Hello all, I’m a newbie here and to home inspection. I’m considering a career change to becoming a home inspector. I live on Long Island, NY. I’ve been making few calls to schools that offer training to compare pricing and availability. AHIT seems well recognized but expensive ($3750) for 140 hours. Would anyone have any suggestions for training or experiences from other schools?
Greatly appreciate the advice folks!
Thanks much in advance,
Neal.
How old are you? What do you currently make. What is your home experience? Why do you think you would be a good home inspector.
These questions might help you get good answers. GOOD LUCK whatever you choose.
Neil, depending on your state there is a lot more to becoming a Home Inspector then taking a course. Not to discourage you but its not as easy as taking and passing a course and then bam! your an inspector and brining in good pay. Not to say you can’t be sucessful but it will take a lot longer and cost more than you might think at first. Be realistic, do lots of research, haunt the message boards, talk with some inspectors outside of your area (they won’t see you as competition) write it all down, review it and be honest with yourself.
I’m 52 and in decent shape for my age. I’m currently unemployed and come from the IT Technology workspace for many years. I’m used to making over $100k but I understand it won’t be easy to make that income right away if ever as a home inspector. I’ve always been handy around my homes and have done many of my own remodeling jobs. I could be wrong but this could be a good fit and career change for me.
Fair enough and thx for the advice!
Hi Neil, I made the switch from general contracting to home inspection at about the same age as you. But when I made the switch the market was at it’s bottom so it was pretty lean. 4 years later I’m extremely happy I made the switch, I’m growing every year now and find the work to be low stress in comparison to being a GC.
My classroom training was 72 hours as mandated by my state. It was at a community college so it was fairly inexpensive. But I got what I paid for, the teacher wasted a lot of time talking about everything but the classwork so we never made it through the material. I would imagine AHIT is better and would hopefully have more hands on training as well. You might want to check the message boards to see if there have been any threads about AHIT.
Like any start up business you should probably expect to make very little money your first year and what money you do make should be going into marketing as much as possible.
Good luck with your decision!
Tom
Neil,
If your serious about becoming a Home Inspector join InterNACHI and start taking the courses they offer. Membership is only $50.00 per month and the courses extremely educational especially since your previous career wasn’t in the Home Construction industry.
Russ
Thanks everyone for your replies. I’m not sure yet how InterNACHI’s courses would play into the requirements that NY state seems to want to become certified. From what I understand NY wants 140 hours of “classroom and field” work prior to taking the test. I dont think online or self-study would apply but maybe I’m wrong. I have an email into InterNACHI to see what they say about this.
Thanks again.
My understanding is NY does not accept on-line learning, but you should still join InterNACHI and take their lessons as you are going to need the education anyway, and you will easily learn more realistic information here than many “schools” teach. Also… this would be a good way to help make a determination if this is something you actually want to do, before spending thousands for formal schooling.
NY wants classroom training for licensing 100hrs plus 40 in the field. $3750.00 if it includes field training is a steal! NIBI is approved for NY and we are $3500 for 100hrs, but field training is extra. Long Island to Medford, NJ is a long haul though.
AHIT is pretty good. They have been around for longer than most. The more hands on training they give you, the better off you’ll be.
Dude stick with “IT”. Do not give up on getting back to real money with the experience you have. You had the job once and someone was paying you real money and likely benefits try to get back trust me. Inspection is dirty, hot, smelly and nasty much of the time. If you like that then go for it. Good Luck.
Neil, Michael is right. Think long and hard and realize what it will entail. I’m sure each area is different, but don’t expect to make more than 25K or so until a couple years.
My state does not accept on line courses, so I had to travel to take the schooling, but the state does recognize NACHI CE credits, so membership dues are well worth it. NACHI offers so much more than just training courses, it will blow your mind.
I personally love home inspections, and can’t imagine doing anything else. And I have a strong construction and electrical background.
I made the move at 49, I’m 52 now. It’s a dream job, if you can get to where you are making money,but it takes time and the liabilites and headaches can be excessive.
If I were smart enough to be an IT guy, and get paid 100K per year, I would stick with it, even if you wanna do Home Inspections part time to get a feel for it.
Good luck
Ohhh the changes I would have made if I had a crystal ball and knew what the world was going to throw at me.
I would have got much better at math and then went into brain surgery or plastic surgery 
It looks like your doing good! Congrats! I started back in the slump of real estate as a young inspector. The biggest problem I had was getting people to trust me because of my age. But it looks like your doing well with that. This profession requires education for the entire life your in it. It looks like your keeping up with things much better than I did when I started. Keep that up! I realized last year that I could save over 6k by driving a gas saving car. I spent 10k on fuel in 2012. So just keep looking at your numbers to stay on top of it and you’ll be fine. Don’t be afraid to inform your clients of anything. If You think things may be an issue in the long run just report it; it is better to be safe than to be sorry.
Neil, I took my training at LIU Post, the instructors were great and I learned a lot from them. New York State does not recognize online courses so you have Togo to an accredited school approved by the state.