The Ride Along Podcast

About The Ride Along Podcast

The Ride Along Home Inspection Podcast helps homebuyers, homeowners, and home inspectors understand real home inspection findings, deal-killing defects, and how houses actually fail in the real world. Hosted by working inspectors, the show covers foundation issues, roofs, electrical, plumbing, moisture, mold, HVAC, building science, new homes, modern residential construction trends, and inspection report insights—so buyers make smarter decisions and inspectors sharpen their craft. Be sure to follow us @theridealongshow on all social platforms! And watch the full Ride Along series on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/@theridealongshow!

Publisher

Brad Lowery

Category

education · leisure

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Sept 2022

Latest episode

1 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

75 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Sept 2026

   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 00:51 - Corey Vanderpool joins and explains his solar background 02:30 - Why door-to-door solar sales are so persistent 04:14 - Why Sprk exists in the real estate and inspection ecosystem 05:23 - What Cory is bringing to Inspection Fuel 07:03 - What Spark does for solar homeowners and inspectors 08:18 - Why "solar system" keeps triggering planet jokes 09:10 - Can inspectors charge for solar as an ancillary service? 10:08 - A leased system that was not actually working 12:39 - Why Texas solar adoption is rising 14:54 - How Texas shifted from affordability to reliability 16:18 - Why electricity prices drive solar adoption 17:36 - The problem of unknowns in solar transactions 18:55 - Why energy efficiency should come before solar 19:54 - How Sprk generates energy reports from inspection data 21:36 - What factors go into the home energy analysis 23:11 - How Spark estimates air tightness and utility costs 24:14 - Why this is not an energy audit 25:36 - Spark pricing for inspection companies and reports 27:02 - Marketing tools, CE classes, and broker education 29:26 - The real cost range of solar systems 30:37 - How solar systems are sized and how net metering works 32:01 - Why grid outages shut solar down without batteries or transfer equipment 33:20 - Misleading sales promises and the need for local accountability 35:53 - How inspectors help bridge the knowledge gap 37:15 - Why Sprk focuses on supporting existing solar homeowners 38:41 - Pre-listing reports and disclosure issues 39:44 - Cory's Fuel session and what attendees will learn 41:30 - Fuel registration reminder and final event details 42:14 - Where to find Cory online 42:48 - Matt's closing and upcoming conference schedule The links: The Travis Jones solar episode: https://youtu.be/9xmLuGpVmHw?si=sd8FP-Ls3UAvdwe0 Register for Inspection Fuel (Sept 28-30 in Lousiville, KY) at https://inspectionfuel.com/register Sign up for the TRA Newsletter: https://pages.theridealong.show/newsletter Leave us a voicemail here: https://www.theridealong.show/

2. 

   27 Jul 2026

   How home inspectors should tackle re-inspections... featuring Brad Zirlott (AKA @duesouthbrad)

   Home inspection experts Brad Lowery, Matt Brading, and Brad Zirlott discuss strategies for efficient and profitable re-inspections, sharing insights on pricing and client management.

3. 

   14 Jul 2026

   What to do if you're a new home inspector starting a business from scratch! Featuring Abby Bullock

   Hosts Brad Lowery and Matt Brading interview Abby Bullock of Merit Property Inspections about her hard-earned lessons for new home inspectors starting a business from scratch.

Who has been a guest on The Ride Along Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Brad Zirlott
• Abby Bullock
• Jordan Mason
• Ken Humphreys
• Brent Fletcher

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

213,107

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

15 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 77 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

97

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

51

Contact The Ride Along Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about The Ride Along Podcast