Get all of the education that you can. Then take the Nachi Exam and the National Home Inspection Exam. Allied is a good place to start. If your state has licensing check to see what schooling is required. Some states do not accept online training. Good Luck
One…Two…Punch…
Wow…You mean to tell me I could have gotten all my education I would need to do a basic home inspection from a DVD? I sure went about things the wrong way!
:shock: :shock: :shock:
You shouldn’t have any problems passing the entrance exam for InterNACHI now.
Actually, licensing would be of benefit to you. The state would lay out the basic minimum criteria to be a home inspector, you would acquire these minimum basic qualifiers, and then suddenly leap to being state approved and as skilled/competent as all of your more experienced competitors.
Without licensing, you have the difficult task of convincing the consumer that you are worthy of hire without the aid of the state. You will find that it is a lot easier to fool a legislator.
So True
Licensing helps all the newbies as it dilutes existing inspector’s earned market share.
I have trouble conceptualizing that a home inspector that must meet a state licensing requirement is getting a big boost up in the marketshare department as he is perceived by the general public as being competent.
I started when there was no licensing requirement. I was successful because of my clients perception when they called me to inquire on an inspection and because after the inspection they were impressed with the work that was performed and began referring me.
I guess you are saying that the client is forced to search around for a competent home inspector when an unlicensed state allows anyone to hang up their single (and this is a known fact to the client).
The reason I’m having trouble with this conception is that even when a doctor is licensed and has a degree, we still look for his competency. Just because someone gave him a degree and he holds a license does not mean he is equal to all other doctors out there. It does however identify a doctor practicing without a license!
Licensing does set a minimum standard, no matter how bogus it may be. Does this “lower the bar”? I don’t think so. Established home inspectors who are exceeding the minimum requirement are going to continue to exceed that requirement is a marketing strategy. I will assure you that I did not look upon the reduced standard as an easy way out.
As a matter of fact, I use the states minimum standard as a positive thing for a comparison when a client comes a calling, price shopping. When I price a $400 inspection against a $295.95 inspector, I advise the client that all inspectors must meet the minimum requirement of the state and I can do that for $295.95 but I have found that most of my clients require more information on the home they are purchasing. I then elaborate. I get the job. If I don’t, I didn’t want that client anyway!
I think this perception comes from established home inspectors that are just pissed off because there is no way to separate the men from the boys so to speak.
I also have not been following, nor do I understand why the great influx of the number of home inspectors in a state that becomes licensed. To start with, there is no way of knowing how many home inspectors were practicing in a state that’s not licensed other than the telephone book. I am not and never have been in the telephone book so I’m one of those numbers that have been overlooked. When I got my license I became a known factor.
General contractors who were the only legally authorized new construction inspectors in Tennessee are listed as General contractors, not inspectors. State licensing threw out all General contractors as inspectors unless they became home inspectors. So if we did have a good list of previous home inspectors, how can we determine the the actual number of home inspectors when we don’t know the number of General contractors that were doing home inspections as they are not listed as such?
Statistical data can be incorrect.
I guess I’m missing something here. I will be enlightened!
ps I do not endorse State Licencing when they start dictating crap like TX, LA, MA, NY, NH etc. [size=1]
These are cases where special interest groups are getting their fingers in the pudding. [/size]The State of Tennessee utilized an older version of a home inspector associations SOP. Until they start messing with the recipe, I’m perfectly satisfied as it is home inspector based.
[size=1]There is a big difference in licensing.
[/size]
Only if the existing inspector doesn’t understand marketing (which means persistent and consistent marketing and not sitting on one’s past laurels) and the newbie does.
I figured you’d quote me. No in fact I was meaning to say that the DVD was the worst part of the course, as we had previously talked about that at the meeting. The actual study information I personally think was very extensive, but with the fact that I have only taken this one course I would have no idea if it’s any different from any other course. Currently waiting for my certification paperwork from the school, then I’m off to start my membership here, and get the rest of that testing done. What’s goin on with next months meeting?
David writes:
What we can quantify, is the number of home inspection schools that pop up shortly after licensing is adopted. These schools, of course, pump out competitors, each waving the exact same state-issued credential (no better or worse) that you have.
Anyway, here’s a $4 course we just released: http://www.nachi.org/notchesholescutsppv.htm
Congratulations Adam,
Watch out PA inspectors, you have a sharp new home inspector to compete with.
This is the main HI mill diluting the market…existing HI’s and their market should be afraid of the newbies being turned out of here daily!!! SO far this month there are 65 new members and only 51 renewals…At that rate the numbers of inspectors in your market could double each year!!!
The vendors are sitting back saying “Yay!!! Lots more newbies to relieve of their $$$$$$ and guess what… 90% will be out of business in three years. We’ll have to keep promising $100,000 incomes to keep’em coming”
SICK!! SICK!!! SICK!!! or is this the American way and becoming the Canadian way through INACHI?
Right on, David!
The doctor of spin has to convince others that licensing is bad for the industry because the way this place is set up, paying membership will start to dry up once all states require a proctored exam and even more verifiable records of experience, etc. This place won’t be certifying at the rate it was and won’t be needed by many to easily get their foot in the door …they’ll have to go through more conventional training and certification, like the old days…less and less web fiction!!
NACHI bashers love to perpetuate the lie…as does this prolific liar…that NACHI is “all newbies”.
I wonder where they think the 1000 members that ASHI lost last year went. I know of several in Missouri…one who has been inspecting homes since the 70’s.
Brian MacNeish is a liar…not just about NACHI things that he, a non-member, professes to know so much about…but about his own background as well. Starting, in fact, with his name…
Read the long list of “credentials” that he has awarded himself on other threads…then Google him. Notice how, outside of his posts on this message board, Idi Amin and his chest full of self awarded medals does not exist.
Uh, Brian…good theory but membership in InterNACHI goes UP everywhere licensing is adopted, not down. Our strongest markets per capita in the U.S. by state are all in licensed (or in the case of PA regulated) states. Check our membership in states like Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York and soon to be Florida.
You see, InterNACHI does all the things a government will never do. Governments issue very minimum standard licenses (1%)… and we do everything else (the other 99%) www.nachi.org/benefits.htm We don’t compete with each other, we compliment each other.
A license isn’t the top or the end… it is the bottom and the beginning, afterwhich you need to do a few more things: www.nachi.org/success.htm to succeed.
Would it be possible that some Members or Non-Members on this Board are all here to help one and all.
Because they are Non-Members means they do not know anything?
Don’t know me, what the problem is, cause I am French,
but some of these Members whether visiting or contributing to this Message Board are all friendly Unitl bashed with reluctant accussations from someone and activates something that just spiralls in a black hole.
What will it take to bring this BB back into it’s original state that it was when it convinced me to join?
Marcel 
Yeah!!! Learn how to spin it and pull the wool over the publics eyes. The new INACHI locals are making it easy to win the marketing wars…they can’t cut it and aren’t making the realtors too happy!! Have a look through my posts…way back I made an offer to call you or you me about “your” local situation…what happened??
? what is a “local” situation? I’m saying that overall, InterNACHI membership goes up once a state takes over the credential issuing business.
Once everyone is equally licensed, it becomes an all-out marketing race and no government is going to promote you on 4,500 consumer sites.
Licensing… great for InterNACHI the association, bad for individual inspectors.
We also do more in the way of training and education than all the governments and home inspection schools combined: