Hi folks,
I need some help, I’ve completed my ICA inspector course, they then referred me to internachi, which of course I had to join.
I’m in Az, relatively small town, Az requires the 30 parallel inspections, cant seem to find any help, I emailed this organization, their 3 suggestions proved worthless finding a inspector willing to do this.
Az doesnt have a charter group,
The mentor forum listed 2 for the state, both unresponsive.
This town of 40,000 has 1 inspection company and he is a 1 man show and has no employees or willing to help.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Feeling very disappointed,
I’ve been in construction 35 yrs, framing, remodels and additions, was hoping to become a inspector and take it a little easier on my body!
Appreciate any help
Dan
Welcome Dan!
Our good friend and welcoming committee member Larry Kage @lkage is on vacation at the time. So I thought I would share his wisdom via his prior helpful hints;
"Dan, contact some CMIs or CPIs within 40 to 50 miles, or closer, to your area and communicate with them. Maybe one, or more, will help you. Some inspectors feel as though they are training their competition by ride-alongs or mentoring or hiring.
Here is the link for CMIs: Find a Certified Master Inspector®
And the link for CPIs: https://www.nachi.org/certified-inspectors
And Mentors: https://www.nachi.org/mentoring
Also, you may want to take advantage of your Education Team at education@internachi.org for specific questions e.g. 15 Steps to Become a Successful Home Inspector - InterNACHI® …"
Welcome to the forum, Daniel. Enjoy!! 
His ass must be dragging, lol. Find an inspector a few hours away and offer to pay $100 per inspection to tag along. If they do 2 a day you will be done in just over 2 weeks. Get a motel room in that town so you don’t have to drive.
Not the answer I wanted lol!
Thanks anyway, thats 3,000 in visits, plus hotels and gas, thats about 5g total…gotta be something better then that!
So far I’ve wasted $700 and 84 precious hours, cant keep throwing money at this.
Thank you very much
What town? I’m also in Arizona in a relatively small town. Maybe I can share some resources with you?
Thank you very much
That’s a drop in the bucket for what you’ll eventually need to be successful in this business.
I spent about $30,000 on this SHIT starting out.
tools, training, radon equipment, crawlspace robot, website, insurance, bonding, association fee’s, camera’s of many types, handheld, pole camera, thermal camera,
then reporting software, website scheduling software. on and on and on.
if $5,000 is too much for you , there is no way you are going to make it, as you have tons of expensive equipment to buy to do your job.
not to mention, Insurance, attorney retainer fee’s, website, advertising, business cards, brochures, etc. just tons of things.
William, I’m just saying I’m willing to spend the money, but 5k to pay someone for 30 visits is not really a good investment.
I’ve been out of work since the covid thing started, 5k is a lot right now. I’ve been in the construction field for 30 yrs, mostly remodeling, you don’t have to school me on investing in tools, whatever they might be.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m also from a small town in AZ. I did all of my parallels last Summer and I had to do them with guys from Phoenix and Scottsdale. I know three names I could throw your way that are really good to train with. The cost ranged from $75 to $80 for each parallel back then. I don’t know if any of them are taking on any students at the moment, but at least it’s a start.
I met a fella from Tucson that was going up to Phoenix for his parallels and he coordinated with several guys the best he could to go up for a few days and knock out as many parallels as he could since he said no one wanted to do parallels in Tucson at the time.
If you’re wanting to become a home inspector here in AZ you just gotta do whatever it takes to get the licensing process completed. If it takes 5k then it takes 5k, but it might be difficult to recoup that anytime quickly if you go out on your own. There appears to be some opportunities with several Phoenix area inspection firms that pop up from time to time but of course that’s troublesome if you can’t or don’t want to work in Phoenix.
Those are two different statements. But, I get where you are coming from. Keep knocking, a door will open where you least expect it. Someone very important in my life once said “Celebrate every no because that means you are a lot closer to a yes” Best of luck!
That’s certainly understandable. If your local market of 40,000 truly has only a single inspector, you should be able to recover your investment quickly. Draw up a business plan highlighting the need for more inspectors in your area, your experience in the trades, and your training. Then contact your local SBA office. They are a great resource for helping with financing and can also get you grants, free marketing, and good advice.
Wasted? I’m sure those hiring you would love to hear that you believe any education is a waste.
You’ll never know.
It reads like you didn’t check out the requirements before you got into the industry. Over certainly research what inspection companies you could shadow with. Wish you lots of luck you may have to go out of your area
Seriously, 5 grand, Read these comments over and over until you convince yourself to do some thing else. 5 grand wont touch what you need to get going right. Forget the advice to call CMI or CPI for ride alongs, once they hear that they wont be interested. Its a career, expect to invest in it.
So I’m not sure I get your point? Looking for advise thats all, forget ride a longs, but pay another inspector $100 a pop to essentially assist them?
I certainly dont mind a investment, but theres certainly a difference between good and bad …
I’ve been doing new construction and remodels for 35 yrs, and have a ton of money invested in TOOLS.
I could have passed my schools final exam without watching 1 hr of the 84 required.
My best friend in Montana has been inspecting for 5 yrs, he’s now at 150k a year, if I was living there, I’d be working within 1 week of course completion, Az is much different, and guess what, he’s got less then 5k into it total start up cost.
For 5k, I could literally go up there for 2-4 weeks, get paid for ride alongs, get certified, come back to Az, take their test and be done.
It’s crazy what Az requires.
But back to the point, paying some asshole $100 per inspection is not smart money.
I appreciate any positive suggestions from someone established like you.
Thanks for your time,
Dan
Good luck…