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