Why Every Investor Needs a Great Home Inspector | Real Stories Inside

Kristen Knapp (01:31)
Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m Kristen Knapp, and I’m here with Barry Saugen of Barry Saugen Inspections. We’re going to talk all about home inspections and why it’s such an important part of the process, and you shouldn’t overlook it. Thank you so much for being here, Barry.

Barry Saugen (01:43)
Thank you for having me. It’s an honor to be here. I appreciate it.

Kristen Knapp (01:46)
Yeah, so let’s kind of start at the beginning. I know that you have a great background in real estate. How did you get into the inspections world?

Barry Saugen (01:51)
I actually got my license as an agent in 96 and I had a family member that got in the inspection business. I liked it a lot and having the construction background that I have, I leaned into that for quite a while and really enjoyed it.

Kristen Knapp (02:04)
What was your construction background before?

Barry Saugen (02:06)
So I was actually, between my uncle and my father, I built freeways, building paths, and then when that was slow because of rain or something, worked with my uncle doing remodeling.

Kristen Knapp (02:15)
Wow, that’s really cool. What was the hardest part about that job?

Barry Saugen (02:18)
Okay.

Working with my dad. My dad’s a nice guy, but he always said, you know, I got to make the example out of you because I think you’re getting favored. So when somebody else made a mistake, I still got a little bit of gruff about it. Yes.

Kristen Knapp (02:20)
Yeah. ⁓

Well, you have to, yes.

And now it’s kind of full circle because now you’re working with your son, correct?

Barry Saugen (02:36)
Exactly, yeah, it’s fun. He’s doing a great job. I’m actually real proud of him. He’s been doing this almost five years, working as an assistant and two inspections and the clients are giving great reviews. I’m very proud of

Kristen Knapp (02:48)
That’s awesome. I mean, it’s great that he naturally wanted to get into the business.

Barry Saugen (02:52)
Yeah, it’s really helpful. He’s I’m just I’m a proud dad, guess, but he’s definitely doing a good job and he’s definitely the future.

Kristen Knapp (02:59)
Awesome. talk about kind of when you started this home inspection business and what that looked like.

Barry Saugen (03:04)
So I started the home inspection in 1999. We’ve done over 25,000 inspections. It was this new thing. Not a lot of people knew about it. It was still a bit of the wild, wild west. It was very interesting in beginning stages when it came, especially to California. Started doing the inspections and I got the bug when I saw, well, very first few inspections, I had a new buyer and I saw the light go on in their head when I was showing them something that was going on and it helped them with their home and it sort of.

bit of a teaching but also educating, helping. And later on I learned it’s also can save lives. I’ve had some circumstances that were pretty scary, you know, like a gas flu that’s leaking in a crawl space and the families that wonder why they’re getting sick and you happen to be the one to find it and take care of it. it’s just, the business has many rewards besides being in the business. It’s just helping people. It’s just huge. It makes you feel so good. And it’s like, you know, you touch somebody else’s life in a better way.

Kristen Knapp (03:51)
Nah.

Yeah, I mean, that’s such an interesting point. I don’t know that I would have thought of that, where you really are saving people’s lives in some circumstances.

Barry Saugen (04:04)
Yeah,

are some times like that. I’ve had pretty bad situations. We had a house that caught fire in the middle of an inspection before. I’ve had crazy stuff where during the bank foreclosure times when it was real crazy, I’ve had people trying to steal a copper out of the house as I’m doing an inspection. mean, the business is bizarre, but it’s very rewarding.

Kristen Knapp (04:21)
Yeah.

So I actually, lived in an apartment where I was basically being just inundated with mold. I had like really bad mold poisoning. So I understand the importance of these inspections and you know, the person who found it, I was just so grateful. Cause I was like, am I dying? Like I don’t know what’s happening. Like I don’t know why I’m feeling so sick.

Barry Saugen (04:39)
Yeah, it definitely has.

Yeah, and that’s sometimes very hard to find. you know, getting the right guy also that has the background or can say, hey, this is looking this direction. You need to head that way and get better information. That is invaluable.

Kristen Knapp (04:55)
Yeah,

what’s one of the craziest things you found in a home inspection?

Barry Saugen (05:46)
craziest one I had, it’s a little bit of a safety call, but it was very bizarre. I was doing an inspection one time and the homeowner, the seller happened to do his own electrical. And as I opened the electrical panel, not being able to tell behind it, it’s one of those you can’t see, can’t know, well, he had taped the large 240 lines, electrical lines to the

each other in the connection in the box but when you open up it was loose and it actually lit up the box hit me with electricity and I fell back into the realtor behind me. So it’s definitely some crazy stuff you see. There’s a lot of safety things that people don’t think about but the other side of it is it’s a funny story is I had a turn to downturn like 809 time I had a guy come up to me all I want is

Kristen Knapp (06:22)
Yeah.

