Regarding these state licensed inspections. The realtors push an independent inspector in our neck of the woods, because they know they’re worthless.
I absolutely do! I perform residential inspections in all of Minnesota and northern Iowa. I DO NOT perform TISH inspections anywhere! In fact, many cities NO LONGER require them. Seems they realize they are a POC inspection, and only do more harm than good to the consumer!
When I get calls for a TISH, I explain what they actually are, and the huge benefits of a FULL inspection. I rarely convert these, as most people just want the cheap, city required inspection. (Yes, inspectors must have a City Permit from each city to perform them). I guess one could equate them to a modified 4-point, but worse. Yeah, isn’t government wonderful!!
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Finishing Courses online right now through this platform. Switched careers from education due to increased duties, responsibilities, liabilities, fees, dues,… and no compensation for extra time and energy. I just found it off putting that such an important and valuable insight an inspector could give to a prospective home buyer, does not have required minimum standard of expectation of work performed. I sought out this line of work to continue to benefit the public with something I am already very familiar with. A great benefit here is I will not have to carry another student debt, on top of my current one.
very similar to giving up freedoms and privacy for “security”.
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I can totally relate to this from spending years getting certified and licensed to be an educator, then actually got into the classroom on the other side of the desk. School/Education and the following hoops rarely prepare you as well as experience and a mentor can.
Being NACHI certified provides great credentials to the typical buyer and RE agent. Read the Standards of Practice. The “minimum standard of expectation of work performed” is right there. For me, NACHI is an organization providing those credentials and Standards. I’m in MN, an unlicensed state.
The issue with supervised inspections as a requirement for licensing is that rural inspector/students will have to travel far for each supervised inspection. Look at appraisers, who require supervised mentorship. To become a licensed appraiser where I live requires traveling 100 miles each way to the nearest licensed appraiser, in order to obtain your 50 or 100 supervised appraisals. It doesn’t pay, and as a result we have no appraisers within 100 miles of here. Same would happen with home inspectors if a supervised requirement was in place.
If you, the OP, are looking for mentorship through licensing as a means to get training, you’re misguided in your approach to licensing. Instead, you should be looking at the NACHI mentorship program to gain the training and experience you are looking for. If you have direct construction experience, once you complete your NACHI courses, you should be well on your way to becoming an inspector. If not, you have a lot of work in order to gain a thorough knowledge base of construction practices and standards.
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As an addendum, one thing you might consider is the NACHI Building Science course, in addition to the required NACHI courses. You might consider getting certified as a Building Analyst through Building Performance Institute. Knowing building science is important for being a good home inspector. Then there is the ability to recognize good practices in the various trades…
If you want to do this work, you’ll figure it out. It’s called motivation and grit. It’s what small business is all about.
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Much appreciated sir, plenty of motivation here. I’ve been in construction and a few trades, then education, and now here. Working on a house build of my own design, borrowing best building practices from Matt Risigner added to R&R constructions post frame construction models. Low cost, high energy efficiency, and short build time. Something that my kids can pass on and their kids can pass on.
No licensing in Utah. Upside no barrier to entry, downside no barrier to entry. We’ve got a HI on every corner and working to see who can be the next low price leader. 
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Same here in GA Jim. It’s becoming a joke since the market has slowed. The “Earl Scheib” of inspection pricing…
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Wow, that brings back memories of the salad days.
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IMHO the idea of not regulating a building science profession (through examination, documented experience, and certification) is a recipe for a lot of unnecessary consumer pain.
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Which you should never do!
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Yup, and a perfect example of why I don’t think Minnesota should follow the path of many other states and require licensing. I perform inspections in all of MN as well.
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I agree 100%. It’s a race to see who can be the cheapest inspector in town to survive.
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