We’ve seen a lot of unprecedented events over the past few weeks related to the coronavirus outbreak, and we’re staying current with this ever-changing situation. At Structure Tech the safety of our clients, employees and the safety of the occupants of the homes we inspect are of utmost importance. I want to share what we’re doing as a company to help keep everyone safe.
Action Plan
While we typically encourage our clients to attend the home inspection, we’re temporarily changing that request. We’re no longer encouraging our clients to join us at the inspection. Instead, we’ll have a brief call at the end of the inspection to sum up our findings and then later conduct a phone review of the inspection with the client after we’ve sent out the report. If our clients insist upon attending, we will allow it, but we’re are no longer encouraging it. In addition, only the client(s) and their real estate agent may attend the inspection, and cannot bring others along.
While on-site, our inspectors will take the following steps to help maintain a sanitary environment in people’s homes:
Wash hands multiple times during every inspection, especially after touching things like faucets and door handles.- Bring hand towels or paper towels for drying our hands.
- If available, we’ll keep hand sanitizer nearby and use it when needed.
- If available, use disinfectant wipes or the equivalent on faucets and door handles.
- We will not shake hands or bump fists.
- We will avoid touching our faces.
- If requested by the seller, our inspector will wear a mask during the inspection.
- If any of our inspectors have a fever or cough, we will not conduct the inspection.
With schools closing and kids being left home alone, it’s also important to note that our policy is, and always has been, that we will not enter a home with minors present unless a second adult is present.
We will continue to monitor this dynamic situation, and we will adjust any of these policies as needed or recommended to help ensure everyone’s safety.
ps – If you’re another home inspector, feel free to copy this blog post and even put your own name on it. I won’t get funny about it. If you share this message and you follow these procedures, I think you’ll be doing a good thing.
Author: Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections
