How to start a home inspection business?

Also Mr Morrison you can find a local Inspector in your area, and have them become your mentor, while you complete your education in the inspection training. This will give you a better feel of the business and ask questions while watching your mentor do the work. Take your time in learning, there are many corners to a home inspections. I wish you success with your inspection career. InterNachi is the largest well organized team membered organization I have ever been with.

Good luck…

Hello
I have taken two years of training and 10 years of being in the trades,4years of owning my own renovattion company.
and there is always going to be more to learn.
Some helpful advice to not make it a stressful time is get a job in the trades or something relavent until you can support yourself and family, with your home inspection business.
go to school, join NACHI, learn as much as you can. this is a great place
Know what you are getiing into, do your research
one step at a time!
"If you intend to join us, do us and yourself a favor…be the best damned inspector you can be and that money can buy. Hope you succeed in whatever you decide."dido

www.nachi.org/success.htm most all of it is free.

I agree with Dan. I have seen many former contractors, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, roofers, etc, try to get into this profession. The problem is that they were used to DOING the work, not INSPECTION the work.

Besides, a former electrician (let’s say a good, professional and experienced electrician) will ne looking, primarily, at the electric. Not the roof, foundation, plumbing, siding, windows, floors, appliances, and hundreds of other little details.

And it only takes one missed detail to get you sued.

I know many contractors, long time, good contractors, who look down on inspectors.

But their job is NOT our job.

A good inspector has these qualities:

  1. He has to know the technical stuff. And, he has to know all the little details. This takes book and classroom learning, AND it takes field experience. The proper mix of the theoretical and the practical.

  2. He has to be able to describe, in writing (and in complete sentences and paragraphs) what he is seeing. He has to be able to describe the existing condition, THEN also be able to describe the peoblems (if any are there). AND he has to be able to describe both of these in layman’s terms, understandable to the client AND the client’s lawyer / Realtor and anyone else who reads the report. The report has to be clear, understandable and written in plain language. AND you cannot just quote local building codes. You have to be able to explain the problem in terms that the client will understand. The local codes often “allow” things that are not “best practices”, but things that “every one does” and things that will give the client grief.

  3. The inspector must be a good applied psychologist. He has to be able to meet the client where they are. He must meet them and teach them in terms of the technical things. He must meet them, where they are, in terms of their fears and concerns about what will happen in the future. He must be able to teach and educate the client that there is no such thing as a perfect house, and teach them how to prioritize their concerns. He must be able to educate them on how to properly maintain the house. He must also be abe to do all these things without freaking them out. The house is not just “the perfect house” and it is not just “a rotting pile”. The house is what it is and you must be able to explain that.

It is a very daunting and challanging job.

And, don’t expect to make a profit, even if you are REALLY good, in the first 2 years.

Plus, you have to be a fairly good accountant, businessman, marketing genius, jail-house lawyer, have a great wife and family (for support) and be able to absorb a tremendous amount of information, properly interpret it and convey it to people who, for the most part, don’t really want to understand what you are stating to them.

If you can handle that, welcome.

If you have any doubts, run away.

Hope this helps;

Dang.
Decker agreed with me 2 times in less than 1 week:D :smiley:
I must be wrong:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I take everthing back that decker agreed with me on:twisted: :twisted:

You must still be dizzy from all those hot attics

I think ou’re on to something Bob.
Dan’s brain being overheated would explain a lot of his posts.:twisted:

Here’s some info for you.

http://localism.com/article/130362/Kentucky-Home-Inspector-Startup

Don’t let the lack of trades experience stop you. Most of them know how to do it, NOT how to do it right.

You have an advantage. You don’t have to unlearn all that “do it” stuff that the trades guys learned wrong. Took me about six months to unlearn that junk.

You can do it with patience and perserverance and lots of study.

Don’t believe that bull**** from the HI Schools about getting rich quick. It just ain’t gonna happen.

Good Luck.

Here’s a PRIME EXAMPLE of what’s going on in this industry due to the fact that you can get easily “certifed” through a lot of organizations or diploma mills:

A new franchise operation started up in my area about 15-16 months ago. The CEO has only been a certified HI since Oct/06 and I know of very little inspection experience for him before this startup!!!

From their website:

**Currently we have inspectors billing $10,000 - $30,000 per Month! **

So some of their franchisee/associates have been in busines only, at most, 16 months, …most less than that, and they’re billing this amount in a market overcrowded with HI’s!!! Outright lies!! (well, maybe not if they [the franchisor who also inspects] are including the franchise fees they are hauling in from suckers naive enough to believe this crap, but then that’s not inspection revenue) So far they have 5-7 suckers on board.

