In 1995, in the spare bedroom of a Sacramento home, Leeway Inspections began as a one-person operation with a simple premise: provide community banks with clear, timely construction progress reports—the kind they used to receive from their own in-house inspectors. Thirty years later, that premise has never changed, even as Leeway has grown from a single inspector to a national network serving banks across 42 states.

Dennis Lee started his career in the notes department at Sacramento Savings and Loan, learning the administrative side of construction lending. When an inspector broke their leg, Dennis stepped in temporarily and quickly proved to be a natural—eventually becoming Chief Inspector. When the bank later merged with First Interstate in 1995–1996 and the construction lending department closed, Dennis was asked to continue servicing outstanding inspections. That request became his bridge to independence.
The early days were defined by speed, clarity, and relationships.

Reports were handwritten at first, then faxed after in-house review. The goal was always to help contractors get paid promptly and give loan processors information they could use—without pages of unnecessary narrative. Word spread. Loan officers who moved to new banks asked for Leeway by name, bringing their trust in Dennis with them.

In 1998, I joined Dennis to help grow the business, and in 2000, Dick Hagg came on board to help run the office. The three of us—Dennis with deep inspection and banking experience, Dick with operational strength, and my background in marketing and relationships—found a balance that allowed the company to expand while preserving its original feel. We incorporated, hired staff, and introduced color photos long before most competitors. Yet the fundamentals never changed: every report was carefully reviewed, and every phone call was answered by someone who knew the file.
The 2000s brought rapid growth.

Leeway became the largest progress inspection firm in the Sacramento region, earned two placements on the Sacramento Business Journal’s fastest-growing companies list, and handled nearly a thousand inspections a month at its peak. Then came the Great Recession. Construction lending in California slowed dramatically. From a staff of more than a dozen serving over 30 banks, the company returned to its roots—Dennis and his wife, Mel, working from a spare room.

What ultimately saved Leeway was the same thing that had built it: relationships.
An Oregon bank that had acquired several California institutions asked if Leeway could inspect projects farther north. The shift from local employees to a carefully vetted contractor network began out of necessity, but it proved transformative. While construction lending froze in many areas, the Northwest kept building—and Leeway kept inspecting. The model that started as a survival tactic eventually made nationwide coverage possible.

Through every phase—regional powerhouse, near-collapse, contractor-based rebirth, and steady national growth—the daily habits never wavered. Inspections were scheduled within two business days. Reports were completed through timely in-house reporting upon completion of the field inspection. Questions from contractors or bankers were answered by someone who could make a decision, not a call center script. Inspectors introduced themselves on site, listened to the builder’s side of the story, and relayed clear, accurate information back to the office so our in-house team could prepare reports that helped everyone move the project forward.

In 2017, Leeway opened an office in Texas and re-incorporated there in 2020. Dennis’s daughter, Cat Hernandez, stepped in as President, carrying forward her father’s commitment to the values that defined the company from day one. While tools and technology evolved, the core disciplines remained the same: a rigorous in-house review process, concise reporting, and a personal touch in every interaction.

In recent years, both Dennis and Dick passed away, and I have mostly retired. Today, a new generation of leaders is guiding Leeway into the future. Cat leads a strong, well-trained team—including Vice President of Operations Jessica Baddeley, Senior Chief Inspector Zach Dumas, and more than 20 employees—continuing the family-owned, relationship-driven approach that has always defined Leeway.

Three decades in, Leeway Inspections remains deliberately focused on the lenders often overlooked by larger national firms: community banks and local hard money lenders. The work isn’t glamorous—driving to construction sites, documenting progress, ensuring fair assessments—but it is still done the way it was in 1995: one job at a time, with respect for the banker who needs to make a decision and the contractor who needs to make payroll.

That consistency—more than any milestone, marketing effort, or technological leap—is what Leeway’s 30 years have truly been about.