Barry Saugen (06:30)
this house, know it’s a bad shape. I just want you to find me one good board so I can make a remodel versus getting a complete rebuild for the house because he was going to do a major overhaul. As I’m talking to him, I just leaned in a little bit on the wall and I actually fell in about this far into the wall. that bad. So you see some crazy stuff. It’s an adventure. It’s fun. Your mold story. I’ve opened. I’ve actually walked away from a few inspections because I’ve opened doors and it looks like string just coming down a mold.

Kristen Knapp (06:49)
Wow.

No.

Barry Saugen (06:59)
So

you see all kinds of fun stuff and there’s the great things and you see the happy family and they call you later on and they’re moving somewhere else and they take care of a few problems that were health issues and we help them understand what’s going on or even when we do our maintenance inspections for some of our clients, it helps them save money. It’s just a rewarding thing. I mean, yes, you make a living. Yes, it’s a nice living, but there’s a lot of reward.

Kristen Knapp (07:21)
Yeah, how, like, you know, when you walk into these houses and you’re not really sure what to expect, and some of these times you might get injured or, you know, electrocuted, how do you protect yourself?

Barry Saugen (07:29)
Yeah.

So, I like to say it’s a lot of common sense. There are people that have actually passed away doing this job. Unfortunately, we’ve had somebody a couple years ago fall off a roof in another state and he got hurt on the way down and didn’t make it. Another guy did not use what he called the selfie sticks and he usually got too close to the power lines overhead and he didn’t make it. These are things I’ve heard through our association, which is…

great for teaching us and that’s one of the things the inspectors really should do is follow up with their education, know, keeping themselves safe, learning anything from ladder safety to common sense safety. There’s so much else.

Kristen Knapp (08:05)
Yeah.

Yeah. And is there a big training process? Because you have many employees working for you. How do you kind of train people?

Barry Saugen (08:11)
We have just the family business, but in the industry there’s a lot of people from one man shops to multi inspection firms. They definitely have to keep up with their education. You have to do so many hours every year. I also do what’s mentoring for other companies. a couple of guys down south. I talked to them quite a bit and helped them out with their inspection business. It’s definitely a lot of ongoing training, learning, adapting. One of the things I love to say with the

InterNACHI is going back a few years when COVID first hit. It didn’t take them long to get the information, get something together to teach us how to handle it so we could properly inspect. And that was nationally, and then they went to a state level. They did a wonderful job. And so the education is always important, even on something that just pops up, know, in common sense that plays a lot into it. And that’s really where you have to look at is just that and experience.

Kristen Knapp (08:49)
Wow.

Yeah.

When you said that, you know, when you first started out with this in the 90s, it was the wild, wild west. Did that mean, do you mean like the inspections were very loose or did it?

Barry Saugen (09:45)
So when I first saw my first home inspection, it was, there was really no industries. There was no, of the big associations. And the guy I’d seen offered an inspection report, I think for, I’m just going to say 150 bucks. It was pretty cheap back then. He was doing 10 a day and he literally had one piece of paper. He wrote a few notes on and that was your inspection. So there was no standards. was, it was wild, wild less than.

When I got in, they just started establishing that and it got a lot better. So that’s when I felt it was okay. But there was still a lot of interesting things. Like honestly, in a report format, inspectors can’t say the word mold because that takes a lab to diagnose because cheese is mold. It’s not gonna hurt you. But you have to see something, identify and say, we need to these right people involved.

Kristen Knapp (10:21)
⁓ yeah.

Mm.

Barry Saugen (10:32)
make sure that for like in your case say you should get a mold inspection this is what we see this is why we’re recommending it this is your next step that’s the important part and then you get that and it gets confirmed in the lab and helps you even better make a decision what you need to do yeah

Kristen Knapp (10:43)
Yeah, absolutely.

And I actually noticed that when I was going through it, that mold is a very like, I don’t know, people dance around it and there’s different ways to inspect it. And yeah, it was interesting to kind of live through that.

Barry Saugen (10:58)
Well, a funny note, the whole reason I call it the Wild Wild West is when it was becoming an issue, I consulted with an attorney who’s well known in the industry. And his basic comment was, if you’re not certified, licensed, educated, and you got everything that’s taken care of, don’t say the word mold. Say water damage, some type of environmental something, and refer it to them. Because back then, was, like I said, it Wild Wild West. He goes into courts.