HHHMMM! Maybe I should join…at least $10,000 billed every month would be enjoyable… should give me $70,000+ net every year!!! Whooohee!!!

Be wery, wery careful, Bill. Roy has been saying 90% of HI’s fail in 1-2 years…that’s a lot of time and money invested. I’ve been watching another new independent HI’s website fairly regularly for a year or so…he has available booking times listed just on weekends (obviously has kept the fulltime regular job) and have rarely seen a booked spot.

NOTE: I have already had a complaint call about one of the franchisors’s inspections. The report was fluff…no ages, expected life or condition reported for DHW heater or furnace. Two types of water supply line in place and in use were not reported. The “skirting” around this older raised bungalow style house on concrete piers and stones had rot and holes large enough that a medium size dog and anything smaller could get in…not mentioned. I was only there an hour or so to discuss how to proceed with the shocked homeowner and if they wanted to go farther.
ps: Today we set Saturday as a tentative time for our next meeting.

If this is what a home inspector is today, then we’re all in trouble as a group and the better of us should consider getting out before we’re all dragged down by the industry reputation as it gets worse and worse due to the diploma mills!!! Just my HO.

Bill,

You clearly have an up hill battle on three fronts: Little knowledge of the industry, Have to do ride alongs and a slowing marketplace. This is not to say you can’t be successful but you are going to have a tougher time than someone who started 3-4 years ago. Be prepared to be in startup mode for at least a year. You ask when you would hit breakeven? Looking at the averages in a recent InterNachi poll it could be some time as close to 50% http://www.nachi.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20551
of the inspectors do 3 or less inspections a week. If your average AZ. inspection is $300 then your making $900 a week GROSS. If you think your better than most of the folks here go to the next level and you may be doing 3-5 inspections a week. Figure out your costs and see if you can make ends meet.

Most inspectors do not want to train their competition so I imagine you will have to go out of the area to find a inspector to train with. I understand that many charge a fee but they can probably teach you more in the field than you can learn in a classroom.

After reading all the posts you may feel dismayed but we are just being realistic. The more you know going in the better chance you have making it through your first two years. BTW those that believe they can work part-time in this field to get “established” have a higher chance of failure.

//Rick

Thank you to everyone for their help. I appreciate the candid answers!

Can someone recommend which school they think would be best for someone like me with no experience in the trades? Obviously some kind of correspondence course probably wouldn’t make sense. I need some kind of comprehensive, hands-on program.

Thanks,

Bill

Bill.
Check the BTR site for state approved schools.
www.btr.state.az.us

If you go the community college route, get a resume of instructors, there are some great instructors there as well.

The majority of hands on experience will come with your 30 training inspections, with another inspector.

Your impression is correct, Bill. You are fortunate enough to work in a state that provides licensing and this means that anyone in your state who is willing to fill the squares can become a licensed home inspector.

I am a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors and I would encourage you to joing ASHI as well as NACHI, to allow yourself access to as much information that you can acquire while you are preparing yourself for business.

We have relaxed our requirements quite a bit, so don’t be afraid to join with us as a novice. Use our name as well as the advice of our members to help you grow in the business.

Everybody starts somewhere.

I’m starting to like this Charley guy, :slight_smile:
1st he comes here and apologizes for me, :roll: :roll: then, after he gets on the nachi members side he encourages other inspectors, by using nachos BB, to join ASHI.
I have to admit he is a pretty slick dude :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

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As an AZ inspector, Prior to spending $s to join either org, I recommend checking both orgs and meeting local inspectors here in AZ.
The AZ ASHI chapter has a minimum of 8 seminars a yr, some free, some for a fee.

Not sure what the local NACHI chapter has planned.
After speaking to Cheryl the local NACHI chapter rep. a couple weeks ago, I do believe she is considering an interesting seminar shortly.

Arent the chapter meeting courses open to any org?

tom

They sure are.
Due to the time and commitment it takes to put on a seminar, at present time,[no intention at all to discredit or bash the az nachi members,I know very well the amount of time and effert it takes] az ashi, mainly due to more established members that can take a few hours from inspecting to work on preparing a seminar, does have more seminars.

Dan, I know the real identity of Charlie and he is a prominent ASHI member/leader but a good fella. Like you, he is free to post here.

P.S. Although there is licensing in AZ, it is probably the worst licensing out of all 50 states. No required CE! What were they thinking?

Most ce is lame Nick