If solar on a listing makes everyone nervous, this conversation will become your new playbook. We sit down with Spark Solar’s Corey Vanderpool to unpack a low‑risk, high‑value way for home inspectors to add solar inspections without pretending to be electricians or installers. The model is simple: you collect site data, capture a clamp‑meter output reading, and let a specialized team write the report. That keeps liability low, delivers fast turnaround, and gives buyers and agents the one thing they can’t get from a utility bill—proof of real‑world production.

We dig into the details that matter on site: identifying components, photographing conditions, documenting serials, and measuring productive health. Corey explains why many systems quietly underperform and how third‑party reporting can compel leased or PPA providers to uphold production guarantees. A memorable case study with a pigeon‑covered array shows how a 15‑minute reading exposed a 50 percent output loss and forced action from the lease holder. For owned systems, the same process quantifies risk, flags defects, and sets clear expectations for repairs, warranties, and negotiation.

Beyond the roof, we talk business. Most inspectors charge 249–299 dollars as an add‑on, spend about 15 minutes on site, and receive reports within hours. The real growth lever is agent education: pre‑listing strategies, transparent disclosures, and energy impact reports that showcase savings rather than confusion. Spark backs this with agent CE courses and ready‑to‑use materials, turning a notorious deal‑killer into a reason agents call you first. Even on homes without panels, energy reports help buyers understand usage, right‑size future solar, and avoid predatory sales.

If you want a differentiator that builds trust and revenue while protecting clients from expensive surprises, solar inspections check every box. Subscribe for more practical strategies, share this with your team, and leave a review to tell us how you’d pitch solar inspections in your market.

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*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast, and the guests on it, do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Inspector Toolbelt and its associates.

The ground is shifting under home inspectors, and the real threat isn’t a gadget—it’s losing control of our craft and our clients’ trust. We open up about a clear pledge to never sell client data and why that line in the sand matters more than ever as AI-driven tools flood the market with promises of speed and convenience.

Across the conversation, we map a simple but urgent framework: embrace innovation without surrendering judgment. We revisit the cautionary tale of the Luddites to show how industries collapse when craftsmen are replaced rather than equipped. Then we look at how accountants got it right—using powerful automation daily while staying the gatekeepers who catch costly errors and explain the nuance software misses. For inspectors, that means using AI for comment cleanup, consistency, and clarity, while resisting products that train on proprietary reports or market “DIY inspections” to consumers. When software is free because your clients pay with their data, the conflicts of interest are hidden but real.

We also get practical. Learn how to spot red flags in privacy policies, what questions to ask your software provider about third-party data sharing, and how to set expectations with agents and buyers about the difference between a polished auto-report and a true inspection rooted in field experience. We share why our own tools integrate AI in a privacy-first way, isolating models so your work doesn’t train competing systems, and how to communicate your data ethics with a public badge that earns trust before you arrive on site.

If you care about protecting the value of your license, your reputation, and your clients’ privacy, this is a roadmap to keep the human at the center while putting better tools in your hands. Subscribe, share with a fellow inspector, and leave a review with your take: where do you draw the line between helpful automation and harmful replacement?

Check out our home inspection app at www.inspectortoolbelt.com
Need a home inspection website? See samples of our website at www.inspectortoolbelt.com/home-inspection-websites

*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast, and the guests on it, do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Inspector Toolbelt and its associates.

We map the year ahead for home inspectors, cutting through AI hype, clarifying what “mandatory inspection” really means, and focusing on the only dial that matters: inventory. We share why rates alone won’t fix housing, how regional pricing skews outcomes, and why SEO just became a secret weapon again.

• AI tools rising fast, but privacy, accuracy and human support matter more
• mandatory inspection contingency explained and why it rarely guarantees volume
• inventory and price as the real market levers, not just interest rates
• corporate ownership of single-family homes and how policy could free supply
• regional price gaps shaping inspector opportunity and strategy
• cautiously positive 2026 outlook with a four to six week lag to inspections
• practical strategy: don’t overhire, do deepen agent ties and expand services
• SEO still drives discovery while rivals quit, AEO as a smart add-on
• verify AI outputs and keep your expertise at the center

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button so you can catch our future episodes as well. If you have any feedback, please send us an email at info at inspectortoolbelt.com. Also, don’t forget to check out our app for home inspectors, scheduling and report writing all in one easy-to-use app. Check it out now at inspectortoolbelt.com.

Check out our home inspection app at www.inspectortoolbelt.com
Need a home inspection website? See samples of our website at www.inspectortoolbelt.com/home-inspection-websites

*The views and opinions expressed in this podcast, and the guests on it, do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Inspector Toolbelt and its associates.