Ground Floor: Trusted Inspect home inspection helps customers learn more about their houses

As an educator, Allen Witt wears many hats.

By day, Witt is an instructor at the Kirkwood Community College Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Academy. By night, he serves on the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education.

And the rest of the time, as the owner-operator of Trusted Inspect, LLC, a Cedar Rapids-based home inspection company, he educates clients about their homes.

'A major focus of my business is education,” Witt said. 'I'm educating home buyers every day.”

Witt, who is a licensed professional engineer, said Trusted Inspect grew out of a series of events that began in 2007 when he started doing commercial building inspections. At the time, he was working as a civil engineer and principal at Hall and Hall Engineers.

With a strong interest in education, Witt began teaching architecture, construction and engineering at Kirkwood in 2009, first on a part-time basis and then in an expanded role. For a year, he maintained his position at Hall and Hall while teaching full-time. Finally, in August 2014, he left Hall and Hall and founded Trusted Inspect to continue his work as an inspector, albeit on a smaller, residential scale.

'It's now my other job,” he said. 'It's my way to do two things at a time instead of three things.”

Trusted Inspect is a full-service inspection company that provides whole home, radon, termite, and structural inspections in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and other locations within Eastern Iowa.

Witt said his pre-listing inspections are becoming a popular service.

'They are relatively new for this area,” he said. 'They identify any red flags before the house goes on the market so there are no surprises later during the buyer's inspection. It's a way to educate people who are selling their homes.”

Witt said one thing that sets his business apart is his use of technology, such as an iPad that lets him document the inspection, produce a report, and send it to the client before he even leaves the home.

'That's the beauty of my inspections,” he said. 'I will address any concerns from the inspection with the client at the end and then hit the send button. The client knows the report is right there on their phone to reference later.”

With his emphasis on education, Witt uses social media to inform clients about the home inspection process and issues that might arise when buying or selling a home. He also offers classes to real estate groups on such topics as addressing structural issues in a home and navigating the relationship between the home inspector, real estate agent, and home buyer.

At a Glance

' Owner: Allen Witt

' Business: Trusted Inspect, LLC

' Email: allen@trustedinspect.com

' Telephone: (319) 364-6303

' Website: www.trustedinspect.com

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