A Conversation With ... Ed Barton

We’ve completed nine years (in business) this month … (as a franchise of) Naperville, Ill.-based The Brick Kicker. We have six employees. Four inspectors including me – I do lots of different things – and two employees in the office. We serve the Springfield-Branson area. We inspect homes and commercial buildings. We’ve done a lot of the loft buildings downtown and the older buildings that have been purchased, but homes are most of our business.

My wife, Elaine, and I are partners in the business. We had an office on Republic Road, but moved just this month to an office at our home.

How many inspections do you average in a month?

That depends on what’s going on in the real estate market. Since we started, we’ve done about 8,000 buildings. (Our four inspectors) would like to have two inspections a day, but it just depends. During the busy time, like May and June … we do two a day.

Sales all over the country have been sporadic to depressed in certain areas for the last year or so, and those things you hear about in other parts of the country eventually affect our part of the country. (Right now) sales and inspections are down. We’d like for them to be better.

Where does your company fit into real estate transactions?

Basically, what we’re doing is providing information to the buyer to allow them to know and understand more about the home (or building) they’re purchasing. That way, they can make good decisions on budgeting, repairs, planning, maintenance around the home and things they need to do. One thing that’s enjoyable is that we get to talk to the buyer and provide information for them on how to take care of the home.

Down the road, if they use the information that we give them wisely, they’ll be able to … preserve (their home), and keep the value … if they want to sell it down the road. (Having an inspection) is always up to the discretion of the buyer.

What sorts of things do you look for during an inspection?

I’m a member of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors, and they keep statistics on the most (common) things that are found to be of concern in the home. We’ve found that grading and moisture, the drainage around the home is probably the most effective (measure) that you can do to either preserve your home or to prevent damage, by keeping water away from your home.

A home inspector is actually a generalist. We follow standards that have been around since the 1970s from ASHI. We do a complete inspection, from top to bottom (and) look at the home, and we look at the systems of the home to make sure that everything is functional and normal according to standards. If anything is out of the ordinary we suggest that (the buyer) refer it to a professional.

How long does an inspection generally take?

You might be done in two hours if there’s nothing at all to write about the home, but usually it’s two and a half hours, or one hour per 1,000 square feet is a good guideline. We’ve done some that are 4,000 square feet or 5,000 square feet, and those usually end up taking four or five hours for something that large.

What did you do before starting your Brick Kicker franchise?

I did commercial inspections … and I was in heating and air conditioning, and I worked for Marriott Management Services as director of support services. We did contracting for hotels, and mostly, my area was hospitals. I was in Oklahoma, and I was in Illinois. They wanted me to move to Wisconsin, and we just said it was too cold up there. Working with Marriott required relocation every three to four years, and we just wanted to do something on our own … and we did call and interview several franchises. There was a franchise available here with Brick Kicker and others, but the people were just good people who we could relate to, who were more interested in people than they were in business, per se.

Tell us about your family, and what you enjoy outside of work.

Elaine and I have two daughters and six grandchildren. None of them are here. One family is in Tulsa, and one family moved a couple of years ago to Richmond, Va. We spend a lot of time going back and forth to see our grandkids.

I like to take care of my lawn, gardening. I like to go fishing, and I really would like to travel.

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. She may be reached regarding future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]