From Technology Manager to President: How Adam Long Has Spent the Last 18 Years With HomeTeam Inspection Service

HomeTeam Inspection Service, the 200-plus-unit home inspection concept that was recently recognized as the number one home inspection franchise in 2022 by Entrepreneur Magazine, has been at the forefront of innovation since its foundation. Adam Long, president of the brand, has been on board for a substantial amount of that growth.

“I was hired in 2004 to manage technology for HomeTeam. As you can imagine, back in 2004, technology was a lot different,” he said. “About six years ago, after being with the company for 12 years, building relationships with the franchisees, working in marketing and technology and becoming more educated about the franchise space, I had the opportunity to move into the role of president.”

In 2004, Long joined a company that relied on paper home inspection forms that would be manually entered into a computer at the end of the day — like most home inspectors were doing at the time. As HomeTeam looked to upgrade its overall technology, he was hired to be the project manager of an effort to implement something that would “save a tremendous amount of time in the field.”

At this stage, the brand decided to leverage Pocket PCs and create software in-house to allow two inspectors to complete an inspection simultaneously, with each inspector entering data into a Pocket PC. Once the inspection was complete, the two devices would sync with a desktop computer to compile the report, removing the handwritten aspects of inspections. 

“It saved our franchisees a tremendous amount of time when it was first launched, and it was really the first major technology change for HomeTeam,” Long explained.

Over the years, the advancements HomeTeam has made with technology have enhanced the vision of teamwork and professionalism that the brand was built on. Long guided the team through a rebrand, including a new logo and web domain, elevating the company's marketing strategies and rethinking ideal franchisees.

“The biggest thing over the last 10 years has been how we’ve hyper-focused on the different types of people we’re looking for to become franchise owners,” he said. “30 years ago, we were looking for the same thing that most home inspection franchisors were looking for — people that wanted to be home inspectors. But the team concept has always allowed our franchisees to build their business more quickly. We decided to concentrate on finding people that wanted to build multiple teams. The primary focus was that the person wanted to build a professional business and manage it with our guidance and their existing skills. An interest in home inspections and real estate was secondary.”

As the brand continues to grow and paint a new image of what a home inspection business can look like, it is garnering attention from giants in the franchising space. Just this year, HomeTeam Inspection Service was recognized as the number one home inspection franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine. Long says he feels the brand’s focus on technology, process improvement and efficiency over the last 15–20 years has certainly played a role in this recognition.

While the industry continues to shift due to industry innovations and changes in demand for inspectors, HomeTeam’s continuous growth approach allows it to cater to new, varying needs within the space in a way that other companies cannot.

“The home inspection industry is still pretty new; it’s only been around for less than 40 years. People didn’t really do home inspections before that. When HomeTeam started in 1992, about 20% of homes were inspected, and now it’s closer to 90%,” Long explained. “The expectation now is that people need home inspections, and clients realize the importance of a professional home inspection. They’re looking for simplicity in scheduling and speed in execution; they don’t have a week to wait for a three to four-hour home inspection to be completed. That’s where the team component comes in, and it’s something that more and more clients are going to want.”

As Long looks forward, he says he is most excited about franchise owner success.

“Franchise owners are the best part of franchising, and it’s really what’s kept me excited for the last 18 years. Every new owner that we award a franchise to represents an opportunity for HomeTeam to be successful in a new market,” he said. “Secondly, because we’ve been around for 30 years, I’m excited about many of our existing franchise owners retiring and selling their franchises to new owners. I enjoy the satisfaction our staff gets from coaching these franchisees and seeing them succeed and expand in their own markets.”

The initial investment range to open a HomeTeam Inspection franchise is $50,100 to $76,800. For more information, visit https://www.hometeamfranchise.com/.