Alyssa Cink
Through articles, newsletters, and social media posts, Marketing Content Editor Alyssa Cink provides risk management education to home inspectors nationwide. A Gonzaga University alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in English and minors in Spanish and journalism, Alyssa's passion for communication enables her to write engaging and clear content across mediums. A former "Harry Potter" fan club president, she is a fervent reader and podcast listener who also enjoys exploring Utah with her husband and their dogs.
One inspector was evaluating an HVAC unit and determined it was relatively new, about three to four years old. But the air handler coils were dirty. The inspector recommended cleaning and maintenance to extend the unit’s functional life, estimating about $450 in home inspection repair costs. Eight months later, after the client had purchased the…
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Welcome to the Inspection Insider. Here, seasoned home inspectors share their technical expertise and experience to help you improve your own inspections. In this post, Jonathan Hallmark of Hallmark Inspections, LLC in Texas shares how a client’s desire for electrical upgrades turned into a claim. He then utilizes his 10 years of teaching and 20…
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If you don’t know the differences between arbitration and mediation, they could catch you off guard. That’s what happened to one home inspector, whose client wanted to rescind their purchase a year and a half after buying the property. Their complaint? The air conditioning unit was too noisy. Sound ridiculous? The buyer’s counsel would agree.…
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Home inspector continuing education goes far beyond licensing. A home inspector’s education can impact how you do your job, how clients and agents perceive you, and sometimes your insurance coverage. We asked your peers why the learning curve matters and where new inspectors can seek opportunities. Why is home inspector continuing education important? A home…
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The following story of clogged sewer drains after the home inspection is a real claim from our archives. To protect the insured’s identity, all identifiable characteristics—including names, associations, and locations—have been omitted or removed. How many times have you returned home from the grocery store, only to realize you left a crucial item back at…
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Money is on the minds of people considering a new home inspection career. Whether they’re inspecting for someone else or going solo, new inspectors worry how their new adventure will affect their families’ livelihoods. Wondering what to expect, they often ask: If questions about home inspectors’ income are holding you back, we’re here to help.…
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Be honest: How many of us had the same childhood fantasy of pulling a lever and finding hidden passageways in houses? Imagine: You pull a book from a seemingly unexceptional bookshelf. Or maybe you trip a wire while walking through your childhood home. Alternatively, you move a picture frame off the wall, exposing a Big…
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When navigating how to get work as a home inspector, sometimes the simplest methods generate the best home inspection leads. In 2023, Philip Dancer of Dancer & Company Inspections of the D.C., Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area was shopping with his family when he received a surprising email. It was from a stranger and was so…
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As a small business owner, the word “theft” is a thing of nightmares. It probably inspires images of someone breaking into your work vehicle and stealing your pricey drone, camera, laptop, or sewer scope. (We’ve covered this exact scenario in a past equipment coverage case study.) Perhaps you’ve wondered what would happen if your inspector-employee…
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What does it take to start a home inspection business? Lots of learning, research, dedication, and a plan to set you up for success. This will prepare you for the mountain of decisions that come with getting a new home inspection business up and running. As a result, you will be able to create solid…
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Sir Isaac Newton once said, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Newton’s third law of motion speaks to physics, of course. But it applies to lots of other factors in life. Insurance myths and facts, like forces of nature, come in pairs. For every insurance myth about reporting claims, there’s a…
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“Is this worth reporting to my insurance company? How can I save on insurance costs?” You’ve probably seen an inspector ask these questions. Perhaps you, too, have posted them on social media. We see them all the time. Understandably, it’s difficult to know when something is “worthy” of a call to your insurance. To make…
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