Arnold McLaurin – Owner and Inspector

Since he was a young boy Arnold McLaurin has been fascinated with the building industry. McLaurin attributes his fascination to his maternal Grandfather who was a carpenter and brick mason. “I loved walking through his garage and looking at all his tools”; said McLaurin. “Oh! Did I tell you my Grand PA built that garage himself”, asked McLaurin?

In 1986 Arnold McLaurin acted on his childhood dreams and began to look for his first investment property. A neighbor referred McLaurin to someone that needed to sell their house and soon he was engaged in negotiations to purchase his first investment property. McLaurin asked the current owners if they would allow him to inspect the property and they granted him permission. When asked about his first inspection McLaurin replied; “Well, I was inspecting a property for myself so I was protecting my own investment…my own money. Little did I know at the time that one day I would be inspecting properties for other buyers”. “Today, when I tell my clients that I am going to inspect their future home like I am buying it for myself I am very serious”. “All our inspectors are trained to that standard,” explained McLaurin.

Arnold McLaurin received his Real Estate License in March of 1990, and in April of 1995 he received his General Contractors Certification for residential and commercial building. In November of 1995 McLaurin started a property inspection business. One year later, in 1996 North Carolina was the second state behind Texas to enact a licensure law for home inspectors. Since 1996 the number of states to enact some form of license for home inspectors has grown to twenty eight. All home inspectors in North Carolina must complete twelve hours of continuing education annually. McLaurin has also taught classes for new Real Estate agents through his local board of Realtors. These classes include such topics as how to prepare a property for a home inspection and how to correctly identify different components and systems of a property.

Through his twenty two years in the property inspection industry Arnold McLaurin has gained a wealth of knowledge. He has used this knowledge to train a team of property inspectors that have collectively completed over 30,000 property inspections. A courteous office staff efficiently handles communications and scheduling of inspections. McLaurin’s business philosophy has always been; “to lead by example and never ask an inspector to do something you’re not willing to do yourself”. “Over the years we have always been blessed with a pool of honest and hard working people who wanted to learn the property inspection business,” McLaurin explained. “Our inspectors here at American Property Inspection Services include individuals from the private sector and retirees from the military”, said McLaurin. Arnold and Rena McLaurin are active members of their local church. Arnold is a deacon and Rena is the social chair. “We encourage each member of our team to give back”, McLaurin further explained. “I’m pleased to say that our team members have been involved in multiple disaster relief trips both locally and in other parts of America”. “Mission trips abroad by team members include Central America and the Dominican Republic”, said McLaurin. Additional Local involvement by team members of American Property Inspection Services include The Chamber of Commerce, The center of entrepreneurship, charitable organizations, love lunches and the Alms House. For their involvement in the field and in the classroom the local board of Realtors selected Arnold and Rena McLaurin as affiliate of the year for 2017.

Arnold McLaurin and his wife Rena enjoy traveling. They spent a week fishing on Kodiak Island, Alaska where Rena stole the show by catching a 300 pound Halibut. They have visited Hawaii where they took a helicopter ride over the Napoli Coast on the north shore of Kauai. Multiple visits to the Caribbean and Mexico have afforded them the opportunity to see natural sites and ancient ruins. Arnold asked Rena to marry him on St Thomas overlooking Carmen Amelia. “We have visited friends from coast to coast and in Canada”, said McLaurin.  In their free time the McLaurin’s enjoy spending time with their blended family which consist of five children, in-laws and eleven grandchildren. Each year the family anxiously awaits THANKSGISMAS, a weekend between Thanks Giving and Christmas that the entire family gets together to celebrate the holidays.

“There have been many changes in the property inspection industry over the last twenty two years”, said McLaurin. ”One truth remains, every home we inspect is special and we treat it like that”.