(Karen Yolevski. Source: Avanew Studios)

When Karen Yolevski accepted the CEO role at Carson Dunlop, it wasn’t just another career move. It was a pivotal moment in the company’s evolution. After years of organic growth, especially on the education side during the pandemic, Carson Dunlop was ready for something different. Not reinvention. Rebuilding. The kind that happens when a business graduates from one era into another and needs new scaffolding for what comes next.

“I’ve been in the space for quite some time,” Yolevski says. “Sometimes I tease that I’m working my way around all the key players in real estate—brokerage, appraisal, title and now inspection.”

What drew her in wasn’t just familiarity with the industry. It was a rare chance to take a gold-standard brand and equip it for its next growth phase. Backed by the Co-operators, Carson Dunlop now plays a central role in advancing the insurer’s home services strategy — helping protect the physical integrity of the home and preserve its long-term value, as part of a broader commitment to building more resilient consumers and sustainable communities.

“The home will continue to be people’s biggest investment,” Yolevski says. “The question is, how do we help them protect that investment, not just at the time of purchase, but over the course of ownership?”

The Canadian home inspection industry remains one of the least standardized sectors in the real estate ecosystem. Licensing requirements vary across provinces, and educational programs are inconsistent. And while inspections can shape, stall, or secure a transaction, they are often treated as a last-minute obligation instead of a professional service. Carson Dunlop sees a different path forward.

A legacy built on trust

Under its founders, the company became synonymous with integrity. Inspections weren’t transactional. They were educational, impartial, and trusted. That trust was hard-earned. Yolevski knows it, and she doesn’t take it for granted.

“Being able to provide wise counsel at a time when a consumer needs it most, and doing so impartially, that’s what this company was built on,” she says. “And we certainly can’t lose that.”

But what got the company here isn’t what will take it forward. 

Over the past few years, the company scaled quickly on the strength of its training platform. But with that scale came strain. Systems needed refinement. Teams needed structure. Processes needed clarity. It’s the moment when a business doesn’t need more adrenaline. It needs architecture. That’s where someone like Yolevski comes in.

Scaling without compromise

Yolevski is not here just to maintain standards. She is here to build the systems that protect and extend them.

“We’re the premier educator in the home inspection space in Canada. Many inspectors in the industry, we’re proud to say, have been trained by us. And we’re not backing down from that, we’re going to grow in that space.”

Education is not just a pillar of the business. It’s the foundation. The company’s strength lies in its ability to train, certify, and support inspectors before they ever interact with a client. Training is how you preserve quality at scale. That institutional mindset, building integrity into the infrastructure, is central to Yolevski’s approach.

Rewriting the perception of inspection

“There’s still this idea that inspection is a ‘necessary evil,’” she says. “It’s a gate you have to get through to close a deal. But that’s not the reality.”

She’s not wrong. Despite being one of the most consequential steps in a transaction, inspections are often feared more than they’re appreciated. But she wants to flip that mindset entirely.

“Think about how much research people do before buying a washer or dryer,” she says. “This is another component of that research, but for the biggest investment you’ll ever make.”

It is a point that sticks. Homeowners obsess over appliance warranties and thread counts but hesitate to engage fully with the systems that run the home they are about to live in. Yolevski wants to shift the narrative. Inspection is not a pass-fail moment. It is a source of insight that informs decision-making long after the deal closes.

“It’s going to tell you what the house is, how it works, what needs attention, and when. And that information lives on after the transaction. That’s incredibly powerful.”

From vendor to industry partner

Yolevski’s credibility doesn’t come from theory. It comes from experience. As COO of Royal LePage’s corporate brokerages, she helped lead a large network of brokerages through market cycles and operational change. That insight now shapes how Carson Dunlop serves agents and brokers, not just clients.

“I feel lucky to have seen the target audience from the inside,” she says. “It gives me a unique perspective on how we can best serve our clients.”

Her definition of service goes well beyond bookings.

“One, you can find us. We’re easy to book. But more importantly, we deliver a service you want to attach your name to. Because if it’s not good, no Realtor’s going to refer us, no matter how convenient we are.”

This is the part of her leadership that feels clearest. She is not chasing attention. She is building alignment. Carson Dunlop is positioning itself as a partner that understands the pressures brokerages and agents face and is designing around those realities. It is not just about inspections. It is about helping the people who help clients.

“We know real estate can be a lonely business,” she says. “It’s hard. It’s competitive. And we’re asking: how do we go beyond service and enrich the Realtor’s business?”

Building a profession, not just a business

That vision includes reshaping how the public and the industry view inspection as a career. The old narrative saw it as a soft landing at the end of another trade. Yolevski wants it to be a real trade of its own.

“It was commonly thought that inspection was a second career. Maybe a tradesperson looking for something to do at the end of their working life,” she says. “But that’s changing.”

Carson Dunlop is now positioning inspection as a first-choice profession, equally valid as plumbing, electrical or HVAC.

“There’s less lead time, fewer physical limitations with new technology like drones, and more opportunity for entrepreneurship,” she says. “We’re positioning ourselves as a launchpad for people coming out of school looking to enter a real profession.”

Change with clarity

The internal transformation is ongoing. Legacy systems are being modernized. New processes are being implemented. The growth that came quickly during the pandemic years is now being structured and stabilized.

“Change can be difficult, even when it’s positive,” Yolevski says. “You can’t force someone to feel like something’s a great idea. You have to walk with them, show them, and let them come to that conclusion themselves.”

That clarity, paired with patience, is how she leads. It’s a style that doesn’t seek applause. It seeks alignment.

What comes next

Having interviewed both Alan Carson and Karen Yolevski within weeks of each other, the contrast is clear. Carson speaks with the quiet confidence of a craftsman. Yolevski moves quickly, system by system, like someone sketching out a framework and checking against the blueprint as she goes. The values are the same. The tempo is different.

Still, the goal remains. Set a new standard. Grow the company without diluting it. Turn trust into scale, and scale into infrastructure.

“Coast to coast, I want us to be the first name that comes to mind when people think of quality inspections. When they think of professionalism. When they think of partnership.”

That is not a slogan. That is a strategy. And now the blueprint is on the table.

Voices by REM

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