It can truly be said that Mark Pollard grew his 360 Home Inspections business from the ground up. After all, Mark became a contractor at the age of 25 before spending his next 25 years building custom homes for San Diego area residents. Knowing every aspect of home construction and being able to determine the quality of work during every phase is something he loves sharing with local homeowners.

 

His early interest in architecture while growing up in Utah was combined with his love of San Diego. Mark first came to the area on a basketball scholarship at San Diego State University in 1987. After taking several courses in architecture, he went on to work for a local general contractor. “That job allowed me to experience every phase of new construction, including double checking the work,” he explained. “It helped me a great deal when it came to identifying problems which could cost my boss time and money.”

 

Soon after, he took on construction projects for custom homes. “I quickly learned the important details from having to do custom work,” he adds. “Doing custom work is much more rewarding because there are differences in every room for every home.”

 

As the years went by and his expertise grew, Pollard became certified in both residential and commercial work. “Working on larger projects was quite the education. I learned the difference of working with air conditioning and ventilation systems of all sizes. I went from fuse boxes (residential) to entire utility rooms with extensive electrical wiring and all points in between.”

 

A personal health scare in 2018 is behind Pollard’s decision to perform home inspections. With help from his wife, Chris, who brings her tech background to 360 Home Inspections, they can provide services such as drone footage. “Use of a drone allows us to provide inspection details from the roof and other hard-to-get-at locations within a property. We can also perform inspections for lead and asbestos, which brings the safety of residents and families into our work.”

 

Mark and Chris raised two sons and one daughter in the San Diego area. Outside of work, they enjoy traveling and spending as much time as possible with friends and family. Giving back through volunteering is very important to Mark. For years, he has volunteered with “Feeding San Diego” as well as other organizations, and that continues to this day.

 

Mark works with many potential buyers, whether to find "concerns" or to make sure there are no red flags before the closing. Sometimes potential sellers hire a home inspector to identify problems that need fixing prior to listing. Either way, Pollard’s findings are often used by real estate agents in negotiations and could make a difference of thousands of dollars on a property purchase or sale.

 

As you would expect, not all of Pollard’s inspections have typical results. “There was the time that I looked under the sink and found a vacuum cleaner hose connecting the sink to the drain,” he told us. “The good news was that it was a very simple fix. But at that moment, I was certainly anxious to see what else I would find in that house!”

 

Mark’s years of experience in San Diego have made him an expert. “The land and the soil play a big role in new construction. The beach communities have a lot of sand and less stable soil. Mission Valley has more solid soil. The Alpine area contains a lot of decomposed granite and harder soil. Having experience with these helps all concerned.”

 

Whether new construction or a 100-year-old house, Pollard has seen it all over the past 30 years. He even keeps track. “I still have and update my ‘File of Fails, ’ which allows me to access how we handled practically every situation in the past,” he confessed.

 

However, his files also contain every success story from his inspections. “I have had homeowners and agents call me years later to compare my original findings with what is going on at the time. I love it because it reminds me of how many of my inspection findings hold up over the months and years.”

 

We could say that Mark Pollard has a well-constructed plan!