check those breakers and make sure that they're popping off when they're supposed to, you know, when that wire overheats, we want that breaker to pop off. So we're looking at that I'm opening that panel up and checking all those wires.   And another thing, one thing that we do, and I remember the first time I saw somebody do this, it's scaring me to death. But we can take the back end of a screwdriver and pull it down, you know, and hit every one of those wires to make sure that they're in that breaker and that the breaker is on they're really, really tight. You'll be surprised how many of them are loose. But you don't need to Don't, don't go out there and do that that's willing that don't go do that, leave to the professional.   And then we're running. We're running water, you know, um, it's one of the things that we see here in Mississippi is we've got a lot of foundation issues on the slabs. And you certainly don't want to purchase a property where you've got a broken sewer line in the slab. And the way that there are some inspectors out there that do sewer scopes, I chose not to do that we work out of little mini coopers and I didn't want to put that equipment inside a car. I also don't want to pick up a toilet. You know, I'm an old lady. I don't want to do that. So you can get…   Michael: Seems reasonable.   Pam: Yeah, I mean, you know, scoping is nasty. I mean, when you scope when you pull it out.   Michael: Yeah, absolutely. It's a bit in the sewer.   Pam: I know, I'd spend the whole day vomiting if I ended it. So we gotta let somebody you know, that's why I never skimp on a plumber, because you just need a good plumber.   Michael: They're in their money.   Pam: Yeah, tell you what, now, daddy always said, shit rolls downhill. So I mean, you just don't leave that to those guys. Or ladies, I actually know some female plumbers, but um, yeah, those are, those are the things that we're going to look like look for an investment property. And then you know, other things like, we want to make sure that we've got a windows that open in bedrooms, and you don't want to have bars on the windows, those type of things that can affect your insurance, whenever you're trying to insure some of these properties. I'm trying to think if there's, you know, foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical, those are really air conditioning, those are big deals, and then we'll get into general maintenance.   So if you've got a lot of rotten wood, you need to go in and take care of it. Because it's rotten wood is like spoiled milk, you can put it back in the refrigerator is still spoil. So that rotten was not going away. You might as well go ahead and invest and getting that fixed and putting some paint on it. And you know, because it'll water you know, water is our biggest enemy of any house. So and the investor could actually think water is my biggest enemy. What do I what do I need to do to make sure that you know the property is not damaged by water? Because once you start that, if it's not rectified, it's just gonna get worse and worse.   Michael: And, Pam, one of the reasons I love being one of the co-hosts of the show is that we always joke we get to ask self serving questions. So in the interest of self service here, I have a question for you about HVAC.   Pam: Okay.   Michael: And I want to know, what are your thoughts on mini splits?   Pam: Love em!   Michael: How come? Low ducting?   Pam: Yeah, there's no yeah, the fewer the parts, the better. They're good and specific applications. The thing you got to be careful with is that if you've got a multi room, your split may not work as well, because you don't have service into you know, specific areas. So, you know, I'm, I'm kind of a nerd I read manuals on stuff. So check your, the manufacturer's specifications on a particular unit on the amount of square footage that it can cover. And then what you can expect if you put in like I've got a real open floorplan here. So I can put I could do if I wanted to do that I worked with a client on doing that in an older property. She had a sunroom that she had added. And it was it never felt right. And so we work to get her the, you know, the mini splits? What are those? Can't think of the name of, Mitsubishi. Got her a couple of mini splits.   She's Yeah, yeah, to put in that. And it really helped. She's kind of had an interesting situation because it was an older house. It's like 100 year old house, and the unit that she had put in, you know, when you start adding air conditioning to these older properties, you better be careful. Because if they're not used to it, and you don't have enough insulation, now, you've created a whole lot of problems with that as well. But I personally love them. But it's just like anything else, you really have to be careful on your application and make sure that you're using it with what the unit was intended for. Like where do you want to put it? You want to put it in rentals? Are you looking at putting it in a bonus room in your house? Or?   Michael: Yeah, thinking about putting it in my in my new primary?   Pam: Okay, yes. And like in a bonus room or something that's kind of split off from everybody else, or you want to do the whole house.   Michael: I'm thinking about doing the whole house. It's an older style Three, two, it's got thin, it's got little insulation in the wall. So I was planning on doing some some spray and insulation in there as well. And then putting a couple multi zoned mini splits.   