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A-Pro Home Inspection Services

The home inspection business is booming. In fact, Money Magazine has rated our industry as one of the "Top Ten Highest Income Home Businesses", and Entrepreneur calls home inspection "one of the best opportunities"!

	Can be run part-time: Yes
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<div style="float:left; padding:5px;"><img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/Apro-logo.gif"></div> <div style="float:right; padding:5px;"><img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/In-Brief.gif"></div> A Red Hot Industry� With an annual potential of over 6 million transactions (translated into an estimated $1.8 billion in fees) the home inspection business is booming. In fact, Money Magazine has rated our industry as one of the "Top Ten Highest Income Home Businesses", and Entrepreneur calls home inspection "one of the best opportunities". Home inspection numbers are on the rise� In fact, they�re reaching levels never before experienced within the industry. It�s estimated that a home inspection now occurs in nearly 90% of home sales. Now, you can profit from that boom by teaming up with A-Pro� one of the most respected names in the home inspection industry. <img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/316534-house.gif" align="left"> <center> The A-Pro� Advantage</center> A-Pro� is a family-owned company founded in 1994 by industry veteran, vice chairman of the Louisiana Licensing Board for Home Inspectors, and co-author of the proprietary guide, How to Market a Home Inspection Business, Greg Mangiaracina. The company is renowned for its industry-leading innovation and guarantees, and a unique customer-focused approach that benefits all parties to a home sale � the buyer, the seller, AND the real estate agent. A-Pro� currently boasts more than 110 locations and handles thousands of inspections across the US every year. With award-winning training and a team that prides itself on providing the highest level of logistical and marketing support to its franchisees, A-Pro has quickly become one of the fastest growing companies in its industry, <center>Dedicated Support Team</center> When you become an A-Pro� business owner, you gain instant, around-the-clock access to our staff of engineers, technicians, copywriters, ad designers, technical support personnel, computer programmers and information managers � all of whom work with you to develop and grow your business. We also save you time, money and effort by providing professional marketing materials like brochures, postcards and self-mailers (including mailing and telemarketing services), coupled with a turnkey marketing plan, so � once again �you can concentrate on inspections and not operational headaches. <img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/1.gif" align="right"> <center>What makes us the Best?</center> By teaming up with A-Pro�, you'll be able to take control of your future by offering your customers a myriad of features, benefits and added value that other inspection companies simply cannot match, including: <ul> <li>A 90-day inspection guarantee for the homebuyer. Unlike many inspections which offer little more than an opinion, A-Pro� introduces accountability into home inspections with our unique "If We Pass It, We Protect It" Guarantee. Nothing gives our customers higher confidence.</li> <li>Our exclusive 120-day inspection guarantee for the seller. This feature helps move the seller's home more quickly and efficiently because the buyer knows that the home has been pre-inspected and is already guarantee-protected against potential problems. Both warranties include free structural and roof coverage at no cost to our customers - a huge advantage that no one else we know of in the home inspection profession offers. </li> <li>An Optional Platinum 360 Inspection guarantee. If we pass a system or component within a home, the client is covered against unexpected repairs for a full year. No other company offers this level of protection to its customers.</li> <li>Our "no further evaluation guarantee" While many inspection companies need to call in third-party specialists to complete their inspection, A-Pro�s award-winning training guarantees we�re 100% prepared to complete the job ourselves. Our unique "no further evaluation guarantee" eliminates third party inspections and delays, and saves our customers money.</li> <li>We also provide a free Foundation level survey with a CAD drawing to our clients. This is a valuable add-on that few other companies are equipped to offer.</li> </ul> The bottom line is that A-Pro inspections stand out as the most comprehensive and value-added in the industry, and we offer our client�s an unequalled level of protection, confidence, and peace of mind. It�s a difference people truly appreciate and a major selling point that drives demand for our services. This focus on quality, benefits, and value � over price � keeps our customers coming back, and puts more profits in our inspectors' pockets. <center>Vast Customer Base</center> As an A-Pro� Inspector, you�ll be getting about 90%-95% of your business directly from your local realtors, who� once they get to know you will refer clients directly to you on an ongoing basis. Our marketing plan is tightly focused on this great source of repeated new clients. The other 5%-10% of your business will come directly from the consumer through advertising and marketing programs we provide to you. Naturally, you can expect repeat business and referrals as you begin to build your customer base, and many of our marketing campaigns seek to generate this word of mouth growth. One of the great things about the home inspection business is that it truly builds upon itself with every inspection you perform and, when you consider that an average of 20% of Americans move each year, you can imagine the number of new client opportunities you'll have every day. <img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/3man.gif" align="left"> <center>Strategic Marketing Support</center> A-Pro� provides its business owners with a fully-scripted, strategic sales approach to maintain an effective, consistent message across all their marketing efforts. Regardless of your past experience in marketing, our full-time staff of copywriters, designers and production specialists combines their years of expertise to help you achieve success, virtually from day one. And you don't pay anything extra to have these professionals at your disposal. They serve as a full-time extension of your operational and marketing team. Normally, a full-fledged marketing program for any company would cost thousands of dollars to develop and produce. But our program is included in our franchise package, and it's yours to use from day one. In addition to printed marketing materials, we also provide our inspectors with business leads through what's known as a predictive dialing telemarketing program. This service provides announcements directly to your exclusive territory each quarter during the first year to help you get off to a fast start. <img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/worker.gif" align="right"> <center>State-of-the-Art Reporting System</center> We believe that our Inspection Reporting System is the best the industry has to offer. Our proprietary system was personally developed after studying dozens of the others and combining the best, most useful features of each into the patented