William here… Just making a post to introduce myself and to get some feedback from the experts . I really like the structure of this organization so far.
For the past year or so I have been pushing to get into the home inspection business. As for my background,
Associates degree in Building Construction
5-10 years experience in renovations, landscaping and construction
Currently running my own handyman/contractor business
I have taken most of the online courses here at Nachi (thumbs up)
have seen every episode of Holmes on homes (does that count? haha)
planning on taking the OAHI courses aswell as I am already a student member.
Just asking for any free advice as to the best way to procede as I havent performed any fee payed inspections as of yet. Whats the best way to get into the market? Would it be better to work for an already established H.I. company for a while for experience or, would venturing on my own be a better option?
Just as Glen said, the message board is really helpful.
Do as many inspections for friends and family that you can from as many different styles and ages of homes as you can so you can get more familiar with the different types of construction. Take lots of pictures if you can.
See if you can do a few ride-alongs with a few experienced home inspectors to see their different styles and protocols of their home inspection, and how they interact with clients and agents.
Bring your brochures and business cards to open houses to meet agents. Spend a few minutes talking to them so they get to know of you and your experience. Be careful, because if there are other people in the house looking around the agents focus will be on them and they won’t want to talk to a home inspector.
Don’t be discouraged - it takes a while to get going.
For established inspectors Newbies are a good thing
All one has to do is figure out their week points, [simply by reading posts by newbies here] make their week points your strong points, capitalize on those points, and market the heck out of those items
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