BY CHRISTINE GRAF
Alyssa Hackett opened Wolf Hollow Home Inspection last year and is certified to perform both home and mold inspections and works in numerous counties including Albany, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington.
She is willing to travel within a 1.5 hour radius of Albany.
Just six months after graduating from high school in 2001, Hackett enlisted in the Navy. She had no intention of entering the military but felt a call to serve after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A few months later, she deployed to the Middle East aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.
After serving, she returned home and worked at a variety of different jobs before earning a degree in social work from the College of Saint Rose.
After receiving her degree, she worked for the Alliance for Positive Health and provided mental health services to the LGBTQ community. She also worked as the program director at the Pride Center of the Capital Region until she and many of her colleagues were laid off in 2016.
For the next three years, she worked odd jobs. She also did home maintenance and repairs and considered getting her general contractor’s license. It was at that point in time that she met someone who worked as a home inspector.
“He told me about the job, and I said, ‘I can walk into a house, point out things that are wrong, guide people through the emotional process of buying their home, and not be the responsible party for having to fix anything?” she said. “It seemed like a match made in heaven.”
The following week, Hackett enrolled in C.A.T.S. Home Inspection Training School. Four months later, she obtained her license. Before opening Wolf Hollow Home Inspections, she worked for an established home inspector and performed some 100 inspections.
Hackett said the home inspection business is a natural fit for her and that she enjoys “exploring every dark corner” of a property. From the time she was a child, she has had an interest in home maintenance and repair.
“I was that kid that wanted to know why everything worked the way it did,” she said. “My parents used to give me handheld video games, and I wanted to take them apart and then got in trouble for not being able to put them back together. I had a deep desire to know how things work.”
Most of Hackett’s work has come from referrals from real estate agents and former colleagues from her time working in social justice. She prefers to work with agents who share her desire to prioritize relationships.
“What I set out to do was find agents that would be excited when I found things in a home that would provide their clients extra awareness about whether or not this was the right property for them,” she said.
Business at Wolf Hollow Home Inspections grew steadily, but has slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although her rates are standard for the industry, her commitment to her customers goes beyond the norm.
“I take what I do very seriously. Someone is using my knowledge and expertise before making the largest investment they will probably ever make,” she said.