Originally Posted By: Brad Little This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I am just beginning to explore entering the HI business, but I need to gain a little more technical knowledge in specific areas such as EIFS, electrical systems and HVAC systems. I noticed Building Specs (a NACHI affiliate) offers an extensive variety of classes, but its a little far from home for me. What has worked best for you seasoned inspectors? Local tech colleges? Lots of reading? Learn as you go? With experience in home building, I know only enough about these technical areas to be dangerous.
Originally Posted By: Guest This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Brad - I wish I could help you, but I am even worse off. I want to start a HI business here where I live (Atlanta), and am looking at some training options, but I have NO experience in construction or inspection related trades. I see a lot of books, tape classes, and live week long training “schools” out there, but I have no idea how to get started. The week long programs claim to give you everything you need to get started. I know there is a lot to learn, and it obviously can’t all be covered in a week, but I’m thinking maybe that’s a ggod way for someone totally green to begin. Those classes range from $600 to $2000; do you think they are worth the money? GA does not have any license requirements, however, I feel that I should have proper training before hanging my shingle out. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.
There is so much to learn in order to be a qualified inspector and this school provides a good base to get you started.
If your serious about Home Inspection, take the two week course. You will soon learn (as I did) that you have alot MORE to learn. 
If your not really serious, the price may be an issue
-- Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738
Originally Posted By: rking This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Brad and Guest,
I think a lot of practising home inspectors have a long history in construction or engineering in one form or another.
There are a number of courses available for home inspectors.
Personally I took a course through a company up here in Canada called Carson, Dunlop & Associates (www.carsondunlop.com).
There material is phenomenal and after doing their course you have ongoing technical support.
There are also a number of threads throughout this board with the infromation you seek.
Try the search at the top, or read, and read, and read, and read...Well you get it 
Good Luck and welcome to NACHI.
-- Muskoka Home Inspections
"Wisdom is the Anticipation of the Consequences"
Steering Committee Member At Large
Originally Posted By: jpope This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Igor,
I love how candid you are  and for the most part, I agree with you! However, I look at it like this - these guys are eventually going to show up at a house, look around and make a report on its condition - regardless of what we tell them.
I would much rather they have spent a whole lot of money for a little bit of an education. At least then maybe they can fill out the report properly.
I've seen too many "inspectors" with absolutely NO education and (usually) NO insurance. These are the guys and/or girls that give us a bad name and higher insurance premiums.
-- Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi to all
very interesting thread. I know that most people who enter our profession come from a construction related background, but also I’m aware of some very good inspectors who other than home improvements had little related experience. Personally I think that anyone could become a home inspector but the learning curve would be incredibly steep for someone with say a computer background. The big issue as well is about licensing of inspectors, those who work in a licensed state always have to prove a high level of skill and understanding of building systems, it is much easier to start in an unlicensed state, but frankly I think that as the states without some form of control over our industry become fewer, it will be economicaly impossible for those without a strong trade background to get a start either due to the costs of realistic training or the issue of mentoring.
Originally Posted By: mrose This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Brad and Guest,
Training to learn the technical aspects of the Home Inspection profession is essential.  It takes most home inspectors 5 years of field experience before they have achieved a reasonable level of competence.
Brad, I operate a home inspection company in the Atlanta, GA area. This is a very competitive market with a surplus of home inspectors. In some regards it is like a bunch of dogs fighting over a bone.
My opinion is not meant to be discouraging but this is the reality of the situation. There is always room for good inspectors.
Best regards,
-- Mike Rose
Cornerstone Home Inspection Co. LLC
Lawrenceville, GA
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Tell us what area of the country you live in and we can perhaps point you toward a good school near you. There are getting to be a lot of them out there, and you don’t have to go coast-to-coast to find a good one.
Off the top of my head I can think of 2 in Florida, 1 in Indianapolis, 1 in Kansas City, 2 in the DC area, 1 in Phoenix or Tuczon, 1 in Dallas, 1 in Salt Lake City, 1 in New York, 2 in Oklahoma, etc.
Originally Posted By: roconnor This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I agree with Igor and others that if someone does not have a good background in either the design, construction, or repair of buildings that they probably will be on too big a learning curve and may be just asking for a lawsuit.
Even those with a fairly good background need training, because a home inspector is a general practitioner (like a country doctor) who needs to have a good handle on the basics about a lot of things related to the design, construction, operation, maintenance, deterioration, and repair of homes.
In addition to the companies that offer training classes, a lot of community colleges offer home inspection courses as part of their continuing education programs.
-- Robert O'Connor, PE
Eagle Engineering ?
Eagle Eye Inspections ?
NACHI Education Committee
I am absolutely amazed sometimes by how much thought goes into doing things wrong
Originally Posted By: jremas This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
This is a bit of a touchy subject because the individual person who wants this as a career may not have any experience in any of the trades but can EVENTUALLY make a great inspector. Or they can really nosedive out of the business due to incompetency or lawsuits. Knowledge & Confidence are needed. On the same token, you can have 30 years of experience but fail from a business standpoint because of your personality. There has to be a good balance of personality, business sense and knowledge.
