Mark Witt is retired in the modern sense of the word, meaning he’s working as hard as ever.
Witt left Tennessee Valley Authority three years ago. He’d put in 30 good years, including several as a senior reactor operator at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. His job: telling the men and women turning the knobs what to do and when to do it. “It was like being an orchestra conductor,” he says.
When Witt retired from TVA, he considered working elsewhere in the same field, but didn’t want to travel. Besides, he’d spent three decades doing things the government’s way, and he was ready to do things his way. “I’d always wanted to be in business for myself,” he says. “When you own a business, things work, or don’t work, because of the decisions you’ve made, not the decisions someone else has made for you.”
Witt also had what he believed was a good idea – becoming a home inspector.
“My dad was a builder,” he says, “and my mom was in real estate, so I learned a lot about houses growing up.”
Three hundred and seventy house inspections later, Witt is still enjoying being in business for himself. He could use some nuclear-powered heat on the chillier days, though.
“I like to have froze to death the last two mornings,” he says.
The HVAC unit he’s eyeballing at the house of a client did freeze to death overnight. The thing is caked with frost, inside and out, and it’s not running, but that’s not his concern. He needs to make sure the unit itself meets specific standards.
Witt is inspecting the exterior of an East Ridge house built decades ago. He goes over it like a fine-toothed comb, inspecting the driveway, the outside wiring, a set of brick stairs, and more, snapping dozens of pictures with a digital camera as he goes. “There’s a lot of liability in this business,” he says. “This is my insurance.”
Witt points to where branches have covered a power line, and says he’ll recommend in his report that the trees be cut back. Beyond that, changes are up to the homeowner.
“When I first started this business, I split my report into major problems and minor problems,” he says. “Then I realized what might be major to me might be minor to you, and what I might be able to live with, you might have a problem with. So now I split my report into electrical, plumbing, safety, and so on, and let you decide what’s major and what’s minor.”
Witt spends about a minute looking at the brick chimney that extends from the base of the house to above its roof. He’s not completely happy with what he sees. “This chimney looks worse for the wear. I’ll take a closer look at it when I get inside,” he says.
Witt is doing what he calls a “pre-listing inspection.” It’s for the seller, not a buyer, and is intended to help his client set her expectations regarding price.
“Let’s say you have a house, and you’re asking for a hundred and ten, but a hundred is your bottom line,” he says. “I come in and work you down to a hundred, and then I get the house inspected. After I see the report, I still agree to a hundred, but only if you fix X, Y, and Z.
“A pre-listing inspection might cost you a few hundred dollars, but then you’re going to know what your bottom dollar really is.”
Witt recommends all sellers do a pre-listing inspection. “Most sellers don’t have their home inspected because they assume the buyer will do it, so why waste money? But a pre-listing inspection makes for a cleaner transaction.”
It also helps a seller’s real estate agent, Witt says, as it eliminates surprises. But he doesn’t give an agent the full report unless he or she wants it. Rather, he provides a summary. “Realtors don’t have the time to fish through a 50-page report, so I send the summary. Then they can get in there and do the deal,” Witt says.
Witt’s oldest of two sons, Taylor, 23, is inside the home going over basics – faucets, toilets, light switches, and the like – making sure everything is working. Witt is handling the finer details, like water pressure, moisture levels, and automatic garage door safety, because his son isn’t certified yet – a requirement in Tennessee. Taylor is scheduled to take the exam in December. Witt can’t wait.
“Once he’s certified, I’m not doing anymore crawlspaces,” he says with a slight shudder. “They can be nasty.”
Witt recounts being in a tight crawl space, turning over, and finding himself face-to-face with a large snake. “It was this big, and it was this long,” he says, holding his hands a few feet apart like he’s telling a fish story. “Well, maybe he wasn’t that big, but when I rolled over and saw him there, he looked like it.”
Witt steps inside into the family room, does a general walkthrough, and then goes over to the fireplace. As he squats down and peers into the chimney, he uses his flashlight to illuminate the brick edifice. “I’m going to recommend she have a chimney sweep clean this out,” he says. “A home inspector is like a general physician. If I find something wrong, I’m going to send you to a specialist.”
Witt does see a safety issue with the electrical box – one he feels free to say is serious. In this case, the specialist he’ll be recommending is an electrician.
Back outside, he talks with the homeowner for a few minutes. “For its age,” he says, “you’re home is very well kept.”
He lets the seller know he has a few issues to discuss with her once he’s done, and then she returns inside. His biggest concern, he says, is doing a good job for his clients. “I do business with people the way I would want them to do business with me,” he says. “I would want a thorough inspection, so that’s what I do.”
Witt is looking to expand his business. He’d like to eventually focus on specialized inspections, such as Radon, and hire other people to do the work he’s now doing. “Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer,” he says, “and people here know very little about it.”
Witt grew up in Chattanooga, and with the exception of the three years he spent in the Air Force, has lived in the city his entire life. At 56, it’s unlikely he’ll ever leave again. “It’s just me and my dog,” he says, “and my dog keeps me plenty busy.”
As for down time, Witt likes to spend his on a boat. “I’m not a fisherman, but I like being on the lake.”
Witt might be working as hard as ever, but unlike the chimney he inspected, he’s hardly worse for the wear. Rather, he’s “very well kept,” and is looking forward to being busy for years to come. “I like what I’m doing,” he says, “and I want to keep doing it.”