What home inspectors should know about solar - featuring Cory Vanderpool of Sprk Home

Solar is showing up in more home sales, more inspections, and more liability than most people realize. Cory Vanderpool breaks down why solar has become such a transaction headache, how pushy sales tactics create expensive problems, and what inspectors can do to protect buyers before a bad decision gets signed.

If you work in real estate or home inspections, this conversation is a wake-up call. Cory explains why solar keeps spreading in states like Texas, why the first 90 days after a home purchase are prime time for sales pressure, and how Sprk helps turn a confusing, high-stakes topic into something buyers can actually understand.

You'll discover:

- Why solar adoption is driven more by utility costs and grid reliability than by environmental hype

- The difference between a basic visual inspection and Spark's solar condition reporting

- Why 41% of the systems inspectors help evaluate have issues that need attention at the point of transaction

- How inspectors can add an upsell service, generate energy reports, and position themselves as the local expert

Cory also explains Spark's education and software platform, which gives inspectors tools to inspect solar, generate reports, and even create energy efficiency reports from existing inspection data. That means more clarity for buyers, more value for agents, and a better way to spot problems before a solar lease, loan, or underperforming system becomes someone else's costly surprise.

This episode also gets a bit into net metering, batteries, grid shutdowns, a lil bit of Texas energy policy, and why solar only makes sense when the numbers actually support it. If you've ever had a client ask, "Should I get solar?" and wished you had a better answer, this one gives you the language, the framework, and the confidence to respond.

Essential listening for home inspectors, real estate agents, and anyone who wants to understand solar without getting sold a fantasy.

Chapters:

00:00 - Opening banter and the show's solar theme

00:51 - Corey Vanderpool joins and explains his solar background

02:30 - Why door-to-door solar sales are so persistent

04:14 - Why Sprk exists in the real estate and inspection ecosystem

05:23 - What Cory is bringing to Inspection Fuel

07:03 - What Spark does for solar homeowners and inspectors

08:18 - Why "solar system" keeps triggering planet jokes

09:10 - Can inspectors charge for solar as an ancillary service?

10:08 - A leased system that was not actually working

12:39 - Why Texas solar adoption is rising

14:54 - How Texas shifted from affordability to reliability

16:18 - Why electricity prices drive solar adoption

17:36 - The problem of unknowns in solar transactions

18:55 - Why energy efficiency should come before solar

19:54 - How Sprk generates energy reports from inspection data

21:36 - What factors go into the home energy analysis

23:11 - How Spark estimates air tightness and utility costs

24:14 - Why this is not an energy audit

25:36 - Spark pricing for inspection companies and reports

27:02 - Marketing tools, CE classes, and broker education

29:26 - The real cost range of solar systems

30:37 - How solar systems are sized and how net metering works

32:01 - Why grid outages shut solar down without batteries or transfer equipment

33:20 - Misleading sales promises and the need for local accountability

35:53 - How inspectors help bridge the knowledge gap

37:15 - Why Sprk focuses on supporting existing solar homeowners

38:41 - Pre-listing reports and disclosure issues

39:44 - Cory's Fuel session and what attendees will learn

41:30 - Fuel registration reminder and final event details

42:14 - Where to find Cory online

42:48 - Matt's closing and upcoming conference schedule

The links:

The Travis Jones solar episode: https://youtu.be/9xmLuGpVmHw?si=sd8FP-Ls3UAvdwe0

Register for Inspection Fuel (Sept 28-30 in Lousiville, KY) at https://inspectionfuel.com/register

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