Meet Our Team
Solid Ground is a certified, licensed home inspection company that educates buyers and sellers on the condition of their home, top to bottom – inside and out. Established by Stephen and Erika Houmard in January 2006, our Solid Ground team has conducted over 9,000 home inspections in 20 years -- now that's a lot of houses!
After operating as a single-inspector company for a few years, Steve and Erika expanded Solid Ground into a multi-inspector company for about ten years based on increased demand for our unique, interactive style of home inspecting. However, team changed dynamics as our beloved inspectors either retired, moved or started their own companies and now we focus on Stephen's seasoned expertise as we serve the needs of home buyers, home sellers and real estate agents throughout the Charleston and surrounding areas. In fact, you're just as likely to see Stephen in Summerville as in Mt. Pleasant or on James Island. Beyond metro Charleston, we'll easily travel from Kiawah Island to Awendaw to Moncks Corner and every place in between to inspect the home you're buying or selling.
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Stephen Houmard
Owner, Certified Home Inspector
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With 20 years as a home inspector under his belt, Stephen brings not only his technical expertise but his humor with him to (just about) every inspection and has a natural ability to connect with home buyers and sellers from all walks of life. If you're especially nervous about your big purchase or are the detail-oriented, analytical type who just has to know why the outlet doesn't work, Stephen's humor and knowledge will help put you at ease so you can learn what you need to from your home inspection.
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While living in Atlanta, Stephen and Erika (and mostly Steve) renovated a 1950 traditional home and a 1920 arts and crafts bungalow both from the ground up. It was from this work that we realized Steve had a true talent for understanding how a house, and all its major
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systems, work together and that this knowledge would translate well into a career as a home inspector. From buying and selling the homes we renovated, we fully understand how important the home inspection is and have factored our learnings into the inspection service we offer today.
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Interestingly, Stephen actually started his career in nursing and spent ten years in the medical field. During this time, he honed his analytical and systems-thinking skills, utilized a scientific approach to diagnose problems and developed his wonderful ability to convey conditions to patients in a manner that was both educational and comforting.
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When not inspecting, you can catch Steve working on various house projects for his James Island home, out fishing or at the beach with his wife. His son Michael graduated from high school in 2021 and went right into Marines boot camp (same weekend!) Three months later, Mike earned the title 'U.S. Marine' (fall 2021) -- Steve was so proud! Now, Michael is married to a lovely girl and is a Corporal in the Marine Corps based at nearby Parris Island where you can find Steve and Mike fishing from time to time in beautiful Beaufort, SC.
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Stephen is a Certified Home Inspector through the American Society of Home Inspections (ASHI) and is licensed as a Residential Building Inspector by the State of South Carolina #2046. For more information about ASHI, please visit them at www.ashi.org. Additionally, Stephen is Infrared-Certified trained in the use of thermal imaging for residential homes, is a Certified Remote (drone) Pilot and certified in the use of sewer scopes for underground sewer line inspections as well. In 2024, Stephen became a Fortified Evaluator for the Fortified Program through the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS).
Erika Houmard
Owner, Business & Scheduling Manager
For the last 20 years, Erika (and Steve) have worked to build Solid Ground from a single home inspector company to a multi-inspector company (from 2010 to 2021) and back again to a single-inspector firm (as of 2021). In terms of the day-to-day business, Erika manages the scheduling and all other non-inspecting aspects of the business so that our home inspectors are free to be out and about performing home inspections!
One of Erika's responsibilities is to ensure that our clients consistently receive an outstanding inspection experience in a convenient and timely manner. Additionally, Erika is dedicated to understanding what home buyers, home sellers and real estate professionals want and need in a home inspection and is continually improving our services based on those insights.
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Prior to creating Solid Ground, Erika had over 12 years of marketing experience from corporate America having spent time at both Coca-Cola USA Foodservice and United Parcel Service (UPS) world headquarters in Atlanta giving her the knowledge and experience needed to head up Marketing and Business Development.