Pam: You know what's cool about those and I haven't seen there was a guy here in town that I spent some time with that was doing those. Have you seen the ones where you hang them on the wall and their picture? It's, it's it's, yeah, it's like you can have it. It's artwork. And so it's up high. Oh, no, that's awesome.   Michael: That's really cool. I've seen the TVs that are like our artwork, but never heard of mini splits, you know?   Pam: Yeah. Yeah. And I haven't seen this guy was real into the energy efficiency and all that, you know, everything that goes with that. So I thought that is awesome. And they're pretty, you know, the newer ones are quiet. You know, all this is is the updated stuff we would have in motels. Right. Yeah. So in your situation, are you talking to them about maybe one condenser and then the two mini splits inside?   Michael: Yeah, exactly.   Pam: Yeah. That's what we did at this client's house. And she was she's, she loves it. So and if she knew I was alright. She would call me. I wouldn't know if she wasn't happy.   Michael: Yeah. Very good. Okay. Cool. Thank you so much for sharing and thanks, everyone listening for letting me borrow Pam's time here for a minute. I'm also curious to get your thoughts on what are some things that homeowners can do, either in their own homes as owner occupants or in their investment properties, whether they have a management company do it or they do it themselves, that are easy things to fix that are often looked over? Like the one thing that I'm thinking about is exercising that pressure relief valve on the on the hot water heater, right, draining the tank down, filling it up, exercising the pressure relief valve, little stuff like that Tips and Tricks you've picked up over the years that folks can do that are easy, that help extend the life of their ex mechanicals and expensive pieces of equipment.   Pam: Oh, boy, what a great question. I'm checking those GFIs popping those on and off, manufacturer of your ground fault interrupters that are in your bathrooms and kitchen says that you should test those every month. Because what will happen they're made out of plastic and they will freeze. And so you can go around and you can buy the testers or you can just use your finger and pop it on and off. Maybe   Michael: Don't you just use a fork you just stick the fork in there and then yeah, you will you know if it works.   Pam: Yeah, you could do that and curl your hair all at the same time.   Michael: Don't stick forks and electrical outlets!   Pam: Oh, arc faults nail are big. But I don't know that you would have that in a rental. But if you've got them in your personal home, the arc faults in your panels popping those on and off. We do those whenever we do an inspection. Um, I just came in and now my house is older and I redid the weather stripping on my windows and very easy fix. It was a weekend project for me. Um, my windows are older windows. So I found that that and we've been getting some colder winters down here. So I wanted to do that.   Um, I think I have my heating air equipment on a yearly maintenance. So I have them calm and it's so funny because I watch everything they did. I think that's worse. Yeah. I'm like, Okay, tell me what you're doing now. Um, so yeah, I like to know exactly what's going on. And then I'll tell you something and you can go, we've got an Inspect it Like a Girl YouTube channel, I'm in the process of really, really working on that right now.   Michael: Cool.   Pam: Something that people do not think about when it comes to indoor air quality is on an air conditioning system. Now, if you do your mini splits, you're not going to have to deal with this. But in really, for investors, too, it'd be so nice if you would pay attention to this part of the scenario. Air-conditioning works by pulling air in and pushing air out the where the place where it comes in, normally is in the wall. And that's where you would put a filter on, you know, either a monthly or three monthly, you know, three, I've got mine on about two and a half months, and I use those paper filters. What people don't pay attention to is what's behind the filter. If what is behind the filter is disgusting. Why do you have a filter? Michael: Yeah, it filters in the wrong place.   Pam: Yeah, it's just gross. And I've been inspecting for a long time now 1718 years. And I am just amazed at how many times I will go in, pull off the register on the return pull the filter down. And that is disgusting back there. And then I'll go in because we were one of the in, you know, if you're an inspector, this is an awesome idea. You open every single cabinet, and every single built in drawer, because you want to know if those hinges are work, you want to know if there's holes back there, and you're taking pictures of all of that stuff, because you can't see behind stuff. So we open everything and take photographs.   Well, I open up medicine cabinets, and there's all kinds of antihistamines and allergy medication. And if there's a baby in the house, there's all these drops, and I just My heart just breaks for that child, because the occupants have no idea that the house is making them sick. So if you could take that filter down, and look up in there, and if it's gross, get a shop vac or a vacuum cleaner, vacuum it out, now get in there with a rag and some soap. Don't use Clorox people.   