With that said, it is of my opinion that the complexity of all of the systems of the home do require more than just some training. Experience sets some inspectors apart. Many clients have lots of specific questions and we need to be able to answer them. Clients do know when you are trying to BS them. For me, I had lots of construction, electrical, maintenance and supervisory experience. What I learned from training helped to "hone" me and round me out. Most answers are not in a book but come from experience. Everyday is a learning experience in one way or another. I rely more on my experience than what I learned from training. So I really question the depth of the knowledge of someone with NO related experience who decides to do this as a profession. They may eventually make a great inspector but at the cost of whom? I think the client.
Training and schools give you the basics. How many kids graduated from high school and went right to college for engineering, graduated 4 years later and at age 22 started a job where they were in charge of building a skyscraper? Make sense? NO, they need to work for many years to gain the experience needed for such an important task. Get my point? We are not building skyscrapers but we ARE helping sometimes young families to make decisions on the purchase of a home that they will have to maintain. That is a lot of responsibility.
--
Jeff Remas
REMAS Inspections, Inc.
Northeastern PA & the Poconos
www.NEPAinspector.com
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
There were almost no options at that time so I went to the Washington, D.C. area and took a 1 week long course in HI.
That was the best money I ever spent. I can't tell anyone how much I learned - nor how many things I had to unlearn because "we'd always done it that way before".
My point in all this - Home Inspection is a very unique profession. A background in construction, engineering, architecture, a trade, etc are all helpful - but they don't make you an inspector. The absolute 3 worst home inspectors I've ever met had years of experience as (a) a code inspector, (b) a licensed engineer, and (c) a home builder.
The 2 best inspectors I've ever met had previously been (a) a school teacher and (b) a graphic artist. Go Figure.
People are real prone to sue you today and its easy to get educated. If you're serious about HI as a career take some formal training or do yourself and everyone else a big favor and get into another line of work.
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
There were almost no options at that time so I went to the Washington, D.C. area and took a 1 week long course in HI.
That was the best money I ever spent. I can't tell anyone how much I learned - nor how many things I had to unlearn because "we'd always done it that way before".
My point in all this - Home Inspection is a very unique profession. A background in construction, engineering, architecture, a trade, etc are all helpful - but they don't make you an inspector. The absolute 3 worst home inspectors I've ever met had years of experience as (a) a code inspector, (b) a licensed engineer, and (c) a home builder.
The 2 best inspectors I've ever met had previously been (a) a school teacher and (b) a graphic artist. Go Figure.
People are real prone to sue you today and its easy to get educated. If you're serious about HI as a career take some formal training or do yourself and everyone else a big favor and get into another line of work.
Originally Posted By: kluce This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I’ll make this shorter Learned electric from my father from the field as I grew. Found out much more from school. HVAC, went to school while working for a heating company. Construction I was a apprentice for the three years.
What I'm saying is you can not truely understand something without the school and the field experience. I strongly feel that.
In my book, you might be able to do the job, but without both, you will never really understand. In the three fields I worked in, I have seen people do things but not understand why. "Why" is the question asked alot in HI. This is the shortest I could keep it. Ok, I could have kept it a little shorter.
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Erby -
Thats not the teacher I was thinking of at all - I think I've followed the one you refer to and that one would be in the middle third of those I know in this area - but is a real good marketer. Some people teach better than they can actually do a job, and others inspect very well but can't teach it. The teacher I was speaking of is now in either the Chicago or Upper East Coast area (I haven't kept tracks of HIM).
Originally Posted By: ecrofutt This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Ah well, sometimes a person shoots in the dark and misses.
By the way, if you happen to click submit to many times and end up with the double post like you have above, you can click on the little "X" at the top right of one of the posts and delete it.
Glad to have you here contributing with your experience.
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Erby -
Thanks for the info on the double posts. I had no clue as to why it happened. Now for Part II. I went to the little "X" at the top right and clicked it but still did not see how to delete the extra post. Care to throw out some advice?
Originally Posted By: Ron Hollingshead This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi Gents,
As a new guy on the block, I've gotta echo Dan's opinion. I too, have decades of experience in the trades, but the classroom time put my head on straight. I started with rehabbing old rental units, then major historical reconstructions, then new construction, and finally federal projects with no less than 4 inspectors sharing my field office.
I had been on the client side of the fence with HI's, dozens of times, and thought I knew what it was all about until I sat through the newly required 50 hr course here in OK. "Honed" was the right word. The class refocused my attention from "How-To", to Why? And then introduced the liability issues facing the HI industry.
I'll be taking the state test soon and have passed the NACHI test to join, so I'm going to jump in and get my feet wet, (after going on a few ride-alongs). BTW, the worst inspector in town (TULSA) is a PE.
Originally Posted By: ltrower This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Welcome aboard Ron! I hope you had Jeff for your teacher. As for the Oklahoma test it is a bugger. E-mail me and I will give you some things to work on.
Learned electric from my father from the field as I grew. Found out much more from school. HVAC, went to school while working for a heating company. Construction I was a apprentice for the three years.