InspectorNick.com

04/28/2026

04/28/2026

The home inspection industry has gotten soft and lazy.

More and more inspectors are not getting on simple, walkable roofs and are filling reports with pages of cover your ass language instead of real findings.

To be fair, a lot of it is the lack of real training and a little laziness as the bare minimum is now the standard. Many inspectors were never taught how to safely and confidently get on and move across a roof, so they stay on the ground and call it an “inspection” with more words of “why” they didn’t, instead of just doing it.

The problem is this misses real issues. I just reviewed a report where the inspector stayed on the ground and completely missed cracked fireplace chimney flue tiles. That is a $1200 to $2000 repair the buyer never saw coming. I have seen this too many times over the last five years.

Homebuyers and buyer’s agents deserve actual inspections, not liability protection documents.

If your inspector is not willing to get on a roof when it is safe and accessible, you are not getting the full picture.

And for the inspectors out there who were never shown the right way, I get it. I have been climbing roofs since I was a kid. If you want to learn how to do it safely and confidently, reach out privately. I will help you become a squirrel:)

10/30/2025

A $900k home… and the first thing you see is a transformer and utility cluster in the front yard.

Nobody chose that.
No homeowner approved it.
It was decided before a buyer ever stepped foot on the lot.

This is how standards slip.
Not through one big change, but inch by inch over time.

Thirty five years ago, this would’ve been in the rear easement.
Today it’s “industry standard,” which really means cheaper and easier for developers and utilities — not better for homeowners.

And buyers pay the price — literally.
They end up spending thousands in landscaping trying to hide these monstrosities after move-in, just to get back a little curb appeal that used to come standard.

Curb appeal once mattered.
Planning once considered the lived experience.
Now we just accept whatever gets built and call it “normal.”

We don’t need nostalgia — we need awareness.

If you’re planning to build, ask about utility placement before development and trenching begins, because once the dirt is graded and the pipes are in, your “choices” are gone.

Quality doesn’t disappear overnight.
We lose it slowly, by not noticing what’s being taken from us.

07/02/2025

🛑 Public Service Announcement: Homeowners, Please Read Before Paying for Attic Insulation Removal 🛑

From Nick Welty – 24-Year Veteran Home Inspector

I’m currently at a 3,200 sq. ft. home built in 1997 where an elderly homeowner just paid $9,000 to have all of his attic insulation removed and replaced—because of silverfish.

Let me be clear: This is predatory behavior. Silverfish are common nuisance pests, not justification for gutting an attic. These kinds of scare tactics are being used by unscrupulous pest control and insulation contractors to exploit homeowners, especially the elderly.

In my 24 years inspecting homes, I’ve seen this time and again—contractors making false claims, pushing fear-based sales, and charging outrageous prices for unnecessary work.

Before agreeing to major services like insulation removal, mold remediation, structural work, or pest treatment, always get a second opinion from a truly unbiased professional. A licensed home inspector or independent tradesperson can give you honest insight without the sales pitch.

Please share this with your loved ones—especially seniors who may be targeted. Knowledge is protection.

— Nick Welty
InspectorNick | Kansas City Metro

InspectorNick.com offers Full-Service Home Inspection in Kansas City to make the home buying process easy & to help avoid any major problems in the future.

06/18/2025

🛑 You Paid Us to Find It—So Why Aren’t You Making Sure It Got Fixed? 🛠️💸

Here’s a hard truth from someone who’s done over 12,000 inspections in 24 years and leads a team inspecting 1,000+ homes a year:

Less than 5% of buyers get a reinspection after repairs.
Of those few? We find MAJOR issues still unresolved—or worse, intentionally concealed.

Let me give you some real-life, recent examples:

🧼 Mold growth?
Just painted over with Kilz. No cleaning. No remediation. Just a “make it white and walk away” approach.

💦 Water intrusion in the basement?
“Fixed” by setting up a $30 box fan for a day and hoping it smells dry enough to pass sniff test.

🐀 Rodents or bats in the attic?
Not removed. Not trapped. Not sanitized. Just shoved some fresh insulation over the droppings and called it a day.

These are NOT hypotheticals—they’re things we catch regularly when someone actually reinspects. The kicker? Most don’t.

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Let me break it down:

✅ You paid us to find issues (and we did).
✅ Your agent submitted a resolution, the seller said “sure.”
❌ But then no one followed up.
❌ The seller “hired someone” (maybe) to “do something” (maybe).
😬 And now you’re 3 days from closing, finding out the mold is still there, the water’s still coming in, and the attic smells like a hamster cage.

Oh—and guess who’s paying for the reinspection and scramble repairs?
You are. Again.

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👊 Strategy tip (from someone who’s watched hundreds of buyers get burned):

➡️ Buyer pays for the initial reinspection.
➡️ But in the Resolution of Unacceptable Conditions, the seller signs in writing that they will cover ALL subsequent reinspections until the items are actually repaired to professional standards.

It’s fair. It’s smart. It protects you from:
• Negotiating twice for the same issue
• Paying extra for seller shortcuts
• Getting stuck with expensive problems after closing

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Here’s the part that grinds my gears:
Many sellers already have a contract and a closing date, and they know it.
So they skate by. Do the bare minimum.
And too many buyers (and agents) just let it happen.

❗ A home inspection isn’t just a box to check. It’s leverage. It’s clarity. It’s your protection. But only if you follow through.

You paid us to find it. Now let us make sure it got fixed.

Sincerely,
😤 Frustrated but still fighting for our buyers,
The InspectorNick.com Team



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🤖 And for all those wondering—yes, we believe in full disclosure: this post was proudly brought to life with the help of ChatGPT. Now that’s transparency.

10/24/2024

"Join the Most Thorough Team in Kansas City: We're Hiring Home Inspectors!"

09/28/2023

Roof lifesaver! So simple yet rarely done.

Shout out to our roofer, Scott with Down Under roofing for knowing whats best for homeowners!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ukz3yGRCHngt3f69?g_st=ic

10/18/2022

The InspectorNick.com Team just rolled into the 1,100's with our Google reviews and we are all so proud to be a continued trusted resource for HomeBuyers/Agents/Homeowners! Hats off to our team that make it happen day in and day out, always striving to serve better, do better and make it such an enjoyable working team to be a part of; Karey Behm, Nate Bayless and Blake Lynn and to all of our sub-contractors that we rely on to help our clients get the best they have come to expect and deserve!!

08/22/2019

⭕️Reason #459 to have us check your contractor estimates-
❌ Avoid spending extra $250 on completely unnecessary Mad Max roof vents. 🙄😆

07/27/2019

This house had jokes. 😁🤷‍♂️

07/05/2019

Guess who! 🐜