By: Kate Merrihew – Director of Education and Marketing
This month’s Team Spotlight is one of our few “Renaissance Men.” He dabbles in both the inspection arts and the world of appraisals and does so adeptly. You may know him through his dad but he is certainly making a name for himself in both industries, Ryan King is one to watch.
He was born in Atlanta and raised in the Smyrna area. They moved to Acworth, GA when Ryan was 8 years old. Ryan is the older brother to twin brothers, Justin and Josh. He played baseball and basketball growing up and described his childhood as “pretty typical.” He recalled many days of video games and bike riding through the neighborhood. After high school, Ryan attended Valdosta State University in Georgia where he studied Office Administration and Technology. Valdosta State required an internship to graduate and that led him to D.S. Murphy. At the time, there was no established inspections division but Ryan was open to learning the ropes and helping to create those ties. He worked with Shawn (head of inspections at the time) and gradually learned the ways of a home inspector – something he never thought he would do. Inspections interested him mainly because it wasn’t sitting in an office and doing busy work.
Ryan’s true passion is scuba diving. He always hoped to have a career in the open water and to pursue something in that industry. The winter of 2017 in Atlanta saw more snow that many previous years and Ryan decided it was time for a change. In January of 2018, he moved to Florida to get closer to the water and to that dream. Ryan already had his dive masters certification and would be able to take on a new position, he just needed to find the right fit. As he was getting to know the area, Ryan worked for another inspections company in Tampa (the ultimate goal was to end up in the Keys). D.S. Murphy created the Tampa office about a year later and he moved over to work with his father, Steve King.
One unexpected (but wonderful) thing happened shortly after his move to Florida. He met his current wife, Erin on Bumble. Their first date was at The Fat Rabbit and he was immediately captivated by her warmth and optimism. “She’s just a happy person,” he recalled. They were set to get married in 2020, but we all know how private events panned out that year. They ended up having an immediate family ceremony in the backyard. A year later, they were able ot get their original date at their original venue and tied the knot in style. On January 3rd, 2023, he and Erin welcomed their son, Bennett Pearce King. *Pearce is a family name passed down for generations. It is both Ryan and Steve’s middle names.
Ryan was only working for a short time in the Tampa office when his dad started to bend his ear about picking up his appraiser’s license. When asked which he preferred, Ryan commented, “Appraising and inspecting are different animals and depending the day I like one more than the other. Inspection is a lot more time on the front end but it’s nice to come back and have only 30 minutes of clean up work.” When he thinks about his future with D.S. Murphy, Ryan knows that appraisals will probably be the bulk of his business as he gets older. He plans to split much of his time between family, work and scuba. He is in the perfect place to do just that.
I asked Ryan the following questions…
Q: What made you want to be an appraiser?
A: Haha! I never wanted to be an appraiser. My dad is an appraiser. His dad is an appraiser. My granddad was an SRA back when it was harder to achieve. After doing inspections for awhile, I figured I could increase revenue streams. Up until I became a home inspector, I had it in my mind that I was just going to be a scuba instructor and run a charter.
Q: What would you like to do when you are no longer appraising/inspecting?
A: I haven’t completely lost the scuba diving dream but I would like to open a bar/brewery and run that some day.
Q: What the weirdest thing you have come across when inspecting/appraising?
A: I have seen several things that people didn’t want me to see. I have to get a picture under every sink for inspections and so I’ve had to move awkward things out of the way. Back in training I helped my dad with a former Bucs player – the pool had a full-blown pirate ship.
Q: Something no one knows about you?
A: I’m in a bowling league and my best 3-game series was 631. Highest bowling score in a single is 256.
Q: What words of wisdom can you share with the team?
A: I guess just wake up smiling. If you get mad, put on some music. It’s hard to be mad when you’re singing along to your favorite song. Also, don’t pet the alligators. They survived whatever killed everything else, c’mon.