Please don't use people think Clorox or water no killing them old. Well, no, you've just made a lot worse. Um, but get you some soap and water, get in there, clean the walls up, then go buy you some great stuff foam and seal all the edges so that the only air that's being pulled into your air conditioning system is coming from the return. Because if the seams where the wall hits the floor, if that's not sealed, you're pulling what I call negative air out of the wall cavity. I've seen it where it's open all the way up to the attic. So now you're not only pulling in nasty air into your air conditioning system, you're pulling attic air into your air conditioning system. So you just set it up to fail for high energy bills.   So sealing up the return is something anybody can do in there. I didn't know it. You know, I mean, I was around construction my entire life had no idea. And then when I got into inspecting houses ran into a guy who was doing this kind of stuff. So we came into my personal home. And I did that and sealed everything up. And I haven't been sick in years.   And then think about this too. And I am a write this book, there was one that came out years ago, our houses are making us sick. And I think air conditioning systems are making us sick. And it is because we're pulling in bad nasty air and distributing it in the house. So if your house is dusty, probably your return is not sealed up well. Because the dust is being redistributed because you're pulling the nastiness from the wall cavity and putting it in the house.   So seal up your return and then another thing and you know if you've watched any of any of the stuff on this pandemic, and they talk about well, when we're all going to be inside is when it's going to get worse. And then in the summertime summer months when we're all outside the numbers kind of went down. Well, what happens is in the wintertime, the flu is a viral type thing. So it's not really we share it with each other, you know, so you really share the flu more whenever whenever it's cold. But there's a higher incidence of people thinking that got the flu in the winter, well, I have a theory that is not the flu. It's carbon monoxide poisoning. Because carbon monoxide poisoning has the very same symptoms as the flu, nausea, headache. It will, diarrhea. I mean is. And if you're if your furnace is back drafting in any way, you know, you go home and you feel like shit. And then you go to work and you feel better. And you're like, Oh, I'm feeling better. And then you go back home and you feel like shit.   Michael: Oh my gosh. So what if it's that is wild.   Pam: I know when that crazy. I'm just so and I, I'll never forget when I was new, you know, a million years ago. You see his hair is real gray. Very gray.   Michael: It's a great!   Pam: Yeah, well, thank you. It's very popular. I'm a kind of a trendsetter with this gray hair.   Michael: I was gonna say yeah, ahead of the times. I love it.   Michael: Yeah, we didn't make this up. We've had this for like, How old am I? I'm 59. And I started graying when I was 30. So it's been a minute. I've had it!   Michael: Love it. Yeah. Love it.   Michael: Um, so when I was a new inspector, what will happen?   Michael: Okay.   Pam: Let me take this to the next step. So furnaces, gas furnaces. If you got too many splits, you're not going to have to worry, you're solving a lot of problems by just using your mini split. But fantastic. Yes, gas furnaces, which are awesome. I mean, they're fine. But if they don't draft right, or if it's an older unit that has a crack in the heat exchanger, then you are literally pumping carbon monoxide into the house. So in the wintertime, and it's not enough to kill you, it just makes you feel like you want to be dead. I mean, it just makes you so sick. When that furnace comes on, and it puts, and I tell everybody carbon monoxide alarms and don't get the I don't like the combo units, you know, if you've got tenants,   Michael: Okay,   Pam: What I like are the ones for carbon monoxide because carbon monoxide is heavy and it will hover and go low. So I like to have them plugged in, in the sleeping areas. And that would be something that your property manager would check on, you know, regularly make sure that they're plugged in and if they've unplugged them, you know, why did you unplug it? Well, because it kept going off. Well. Perhaps that would be something you'd need to tell me.   Pam: Yeah, it's like people taping their breakers open or shut rather because they keep popping off. popping off.   Pam: I'll fix that. Oh,   Pam: I'll fix that. Yeah. That's that's a duct tape. I'm right. Everything.   Michael: Yep, fixes everything.   Pam: So yeah. Oh, God, especially on plumbing. That's my favorite. Um,   Michael: Yes.   Pam: I was in a so when I was new, I was in this house. And it was empty and I turned on the furnace. It was in the middle. It wasn't wintertime. And when the buyer showed up, I was in the front yard puking. I mean, just vomiting and vomiting and vomiting. And I went I went back and I said don't go in the house. And when in my head was killing me and I turn the unit off and aired everything out and I felt better. And so and then, uh, you know, I went into this house one time this Pam's horror stories, and it was a tenant situation. And there were some babies involved that living there and I opened up the mechanical closet in the furnace flue wasn't even connected. I was like, How can these people…?   