Army Veteran was First a Customer and Now He's a Franchise Owner with Pillar To Post Home Inspectors®

(HARTFORD, CT)--It’s certainly not the best time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Simple math quickly demonstrates that a home inspection is money well-spent when making what is typically the largest single investment most people will ever make. “That’s one piece of advice that’s hard to argue,” says Jonathan Long, the new owner of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors, serving North Hartford. “No one needs surprises with what they are spending to buy a home in today’s market.”

And as far as choosing home inspection as a new career, these are industry facts: The U.S. building inspector industry, measured by revenue, is estimated to have a market size of $4.9 billion in 2022, according to global research firm IBISWorld.

Launching operations in November, the 47-year-old Long – a Wethersfield, CT resident and United States Army veteran – is a perfect example of someone with the determination and passion that provide the perfect combination for success as a franchise owner.

Long spent 22 years in home improvement retail management where he trained, mentored, and managed teams of more than 150 associates; made critical financial and operational decisions; and built and maintained relationships with business partners. But he derived his most satisfaction at the grass-roots level, connecting with customers and helping them with their home project needs.

“I loved educating customers about the products and materials they were purchasing, discussing the steps they needed to get their project completed, and helping them with any challenging scenarios they might come across,” Long said.

Long not only has a passion for outstanding customer service, it’s also one of the things that drew him to become a Pillar To Post Home Inspectors franchise owner after first experiencing the company as a customer. He was so pleased with the process that it sparked his interest to the point where he envisioned himself being a home inspector and he began his due diligence.

“As I continued to do my research, I learned about Pillar To Post Home Inspectors’ great reputation, the positive experiences of multiple franchise owners, and much, much more,” Long said. “Everyone I came into contact with was very professional, organized and supportive.”

Born and raised in Panama, Long said that both of his parents were very entrepreneurial. Given that family history, he said this is still an exciting time for him. “This is my first time stepping out of my typical secured and comfortable path,” Long said. “It has been tense, but also exciting and empowering.”

And while he realizes the importance of customer service in establishing community ties, Long has several other strong connections. Because of his military service, he said he feels “very connected” to the military community and Spanish was his first language, so he is easily able to work with any customers who feel more comfortable communicating in their native language.

“I am so excited that we are up and running and I want to share my knowledge to serve and educate homebuyers and homeowners so that I earn their trust and I can turn Pillar To Post Home Inspectors into a vibrant family business,” Long said.

One of the many reasons Long chose Pillar To Post Home Inspectors is the innovative technologies the company introduced in the past 18 months. These advanced technologies, along with the business model, provide an exceptional home inspection with unique and innovative features that are all delivered within a seamless brand experience. All developed pre-pandemic and ready to be utilized when the pandemic struck, the new features further highlight Pillar To Post Home Inspectors’ standing as a visionary in its industry. The package is now known as the Ultimate Home Inspection and it’s revolutionizing the home inspection industry. So much so that the company was just awarded the much-coveted Best Innovators by Franchise Update Media in the category of “best customer service tools.”

PTP360 is available with every home inspection and provides an interactive, 360-degree visual inspection summary that brings the inspection report to life and includes every room and a home’s exterior. It can be accessed anywhere, anytime from any device and shared with family or contractors.

PTPEstimates provides a cost estimate for inspection summary items. This upgrade is extremely useful for sellers who do a pre-listing inspection, letting them learn what recommended repairs will cost based on prices charged in their area. Estimates can be requested with one click.

PTPFloorPlan provides an accurate floor plan of the entire home. This useful upgrade can be used to determine furniture fit and placement, and also provide exact dimensions to contractors for estimating purposes.

PTPHomeManual is an upgraded service that provides a digital owner’s manual for a home, letting users download manuals/warranty information, find safety recalls on appliances, learn the age and useful remaining life of systems and much more.

“Technology advances are always exciting,” Long said, and these revolutionize home inspection. This technology gives us the opportunity to use innovative tools to further inspect home components and better educate our clients so they have more information when making their investment decisions.”

For information visit https://jonathanlong.pillartopost.com or call 860-955-9770.

###

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 nearly 600 franchises located in 49 states and nine Canadian provinces. They’ve ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise500® for 26 years. Long-term plans include adding 500 to 600 new franchisees over the next five years. For further information, please visit www.pillartopost.com or for info about a franchise go to www.pillartopostfranchise.com