Home Inspection Course !

[GINO]

Hello to everyone,

I'm interested ( extremely ), in learning home inspection. I checked some web info ( carson) , I also looked into community college courses and on-line courses.

The question is, What would be the most accepted form of training to get started in this new career?

I'm going a little nuts with all the difference of opinions , would like to hear from someone who's been there.

Thanks

Gino

[Tom The Great]

With any career, I would talk to those who would hire you. Get incontact with home inspector companies, and ask what they are looking for to hire home inspectors.

later,

tom @

[jeffc]

Many of these "companies" are simply individuals, and won't be hiring you. In my state (NC), if you don't have certain experience and qualifications, then passing the state exam will only get you an "associate" license, which amounts to being essentially an apprentice home inspector. You would need to work with a home inspector to do inspections during this time. I'm not sure, but presumably the motivation for full home inspectors to take on an "apprentice" is to give you little pay to do some of their dirty work or administrative work.

[Al Bundy]

Tom The Great wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Precisely why I posted the comment as to what my groundrule would be hiring one. Ya gotta know the market they say.

[synergysmci]

Gino,

Requirements for home inspectors vary greatly by state, with some having no requirements at all and many now requiring state certification. Check first with your state to see what their requirements for home inspectors are.

The American Home Inspector Training Institute web site has an interactive map that can direct you to the requirements for your state

It will tell you what is required and also the governing board (if any) for home inspectors in your state. I would also recommend that you follow up with that board to confirm that those requirements are the current ones.

Many states, such as Arizona require a minimum of 80 hours of education (either classroom or self study--though I would strongly suggest classroom); some number of parallel inspections (where you actually do an inspection in parallel with a certified inspector, prepare your report, then have it reviewed and approved by the inspector); passing of an exam; and review and approval of some number of inspection reports by the regulating board.

I would also recommend you attend some of the meetings of one of the national associations in your area (ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) -

or NACHI (National Association of Home Inspectors - are two well respected ones. Talk to the members--they are an invaluable source of information and usually LOVE to talk about their work. And they are most familiar with the intricacies of your particular market.

I would also suggest you check out

-- it is a wonderful BB for home inspectors and an invaluable source of information. Most of your questions have probably been asked a hundred times before, so I would use the search feature before asking general questions like, "How do I get started?" or "How long does it take to break even?" Two of the threads (Advertising, Legal, Marketing etc. and Chit Chat) are the two that generally have the answers to a lot of general business related questions.

Lastly, I cannot emphasize enough that you thoroughly investigate what it takes to become a home inspector; what it takes to run a business (most inspectors are single person companies); and how much you might make. Many of the schools might suggest that you can do 4 or 5 inspections a day and make $400-$500 per inspection. In reality, you can usually do 2 inspections a day (IF you have the business coming in), at an average of $300 per inspection--however, your business cost will be about 50%, so your Net Profit Before Tax would be about $300 a day for those days that you work. In Arizona the Real Estate market is very down right now and most established inspectors are lucky to be doing 3 home inspections a week ($450 PBT per week) and many have dropped out.

That being said, we have leveraged our home inspection business into other related ares (mold inspections, construction inspections, commercial inspections, draw inspections) and are slightly ahead of what we made last year at this time in a boon residential market.

Gino, I do not want to dissuade you. I think all industries need to be replenished from time to time with talented, dedicated new blood. However, I think it is critical that you get all the facts first and weigh them wisely before making your decision and spending thousands of dollars only to find out it's not what you expected.

I am in the process of developing training for new and potential new home inspectors on the business side of home inspection, but it is still in development and not yet ready for release. You can get a better understanding of what we do in our home inspection business, make use of our extensive links, etc., by visiting our web site at

Good Luck! Jayne

[Al Bundy]

"synergysmci" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Good link. Thanks. At least tells you the min reqs at some point in time.

[Al Bundy]

"jeffc" wrote in news:24RXg.9005$ [e-mail]:

I've spent time in a NC attic in July/Aug with an AC guy. I thought this was the most heat a human could tolerate and stay alive. Then he fired up the mapp torch.

I get up early or wait till an overcast day now...

Al in FAY...