You could be perfectly right to lose on that subject. So you have to say, hey, we noticed something, we’re not the expert, we recommend you go see this guy or this type of person.

Kristen Knapp (11:29)
⁓

Yeah, that’s so interesting. So, you know, as people are buying new properties and needing home inspections, what’s a misconception or something you wish more people knew?

Barry Saugen (11:41)
The biggest thing I’ve noticed in the last year is sometimes people will come up and say, you know, and of course everybody’s worried about money because the economy is a little different now. But I’ve had somebody say, well, you’re only there for an hour and a half, two hours. And I said, well, yeah, we are only there for an hour and a half, two hours. However, you’re bringing the experience, the knowledge, you know, and things like that. And one of the other things I’ve noticed in California, I can’t speak for the rest of the states, there’s no license, I mean, excuse me, no insurance required.

There are home inspectors out here doing inspections without insurance. And they’re doing low cost stuff. They’re like, oh, this guy’s $300 cheaper than you to check his insurance. Because as we all know, insurance is crazy and expensive. But if they don’t have it, they can charge less. And when there’s a problem, they disappear.

Kristen Knapp (12:11)
Wow.

Right. And I mean, you just talked about how much risk is involved showing up to these houses. So even if you’re just there for a couple hours, you’re really risking yourself and your safety.

Barry Saugen (12:34)
There’s a lot of risk. mean, one of the ones that most people don’t think about, it’s a simple one, is when you’re crawling around under the house and there’s that one nail you don’t see and you cut your head and if you don’t iron up on your tetanus, it’s a small thing, but you got to go to the tetanus lot. I mean, just, I’ve had dogs attack me, I’ve had people attack, you know, we did an inspection one time, the agents never told anybody we were coming. The tenant happened to be an off-duty officer who was in his sleep time and he came out with a gun and pointed at you.

So, you one of things I always tell everybody, don’t go in wearing a shirt that’s not identifiable and have a card with you. And, you know, and I always walk in the house. This is great for any inspector out there. I always walk in the house. I’m allowed. And I’m not going to say it really loud for the show here, but I’m screaming real estate, real estate inspector. I don’t want a surprise. It’s not what I want to deal with.

Kristen Knapp (13:06)
right?

Right.

You’ve learned the hard way on that one. Everyone be nice to your real estate or your inspectors.

Barry Saugen (13:26)
Yeah.

Yeah, you hope so. it’s, you we’re not the bad guys. We’re just showing you what we see. And, know, but we’re always, we always have to deliver the bad message. So they always get mad at us.

Kristen Knapp (13:37)
You’re the messenger.

Do a lot of people kind of ignore some of your suggestions?

Barry Saugen (13:42)
Yeah, there’s a lot of things like electrical panels that will be recalled or not there people won’t update them and they have a fire risk and you go back five years later because the house is not selling the higher you look at this the same panel nothing’s changed Glad the house didn’t burn down, but you know, it’s still a concern

Kristen Knapp (13:43)
Yeah.

Wow. So what are things that people overlook that are actually a big deal, like that you keep seeing?

Barry Saugen (14:05)
The biggest one that’s very economical. I see a lot of people just overlook smoke detectors and carbon monoxide. And like from the garage door, it leads from the garage into the house. They don’t adjust them right. So there’s a little bit of gap which can lead to, you know, in a bad situation of a fire, which in the United States, more fires start in the garage and where else in general.

Kristen Knapp (14:11)
wow.

Barry Saugen (15:08)
That allows that smoke and that fire to get in much quicker.

that door and the firewall is designed to buy time to get the human out. And sometimes seconds mean life and death.

Kristen Knapp (15:17)
Mm.

Absolutely. And I hear, you know, not directly related to that, but just things that people, you know, should keep up. I hear roofs are really important to keep up.

Barry Saugen (15:29)
Grooves are, yeah, they’re an expensive thing. Nobody does anything until they have to on a roof. And you can spend, in my area, it’s not uncommon to spend 25, $30,000 on a 2,000 square foot home to get a roof done. And it’s very expensive, but the little maintenance items of keeping it clean, keeping the gutters taken care of so you don’t have roof rot or eave rot or any other damage in the area, keeping your flashings tightened up, those things are small cost items that save you big money.

Kristen Knapp (15:56)
Yeah, right. You pay now or you pay later, essentially. Yeah, I like that, that’s good. And what advice would you give to people who might not want to do an inspection because it’s a new build?

Barry Saugen (15:58)
Definitely. Yeah, nickels today are dollars tomorrow.