Michael: Oh my gosh, so is the best way to check for that kind of stuff, just simply having carbon monoxide detection? Or could there be an instance where it could be making you sick, but that's not enough to have the alarm go off?   Pam: It's Yeah, very true. That could definitely happen. So but so here's what   Michael: So what's the best way to check?   Pam: Um, well, having a having it in your bedroom would be a good idea. You can also maybe put one and I've seen this in newer construction will they'll have them next to the unit up in the attic, or they'll have one mounted in the closet. And so now with these smart houses, you can have these detectors that will tell you you know, it just shows up on your phone. Yeah, and let you know, it would probably even monitor your levels to let you know. I'm not as familiar with some of those but I always advocate I've got em in my house. Man even though my water Now is on the outside I put in a tankless gas tankless water heater, it's on the outside wall, so I don't have to worry about that. And my furnace is close to my bedroom but not in my bedroom. So which you can't do, by the way, don't put a furnace. And so that's a big no no for no water heater, it's a big gas water heater in a bedroom either. And people will remodel and they'll do that, or you can't have a bedroom next to a home. Don't have a bedroom next to a garage. You lost your mind.   Michael: Yeah.   Pam: People do it all the time.   Michael: People don't think about that kind of stuff.   Pam: They don't I mean, they don't think about it. And unfortunately, human nature is you don't think about it, too, you have a bad experience   Michael: Until it's too late.   Pam: Yep. Yeah, until it's too late. And so you know, what my job is, as an inspector is to try to give you as much information about the house so that you can maintain that house because it's an investment, it's biggest investment most of us will make. So why not? Why not maintain that. So that that your the return on your investment will be good, because, you know, you'll eventually sell that. And you would like to not have to, you know, give away the farm just because you've got so much deferred maintenance that in order to get the buyer to buy it, you've got to, you know, say well, I'll give you this much. Well, now your profits gone, because you didn't take care of it on a regular basis.   And I say this is just my motto. Now I talk about this on my podcast all the time, the best house is a frequently inspected house. So I personally have I have inspectors working for me, and I have my house inspected every four years. So I know, in my personal home, I mean, I don't just preach that I live that because I want to take care of my investments. Because eventually, you know, Pammi is gonna sell this and go to the country and throw a lawn in the pond and not worry about anything.   Michael: Yeah. That's such a good idea. And I don't know why it never occurred to me to do that before it makes so much sense.   Pam: It does. I mean, it's the worst phone call idea is the client who says, oh, yeah, it's a great house, one owner, they've been there 40 years, and I'm like oh shit, I'll be there for forever.   Michael: Never had an inspection.   Pam: Never had an inspection, Papa's come over, Hey, honey, I'll fix that for you. He was just like, man. Yeah, yeah, there's gonna be a lot going on there. So, you know, I talk, we do a general maintenance inspection. And we've actually started doing quite a few of those, you know, so people can protect that investment and take care of things. And sometimes it's because they've had a bad experience a water heater that blew up or, you know, a storm or.   And another thing I tell people to is a remodel inspection. You hire that contractor and you trust them. But human nature is you're only as good as your worst employee. So if you've got, you know, if you've got somebody that you're trying, and it's not their fault, they didn't really know. But if nobody's watching, you know, you write your last check, and they're gone. And then you get a home inspection in a couple of years, and you've got to pay to fix all the things they didn't do right.   Michael: That is such a good idea. That is such a good idea.   Pam: I'm just full of them Michael, just follow them.   Michael: I can see that. Which, which actually leads me to my next question. I mean, you're only in Central Mississippi, which is a real shame. I wish we could make carbon copies of you and have you everywhere.   Pam: Me too! I've been thinking about that for years!   Michael: Yeah, that's, that's the next great business idea. That way you can go get your line in the water tomorrow.   Pam: That's right.   Michael: And not feel guilty about it.   Pam: That's right.   Michael: How do how do people vet their home inspectors? I mean, are they all created equal? Is there a national standard? What What should people be looking out for?   Pam: No they're not created equal? Just like anybody else, you know, daddy used to always say, You know what they call the guy with the lowest grade passing grade and medical school?   Michael: What's that?   Pam: Doctor.   Michael: Yeah. That's so true. That's so true. Isn't that a scary thought?   