(310) 798-2411 Lugar Inspect / (310) 318-7077 Tru
About Us
James Wall, Lead Inspector (Los Angeles)
"One of the earliest memories I have is working at a property with no water and having to carry two five-gallon buckets of water back and forth from a nearby river in order to get the job done".
I grew up as an apprentice alongside my dad who was a general contractor specializing in tile and waterproofing in the Tahoe area for over 30 years. One of the earliest memories I have is working at a property with no water and having to carry two five-gallon buckets of water back and forth from a nearby river in order to get the job done. As a kid/teenager, this type of work wasn’t my first choice of things to do but as I look back, I’m grateful for the experience and work ethic that was taught to me by both of my parents at an early age.
My mother has owned her house cleaning business in the Tahoe area for over 40 years, in which I had the privilege of assisting her when the times were slower during the off seasons for construction. Needless to say, I was pretty much destined to do something with homes from the get-go.
In 2009, after deciding not to take over my Dad’s company, I moved down to southern California and worked in the food industry as a waiter for a couple years. This experience was important because I learned how to communicate on a customer service level. Meanwhile, I was introduced to a seasoned real estate home inspector whom happened to be looking for an employee. This sparked my interest and I started on a two-year apprenticeship learning the art of home inspection.
In retrospect this opportunity was gold, as I received hands on training of what to look for and how to convey the information in a way that all parties (clients/real estate agents/sellers) can understand. Over the years, I had the opportunity to cross- train with some of the best home inspectors in my area picking up tools, knowledge and experience along the way. Being 10 years into this evolving industry, I still wake up every day with excitement and willingness to learn new things and to be helpful to our clients, real estate agents and sellers.
Bill Lugar, Lead Inspector (St. George)
“I began my pre-professional career picking up nails from the roofs, gutters, and flower beds (for .01 cents, per nail) while dad and his employees were installing roofing.”ay something interesting about your business here.
Although I did have fun climbing the ladders and being on top of the world (at that age the roof was the top of the world), the work part was not fun at the time. However, my work ethic was being formed. I did not like this thing called work, but as I look back, I appreciate my dad for showing me how to have a work ethic that has shaped my life today (and yes, I tell dad this each year).
I started my professional career wearing tools on my waist in the Roofing and Waterproofing industry (with over 10 years of back breaking Roofing/Decking/Waterproofing hands-on experience in the fair weather months and leak detection/repair in the wet/rain months). I decided that I wasn’t getting any younger (even though I was young) and with only one unforeseen fall behind me, that I decided to switch construction trades.
I then found myself in the Residential & Commercial remodeling industry with family friends. This gave me a great well rounded experience with most trades and sub-contractors in kitchen and bath remodels.
I was scooped up by a local Residential/Commercial Plumbing & Heating Contractor in which I worked for 4 years. I then thought about my future, do I want to be knee high in _____ for the rest of my days??? hmmm.
Soon after, I was hired by an Electrical Contractor next door to the Plumbing Company and worked in that industry for over 4 years.
Four years later, I got an opportunity to become the General Manager with a Commercial TI firm conducting High Rise Building remodel/improvements. I experienced so much in this industry, but found that residential is really where I wanted to be.
I met a Home Inspector while working in the Electrical industry, and after the Comm. TI firm, I decided to train and attend some specialty inspection areas to fully round my experience in this new field. I also trained under Wayne Durant, Chief City Housing Inspector with City of Los Angeles by reading and dissecting each Residential code in the Code book. This was vitally important to learn the details that I only thought I knew by working in the industries all those years.
Since 2001 I have conducted over 450 inspections per year and have found that the work ethic that my dad had taught me and my natural inquisitive personality has made me a distinguishable Master Inspector which is a cut above the rest.
There is a general quote that Agents says about me, which I have heard since I started inspecting and still till today: He is great on the Buyer’ s side, but too detailed/hard on the Seller’s side.
I do understand this statement, but have to qualify it by saying: I have One Guiding Principle: “We conduct each physical inspection as if it were for our Mom”.
I generally follow up the saying from the Agent whom is saying that I am too detailed/hard on the Seller side. If they (the Agent) were buying this property, would they want me to conduct the inspection the same way and find all those little details. All have said “Yes”, but the hard part for them is the negotiating portion of the real estate transaction in which I totally understand and can feel for them.