HOME INSPECTIONS DONE RIGHT SINCE 1971

In 1976 Ken Austin became a founding member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), the first industry organization to set standards for home inspections.

After developing a successful multi-inspector home inspection business, Ken Austin decided to take his model to the national level. In 1979 he created HouseMaster, the first home inspection franchise operation in the US, which remains the first and oldest home inspection franchise system in North America.

With the home inspection industry in its infancy, Ken Austin and team developed formalized training procedures for home inspectors – this included standardized, and clearly categorized on-site written inspection reports, pioneering the professional home inspection business.

In 1986 HouseMaster established our Agent Indemnification Program, providing a necessary layer of protection for our agents.

In 1987 The National Institute of Building Inspectors was created – NIBI would become a premier school for home inspectors, and has been providing home inspection training courses and certifications for the last 26 years.

HouseMaster introduced the idea of pre-inspecting your home before accepting an offer or before putting it on the market in 1989 – we have since helped thousands and thousands of customers prepare for the selling process with a pre-inspection.

Taking a step forward ahead of the competition, in 1994 HouseMaster introduced their Inspection Guarantee. The protection the guarantee provides to franchisees as well as inspection customers is a great example of HouseMaster’s commitment to excellence.

In 1999 HouseMaster introduced the “HouseMaster Hero” – this character would represent the spirit of the franchise system for years to come.

HouseMaster started off the new millennium with a bang. In 2000 they took their training program to the internet and started the 1st online training program for home inspectors.

HouseMaster’s current President, Kathleen Austin Kuhn, daughter of the founder Ken Austin, and a 19-year veteran of the company, became a Charter Member of the American Home Inspection Association (AHIA). AHIA, a non-profit corporation made up of the largest national home inspection companies, is dedicated to shaping the legislative issues facing the home inspection industry, as well as the real estate industry in general.

In 2009 HouseMaster celebrated 30 successful years in the home inspection industry, continuing the vision that Ken started and keeping the culture of family. With the most experienced and professional support staff in the industry the HouseMaster name continues to represent quality and leadership.

HouseMaster named the No. 1 Home Inspection Franchise in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 for three straight years, more than any other home inspection franchise.

HouseMaster continues its unmatched history of franchisee satisfaction. This honor is given by the Franchise Business Review, which annually recognizes franchisors with the highest overall franchisee satisfaction based on it’s survey of franchisees.