Pam: Yeah. Um, I would and I tell I actually talked about this, you want to get online see the best your best friend is Google, or Yelp, or Angie's List? Look at those reviews. And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say something here that makes me not real popular with the real estate community, but I really don't care. Um, I'm not going to use the inspector, my realtor recommends until I vetted that inspector So, you know, because it's the fox watching the henhouse sometimes.   Michael: Yeah, yeah.   Pam: So that your inspector by looking at their credentials, you can go either to well, you just Google it, put that company in there, or just Google home inspectors in your area, and then go through and look and see what do other people who've worked with them have to say about that inspector? Or that company? Let me get rid of this. So that really is the biggest thing to me. And then you may want to look at how long have they been doing it? And what other credentials do they have? Like, right now? Well, I've got a contractor's license, I'm ICC cert International Code Conference certified is to be residential builder license. I've got I'm a member of all kinds of associations, continuing education is kind of a passion from I just love it. I love going to the you know, yeah, we're finally going to have an in person conference. But I love going to these things and sitting down and asking a lot of questions. So see if your inspector is involved in their inspector community. And also, if they're involved in a continuing education, what are they doing to and when was the last ask him, What was the last class you took?   You know, and even I do on our podcast, Fix it 101, Jeff is the contractor on there, he's, and he's Past President of Mississippi Association, or Home Builders Association. And he will say, when you get ready to hire a contractor, ask Him for who they're working with now and get their phone number. And give him a call? How was it? What was your experience? Like? How was your experience? So with the online stuff, now, you can go to Facebook, you can go to all these different things and just ask next door. I love that app. You know, when you put home inspector, you know, who would recommend a home inspector just see what they say, if people have had a good experience, then they'll let you know.   Michael: Oh, yeah.   Pam: And then I want to know how long they're going to be there. That's a really important question. And I tell people all the time, if you want a cheap inspector, we don't sell those here, we don't sell cheap inspection at Inspect it Like a Girl. You know, that's if that's what your budget calls for. And that's what you want to do, you can find somebody out there that will do do a cheap inspection. But a cheap inspection could end up costing you 1000s of dollars. So you want I want to know how long you're going to be there. On average, we are on site twice the amount of time that our competition is.   So we're spending, it takes time to run, for instance, one of the things that we do in a full home inspection on a second floor is I'll go up to the second floor, and I'm running bathtubs up to the overflow. Because guess what? A lot of times they're not connected on your own…   Michael: Right, right.   Pam: All right. So but I don't want to create a rainstorm on the first floor, that makes the sellers kind of mad whenever that happens. So   Michael: I can imagine.   Pam: Yeah, so I have to kind of watch that. And make sure I get it to overflow, and then let it run, you know, maybe two or three minutes more than I'm going to take my thermal camera, go back downstairs and shoot that gun up to where that tub is. And if I have a black spot starting to show up before it comes through the shape rock, then I know that there's a problem there that that takes time. You know, if you're going to be there 30 minutes, what are you doing?   Michael: Yeah, what could you possibly be getting done?   Pam: What could you possibly be getting done, even in a Cabbage Patch house, and that we call cabbage patch patch anywhere from you know, 900 to 1100 1300 square feet, two hours minimum, to, you know, to get all that done? And then we like to ask your inspector, what's their review process. And what I do with my out of town investors is that we do a zoom call, and I take them through the entire report. And I break my reports into repair and general maintenance. So these are some things, these could be some deferred maintenance things. These are things you probably want to take care of right now. And then do they offer what we call a repair check inspection.   So and I do that a lot with my out of town investors because if something's fix, how are you going to know? And so we'll go back and you know, and make sure that everything's done right and regenerate that report with the repairs in there with the photographs. And this is what was done. Oh, So those are a few things that you want to do when you're when you're vetting an inspector, and then just what is there? If do they offer any type of volume discount, and we do that my folks are buying a bunch of properties here, we'll help you out. I'm not gonna, you know, I still have to make a living, I still have to, you know, pay my bills, you know, but if you're going to give me a volume, like we just finished 49 houses for some out of state investors, and we gave them, you know, some discounts on that, to get all those properties done. So I'm trying to think that would be, you know, is that helpful?   Michael: That's extremely helpful. That's extremely helpful. Yeah. Because I think that's one of the issues people run into is there's so many choices, how do you know, analysis paralysis, how do you choose? So this is some really great actionable takeaways that folks can use in the field, when we're looking for folks to inspect the properties.   Pam: And 2 when your remote. Okay, so when I'm dealing with folks, they want to know, they want to make sure that that report is easy to read, they don't want to get lost in the weeds, you know, and that's been something I've worked very well. And maybe it's because I'm female, but my presentation, I want it to be easy. I want a seventh grader to be able to go through that now I can tell you exactly what's going on. So I won't, I want you to be able to read that report and have an idea. And then the repair person, I ain't got time to answer questions from a repair guy that's walking recalls, and he's on the roof. And he wants to know where the nail pop is. Probably I just don't have time to stop what I'm doing. And plus, I don't remember where the nail pop is.   Michael: Go look at the report. Yeah, picture in there.   Pam: There's a photograph with a circle around it. This, you know, so everybody's on the same page about, you know, where everything is. So when you're talking to these inspectors, you know, find out get a sample report. You know, what, what kind of reporting software are you using? And if you get one of those, and it's hard for you to read it. You know, I'm not trying to impress you with my report writing skills and make you think I'm really smart. Because I'm, I'm really not, most of this is common sense. And so I just want to put it in a way that where you can understand it, I'm not going to get real technical, and because I'm just not that smart anyway. But you want to look at the report, you know, so you can read it, and you know what's going on, especially if you're long distance.   Michael: And it's useful.   Pam: Yeah, yeah, you want it to be useful. And then you've got a point of reference. So I know, okay, I've purchased this property, then I've got this report. And then, you know, we really recommend I've been, I've been pitching this idea for a while, is annual inspections. So if we do your inspections, let's say that the 49 that we just did, and they want us to do annuals for them? Well, they've got a baseline on every single house. So let's say they get a tenant in there, that's cooking meth in the back. Well, you know, we're going to go in, and we're going to take a bunch of photographs of all this stuff. And now you can see, well, that wasn't there whenever I bought this.   Michael: Yeah.   Pam: Or the you know, the telltale signs, the you know, all the chlorine under the sink and the hole up at the top. And anyway, that type of stuff. So you just have a baseline for every property, and then you can maintain it and maintain your investment for as long as you want to have it.   Michael: So good. Pam, this has been absolutely fantastic. I want to be very respectful of your time and let you get out of here. But for for those of us for those listening, what is your podcast called? And how can folks get a hold of you if they want to utilize Inspect it Like a Girl services or have more questions about Central Mississippi?   Pam: um, the podcast is Fix it 101. And it's you can download on, you know, Spotify, Apple, whatever, any of those things. And it's run through our local Mississippi Public Broadcasting. So NPR and so you can find it that way as well. We do have a live show on Wednesdays and we've got folks listening from all over. I mean, we get we had an email from Korea. Like really?   Michael: Oh, how cool.   Pam: It was awesome. But you can listen to that. And we're talking about general maintenance stuff. It's not an inspector podcast. It's a you know, how do you maintain and we've got a contractor on there and it's DIY projects and you know, and it's actually quite funny. We have a really good time so Fix it 101.   And then you can if you've got any questions about the central area, you can reach us through our website, inspectitlikeagirl.com. We've got an Inspect it Like a Girl YouTube channel, you can email us the web, if you go to our website, it's got a, all our email information in there. And we can help you. We also have an on on a website where you can go on if you're looking at properties and put all that information in and then my office will give you a call and kind of give you an idea of scheduling and pricing. And then if you are going to buy bulk in our area, that would be something that they would then give to me and I would take a look at that. And we'd work out some pricing and scheduling all that kind of stuff.   Michael: Fantastic. Well, Pam, thank you again for taking the time. This was so wonderful, and I'm sure we'll be chatting soon.   Pam: All right, thanks, Michael.   Michael: Alright, everybody that was our episode a big big big thanks to Pam I know I had a blast. Definitely check out her website and YouTube channel Inspect it Like a Girl, or her podcast. And if you liked the episode, feel free to leave us a rating or review wherever you listen your podcasts. We look forward to seeing you on the next one. And as always, Happy investing

How in the world is a business owner supposed to take time away from their business?! We're taking your calls and emails as usual, this was sent in from a listener. We hope it helps! 