On new builds, there’s a few inspectors actually specialize in how bad it is on some of these homes. I just did one a few months ago that was rather interesting. The painters had to go up and do the finishing touches and the guy got up on the roof while I’m there. So I saw what he’s doing. I grabbed my camera right through the windows. taking pictures. He’s walking on the new tile roof and he broke that I could tell like 1920 tiles that I could see. He kept walking and doing paint touch-ups.

They basically probably had to fix 25 to 50 % of that roof just to get it sold at the end. And that was just literally a month and a half, two months ago.

Kristen Knapp (16:40)
Wow.

Wow. Yeah, so you need inspections.

Barry Saugen (16:46)
And always tell people new homes are wonderful for so many things but the one thing you don’t think about when you get a new home is what’s the neighbor going to actually develop into? What’s the soil that house is sitting on? If that’s a bad soil from say the old farmers property and they’ve done that was their diesel dump area which I’ve had a personal friend go through this. They have to the whole house down rebuild everything. It’s a whole nightmare to take out all the dirt. It’s just a nightmare.

Kristen Knapp (16:50)
Yeah.

Mm.

Yeah.

Wow. Yeah, there’s so many little things that you have to think about when you’re investing or buying. And you’re also an investor as well, correct?

Barry Saugen (17:12)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Yes, I’ve ⁓ bought and flipped 22 homes in my life. Those are always fun. There’s always a story. There’s always a fun and a sad and a, my gosh. You open the wall and you’re like, I didn’t see that one coming. Nobody can see in the walls. And it’s just, you get a surprise.

Kristen Knapp (17:24)
Yeah.

I can see how both aspects, like the investor part of it helps your inspection part of it and vice versa because you kind of know, you know, as you’re doing inspections, probably know what people are really looking at and what it costs and you obviously already know that to begin with, but you just know a more well-rounded view of it.

Barry Saugen (17:49)
Yeah, it you a more well-rounded, never exactly, because there’s always the hidden thing, but it’s definitely a big value and a big help. Especially when you’re buying the house yourself, before you do the flip, you can go, this is, I don’t care about that, that’s a 10,000 problem. That over there is like 50,000, that’s scary if you’re doing some crazy damage or something on some of these decks.

Kristen Knapp (18:07)
Yeah, wow. And then what’s next for you? What’s next for you and your businesses?

Barry Saugen (18:12)
⁓ I’m enjoying some of the fruits of the labor. I’m going to be picking up another home here shortly to hopefully get that one flipped. And I’m also a grandpa and I got a 15 and a 10 year old and I enjoy some of that and grandkids and I just love seeing them doing their things. And my wife and I have gone through some trials of life in last few years and we’re thinking about maybe looking into a little travels, one of them like going to New York.

That’s one of our things we’ve never done. Want to go see the Statue of Liberty. I want to go see Firehouse. One down there also, one 9-11, and just pay my tributes and respect.

Kristen Knapp (18:35)
Nice.

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, definitely enjoying the fruits of the labor because you’ve been working very hard for a long time.

Barry Saugen (18:48)
Yeah, you never think you’re going to get there when you start looking at it, you’re like, wow, I’m here. That’s amazing. I didn’t know that would happen.

Kristen Knapp (18:53)
Yeah, exactly.

I must be really gratifying, you know, feeling to have.

Barry Saugen (18:58)
It’s definitely

a reward. It’s something that you look for. And it’s also sometimes you look back and you’re like, wow, I’m here. So yeah.

Kristen Knapp (19:03)
Yeah,

and maybe get those grandkids in the business too.

Barry Saugen (19:07)
Well, see what they want. One of them’s talking about being a mechanical engineer. I just saw him this last weekend and he’s talking about becoming a mechanical engineer. My granddaughter, she’s still enjoying being 10 years old.

Kristen Knapp (19:08)
Yeah.

Yeah.

I love that. Well, that’s awesome. Well, please tell people where to find you and what areas you service.

Barry Saugen (19:20)
well.

So we basically are in Northern California focusing on Sacramento region and the Bay Area through Modesto. You can always reach the main office number by phone or text, which is 408-348-2262. And basically, can get these two of us out there to do the inspections. And if you’re looking for on the real estate side, there is a different number because I keep the businesses separate.

and I will not inspect and do a real estate deal on the same property for integrity. But that is 916-529-7222.

Kristen Knapp (19:56)
Awesome. Well, thank you so much. mean, this has been such an interesting podcast. I learned so much about your industry and I’m sure a lot of people did as well.

Barry Saugen (20:03)
I greatly appreciate your time and thank you for the opportunity.

Kristen Knapp (20:06)
Awesome. Okay, well everyone, please check out Barry, both of his businesses. Give him a call. The numbers are very valuable to have. So thank you so much for listening and we’ll see you next time.