A-Pro� Report. And, because it's based on a Microsoft Word platform, it's very fast and easy to use, yet highly detailed and comprehensive. The system is designed to report the home's condition in a fair and balanced way (another unique A-Pro benefit), allowing you to highlight the positive aspects of the home as opposed to just its potention problems. Most clipboard and off-the-shelf reporting systems focus solely on the negative aspects of a home which can sour a deal for everyone involved.. Our system has a built-in failsafe to avoid that situation and allows you to provide your customers with a true, balanced anatomical look at the home. Here�s why that�s important. Inspections that focus on the positive give sellers additional selling points, buyers greater peace of mind, and real estate agents greater security that an inspection won�t delay or prevent a deal from going through. Realtors genuinely appreciate the neat, organized and balanced format of our reports, and one of the main reasons they continue to recommend A-Pro to their clients on an ongoing basis. <img src="http://www.entrepreneur.com/i/images/op/Misc/desk.gif" align="left"> <center>Intensive Expert Training</center> A-Pro's award-winning training program is conducted under the auspices of the Inspection Training Institute of San Antonio (ITI), and has been recognized by many boards across the U.S. as among the very best in the business. As a licensed LA Licensed Engineering firm, ITI stresses the importance of whole-house inspection, starting with a foundation level survey and then working up through every system and component of the home. The ITI program is overseen by Professor William Springer, P.E., a licensed professional and national expert with more than 30 years of experience in the profession. Professor Springer is considered one of the top home inspection authorities in the country, and as such currently serves as acting Director of the International Society of Home Inspectors (ISHI). The training begins at our Distant Learning Center, where you'll take nine accredited online courses to prepare you for the most complete home inspection examination in the country. Following the online courses, you'll fly into beautiful San Antonio or one of our other training satellite centers, where ITI will provide you with a comprehensive eight-day classroom and field training course at their newly remodeled campus, giving you an overall understanding of the home inspection process and earning you Certified Home Inspector (CHI)� and Professional Home Inspector (PHI)� designations. This is real-life, hands-on training that will teach you about entire inspection process, inside and outside, top to bottom. Again, the curriculum covers every aspect of a home's systems and components - including exclusive training on spotting potential problems before they occur - giving you a distinctive professional edge in the field. Then, to apply what you've learned in class, your final field exam will include a real inspection at our on-site residential property, including the preparation of a complete report. During training, you'll also receive mold sampling certification - yet another added revenue stream for you when you launch your business. <center>Franchise Investment & Benefits</center> A-Pro's basic franchise fee of $29,900 is significantly lower than many of our competitors, although we believe that our franchise package offers a whole lot more. The total, turnkey A-Pro� franchise package summary includes: Your own exclusive territory and comprehensive targeted marketing plan created by Greg Mangiaracina, our President & Founder, and a 12 year industry veteran and "in-the-trenches" inspector. This proprietary plan includes a study of your area including all real estate professionals within your exclusive territory, and a strategic approach for marketing to every one of them. It also includes routes to each and every office, marketing budgets, short & long-term goals, all tied into a provided GPS system. This marketing plan is offered by no one in our industry except A-Pro and provides unprecedented value to our business owners. A comprehensive training and certification program through our Distant Learning Education Center as well as an 8-day field training program provided by top inspection professionals. Your own, state-of-the-art tablet pc computer pre-loaded with A-Pro�s home inspection management system, Intranet network and complete proprietary reporting software. The reporting software produces the best reports in the industry bar none. Your own, custom-designed web site and Targeted Marketing Email system to help you get top exposure in your market starting from the first day of opening your business. An array of home inspection tools and supplies, including gas detection equipment, laser thermometer, foundation level survey equipment and much more. Uniforms, vehicle magnets, patches, business cards and other materials to strongly establish your brand. Free membership in ISHI (www.ishionline.org), one of the most respected trade organizations in the home inspection industry. A complete arsenal of marketing materials, including nearly 50,000 high quality printed marketing pieces. This package is the most comprehensive in the industry and includes personalized and customizable strategic print materials to establish brand identity and top of the mind awareness. Complete marketing support from our copywriters, designers and strategists. A full set of home maintenance guides, reference manuals, business forms and all software licenses. A subsidized business liability insurance plan for your first year. 90-day/120-day/360-day free guarantee rights on all inspections - one of the key ingredients setting A-Pro� apart from any other home inspection company in the country. Major medical insurance, dental, vision & more Toll-free phone and online support. And More With our complete, turnkey system and our commitment to round-the-clock support, A-Pro�s package prepares you to build your own successful home inspection business starting from day one. There are no hidden fees and no surprises. <center>A Word about Royalty Fees</center> Some companies charge what is known as a "royalty fee" which is a sum based on the franchisees' sales. In other words, the more you earn, the more you give back to the company. At A-Pro�, we do things differently. offering our franchisees a simple, flat fee royalty system that eliminates quotas and lets you concentrate on building your business instead of bookkeeping. We've seen what a stumbling block escalating royalty structures can be and we've pledged to steer clear of them. Our fee is a flat $145 per week. That's generally less than half of what our inspectors earn on a single home inspection. It�s a difference our business owners truly appreciate, and we�re sure you will as well. <center>Taking the Next Step</center> Since 1994, we've taken great pride in becoming the most innovative and respected home inspection company in the nation. We exercise exceptional care when interviewing our franchise candidates and awarding our exclusive geographic territories. After all, these are partnerships designed to last a lifetime. Once we do award a franchise territory, we follow through on a truly dedicated partnership basis � providing our business owners with the experience, support and professional insight necessary to become successful. We appreciate your interest in an A-Pro� business ownership opportunity and look forward to welcoming you on to our team.