Originally Posted By: ecrofutt
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
You’ve found one of the best resources on the internet for getting the advice. It will take you some work to dig it out though. It is NOT as easy and simple as the ?Become a Home Inspector, make $500 - $800 a day? ads from the Home Inspection Schools make it look. They are rather self serving to get new students in the door. There is a high failure rate, some estimate as high as 75%, for starting a home inspection business. The schools don?t mention this because the students would not come in the door and give them bucks. Three years ago, there were over 200 licensed home inspectors in Lexington, KY. A few days ago, they only listed 65 on the licensing web site. Most home inspectors are one person shops that don?t have room to hire anybody. Unless you are in a large city with some multi-inspector firms, plan on doing it all by yourself. Of course, if you have $15,000 or $20,000 you could buy a franchise and get their support in getting started. Still a high failure rate.
Other resources: (These are nationwide message boards for Home Inspectors, just like this one.) Search the archives for specific questions or answers before asking questions. A LOT of good advice is contained in the archives that will probably never be repeated.
http://inspectionnews.com Residential Message Boards
http://inspectorsjournal.com/forum/default.asp The Inspector?s Journal Forum
First, focus on reading the message threads in the General Chit Chat, Insurance, Training, Reporting Systems, Advertising, Legal, Marketing, and Miscellaneous forums. This is where you can learn about the risks and rewards and how to?s of starting a home inspection career. There is a lot of great advice in those messages from Inspectors who have made it, and Inspectors who have failed to make it. It will likely never be adequately repeated anywhere else. If you truly want to become a Home Inspector, you?ll have to work hard at it. Digging thru this advice is just the start of the hard work to become successful.
If you still want to do it after reading those threads, then read the Specific Topic threads, such as Electrical, Plumbing, Structural, Roofing, etc.
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Erby Crofutt
B4U Close Home Inspections
Georgetown, Kentucky
www.b4uclose.com