Three years after falling off the roof of his family’s cottage and breaking both of his legs so severely that he was told he would be wheelchair-bound and possibly lose his legs, Geoffrey Gonneau today is a Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® franchisee and an incredible testament to dedication, perseverance, family support and modern medicine.

After suffering 80 fractures, 50 breaks and having five kilos of titanium implanted in his legs, Gonneau is not only walking, but he is doing every other activity required of a franchise owner with Toronto-based Pillar To Post Home Inspectors®, the No. 1 home inspection company in North America. With his family and the franchisor supporting him every step of the way, the 57-year-old Gonneau began serving homebuyers, sellers and agents throughout Etobicoke, North York, East York, The Beach, and West Toronto in March 2020. “I met my goals and now I can walk, bend, kneel, and yes, climb ladders and look at roofs,” Gonneau said.

In his former career, Gonneau had been a property loss appraiser for major restoration companies. You could say such work was in his blood. He got into the business working with his father and Gonneau is a fifth-generation contractor. But in an instant, none of that mattered when Gonneau fell three meters to the ground in September 2018. “It was obviously life-changing for me,” Gonneau said. “I could no longer walk-through major debris, which I had to do with many of the homes I was estimating. I could no longer learn a living doing what I had done all my life. I had to focus on my recovery and what my next steps were for my career.”

“After six months of healing, I flew across North America training insurance adjusters and contractors,” Gonneau said. “I had to carry this amazing amount of medical
equipment and I always set off alarms due to the amount of steel in my legs.

Both my wife, Loreal, and a friend of mine recommended I look into Pillar To Post Home Inspectors®. We always thought that home inspection was a great future career for me and during my due diligence I decided this was the right home for me.”

Speaking of homes, the company rolled out new technologies during COVID-19. PTP360 is an interactive 360° virtual home inspection tour that allows users to revisit a home anytime and anywhere from a smartphone, tablet or desktop and even share the tour with family and friends. Clients can also receive a floor plan of the entire home, with measurements to help with furniture fit and placement.

Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® has achieved the highest standing in various rankings of “Best in Category,” “Top 20 Franchises to Buy,” “Top 10 Global Franchises” and “Top Franchises for Veterans,” in addition to achieving 5-Star status with VetFran, a program offered by the International Franchise Association that provides discounted franchise fees to veterans. A professional evaluation both inside and outside the home is at the core of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors’ service. “To overcome my fear of going back on roofs I climbed back onto the roof that I fell off of – while still wearing my casts,” Gonneau said. “It was a dumb move, which I reminded my wife of since I had taken a selfie while doing it. Boy, did I get an earful after that conversation.”

About Pillar To Post Home Inspectors®

Founded in 1994, Pillar To Post Home Inspectors is the largest home inspection company in North America with home offices in Toronto and Tampa. There are more than 600 franchises located in 49 states and nine Canadian provinces. The company has ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise500® for 23 years in a row, the past eight years as No.1 in Category. Long-term plans include adding 500 to 600 new franchisees over the next five years. For further information, please visit www.pillartopost.com. To inquire about a franchise, go to www.pillartopostfranchise.com