I am approaching my 1000 inspection. As of today I have 975.
I wanted to ask other inspectors on there opinion of the CMI designation.
In no way do I feel I am a master inspector. I am a very good inspector but to me a master would be someone who has the master knowledge of all components of a home inspection.
In the application I dont believe that having vehicle logos and CEU credits should apply. I actually think 2500 or 5000 inspection should be the bar for a master inspector. I also believe there should be an exam for the CMI with a 90% passing grade.
I do like the fact that I can utilize the CMI logo as there are not many with this designation in my area.
Any thoughts on the CMI is appreciated. Is it worth the $375?
There are no vehicle logos required?
That is not on the application.
Below are the stated requirements, no more, no less:
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Verdana, Sans Serif]Completing 1,000 fee-paid inspections or hours of inspection-related continuing education (combined) in their lifetime.[/FONT]
Abiding by the industry’s toughest Code of Ethics.
Substantially following a Board approved Standards of Practice.
Submitting to a criminal background check.
Applying for Board certification by signing the affidavit in front of a Notary.
It works for me. Some like it, some want it changed.
This has been debated for mucho long time on this forum.
It is a designation based on education and experience.
It is on the CMI worksheet. It is #14. I see where the worksheet is for fun!
I misunderstood the worksheet as I thought the sheet was part of the application.
Perhaps this is the beauty of this particular designation, sir.
I am like you, although I am far away from having 1000 inspections. I am not comfortable with advertising myself as being anything other than a home inspector. I am certainly uncomfortable with being held accountable by anyone for any more than would be required from the average home inspector and I feel that my advertising should be consistent with that.
Yet, when the day comes that I wish to take on the burden of a higher designation, it is there for the taking.
When someone like you and I who lacks the confidence of putting “Certified Master Inspector” on their business card finally decides that they have acquired the skills that would put them at that level, more power to them. The blame, if there is any to be had, will not fall upon the system but upon their decision to accept this level of accountability.
Contact the CMI’s in Colorado http://certifiedmasterinspector.org/cmi/co.html. They add an extra 200 to EVERY inspection they do and they get the every time. They figured out how to really make it work. Tom Rausch deserves the credit here.
There are no annual dues for the Certified Master Inspector designation so it doesn’t take a whole lot of extra $200 to get your one time $375 back.
Ask Tom and Henry how they do it on every inspection . It’s totally wild!
Disclaimer: Colorado CMIs have a big advantage. I’m here, Kent is here, Jimmy Michaels (doing 13-16 inspections a week) is here. Tommy makes at least $1500 a day, every day doing inspections. Bryant is here. Hank is here. James Krumm is here. They’re not just CMIs, they are commercial inspectors too. The list reads like a who’s who of super inspectors. Going to one of their meetings is like taking a time machine into 2015. I think Hank was the first to figure out how to exploit the CMI.
Nick - thanks for the mention - my staff informs all of our clients that I am one of “X” number of CMI’s in the State - we don’t loose very many inspections - in fact, we get to pick and choose most of our work - most of the time.
We have a quite a few inspectors who are as busy as they want to be - it all comes down to marketing and education. Since last April, we have held 7 educational classes through NCE - it gives our guys a lot of confidence. Along with the NACHI Marketing, our guys are really busy.
We just launched the NACHI School of Inspections this last weekend - for every 60 minutes in the classroom, we strive to spend a minimum 30 minutes in the field - no other inspection school even comes close to this large amount of “hands-on” training. We can’t wait to get our first class of students into the market - most of these students will go 6 figures within the first 18 months. This program that Nick and I have developed will really put our graduates way ahead of the curve.
We have introduced a new way to get Chapter meetings to be very-well attended - we are going to give it a few more months and then begin to teach all chapter leadership teams throughout the country - NACHI Chapters will be stronger and our members will be better educated - I can’t wait to get this ball rolling.
If you really want to see CMI at work, block your caller ID and call Hank’s inspection company. It is so good. Ask him why he charges more.
Anyway, CMI is not a marketing tool (techncially), like most of NACHI’s lead generation sites are designed to be. CMI is a sales tool. If you don’t understand the difference, CMI will be of no use to you. This is a really weird business: Unlike just about every other business, in the inspection business you don’t meet your clients until AFTER they’ve already hired you! This means that the inspection business is all marketing and just a little bit of sales (when the phone rings). Sales is a critical link in the chain. Poor sales and you’ve wasted all your marketing efforts and money. CMI is designed to help you *convert *more of your marketing into sales (scheduled inspections) by using higher pricing as a pitch.
After talking to many Clients and asking why they choose
our company instead of the others… many said it was
the CMI designation that gave us the edge.
Not always, but many times this was the deciding factor.
“Certified Master Inspector” is one of those rare things in my life where I love it more as time goes on. Years ago I thought that those 3 words in that order couldn’t be trumped. Today I’m convinced of it. Nothing really even comes close. “Certified Master Inspector” says it all.
What is unfortunate (about our industry, not CMI) is that so few qualify for it. Our profession’s turnover rate is so high and our profession’s success rate is so low that inspectors who have performed more than 1,000 inspections (the equivalent of about 5.5 years of experience on average) represent less than 5% of our industry. Intro schools, licensing, and no-entrance-requirement diplomal mill societies (or ashiations as I like to call them) are making it even harder for inspectors to stay alive long enough to get 1,000 inspections under their belt. Not so good for consumers IMHO.
For us older guys who got into this business late in life I will probably have to be 90 years old before I could be Master Inspector. Is that fair for the older generation? I don’t get many inspections have been in business since 1999 and am 62 years old. I don’t know what my total count is maybe 500 - 600 don’t know. I will be to old or dead. So does Master Inspector really make any difference?
That’s the problem. In this current market suffering from minimum standard licensing and no-entrance-requirement diploma mill societies, it is taking longer and longer for inspectors to rack up 1,000 inspections. I predict that by 2008, CMIs will represent less than 2% of our industry!
Each hour of inspection-related continuing education counts toward the 1,000. What is your continuing education background like?
More faulty math of which you have “convinced yourself” no doubt. With an incresing number of buyers seeking inspections, and the endless prolifieration of “inspection-related” educational offerings, it is easier than ever to obtain this meaningless designation.
. It’s totally wild!
For us older guys who got into this business late in life I will probably have to be 90 years old before I could be Master Inspector. Is that fair for the older generation? I don’t get many inspections have been in business since 1999 and am 62 years old. I don’t know what my total count is maybe 500 - 600 don’t know. I will be to old or dead. So does Master Inspector really make any difference?