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today, we invited Peter Capuciati. He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Bluon Energy, a fast-growing company with a mission to bring unparalleled innovation to the HVAC industry by empowering HVAC technicians. Peter is in charge of Bluon's overarching vision, strategy, and execution. Peter's distinct experience, which combines in-depth, one-of-a-kind technical knowledge with an unusual ability to identify and design multi-faceted business plans, enables him and his team to capitalize on possibilities and routes that others just cannot. Peter is daring in his pursuit of these routes, as seen by his previous career as a visionary commercial real estate thinker and his present approach to directing Bluon's transformation from a unique refrigerant manufacturer to a first-of-its-kind app-based support platform HVAC online marketplace. Tune in to this exciting episode! You'll love this

Bonus Episode@abbldgoperator sent in a question for your listening pleasure! Thanks Viktor

The industry legend that trained industry legends, Terry Nicholson, Chief Success Officer for PRAXIS S-10 joins us for part two of his incredible story of his decades in the trades! Chris and Tall Paul talk with Terry about the evolution of marketing and branding in the trades, about the formation of PRAXIS-S10, and how YOU can fix problems in your business by having an internal focus.

Online shopping had become very common nowadays. You have to recognize that there a massive opportunity here. Think outside the box if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. Join hosts Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch as they engage in a powerful conversation about eCommerce in the HVAC industry with Nick Fleetwood of Fleetwood's Mechanical Services, Inc. Fleetwood's carries products to cover all HVAC needs, from a full ductwork line to complete heating and cooling systems. Join in and learn more on how to sell online successfully! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! servicebusinessmastery.com

My Guest today is Harry Smith. Harry is an author, former public accountant, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Can you imagine moving to a new city at the age of 37 and taking over one of the largest private companies in that city while it's facing chapter 7 bankruptcy? After growing up in Florence, Alabama, Harry was recruited to Memphis, TN, to take over Schilling enterprises. As of 1980, Schilling Enterprises ( real estate, HVAC, trucking, automobile sales, and the auto parts industry) had over 100 Million Dollars in revenue with over 1,000 employees. After large contracts with Ford Motor company created significant consequences for Schilling Enterprises, Harry led the turnaround effort, saved Schilling Enterprises, and turned it into a successful ownership group that acquired and sold automobile dealerships. In Addition to his work with Schilling enterprises, Harry also owned Schilling Farms (448 acres outside of Memphis, TN and partnered with and later sold to Boyle Investment Company), was a partner in Circle Y Saddles (the largest saddle manufacturer in the U.S.A.) and much more! This is a fantastic episode where you'll learn: Why growing up with a single mother taught him entrepreneurship and work ethic at a young age   What he did to survive when taking over a company in dire straits.    How to buy it right. How he analyzed and acquired underperforming businesses and turned them into valuable assets   Why his success boiled down to the importance of him finding the right partner   Why He's grateful for second chances   And much more!   Please enjoy this week's episode with Harry Smith! Links: https://www.amazon.com/Driven-Deliver-Harry-L-Smith/dp/1936670399 https://circley.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company https://www.visitflorenceal.com/ https://boyle.com/ https://boyle.com/communities/schilling-farms-community/