I recently took the NHIE exam for the first time and felt compelled to share my experience. Despite thorough preparation, including studying exam questions on the InterNACHI website, reviewing resources from the ICA School website twice, and attempting numerous quizzes related to the exam, I found the preparation to be ineffective.
To my dismay, the materials I utilized contributed only about 20% to my performance on the actual exam. The questions presented during the exam seemed to employ a vastly different strategy than what I encountered in my preparation. This disconnect resulted in my failure to pass the exam.
The frustration I now feel is compounded by the regret of the time and money invested in this test. Unfortunately, it appears that my efforts were in vain, and the exam did not adequately align with the resources I utilized for preparation.
This experience has left me disheartened and questioning the efficacy of the exam preparation materials provided by reputable sources. I would caution others considering the NHIE exam to thoroughly investigate the alignment between preparation resources and the actual exam content before investing time and money.
In summary, my first encounter with the NHIE exam has been a disappointing one, and I hope that my feedback serves as a cautionary note for others navigating this process.
In the 30 days you have been a member did you take all of the course materials and pass all the tests required to be a CPI?
The national exam will focus on experience. You’ll notice a lot of states have adopted the 100 inspections with a licensed inspector before allowing testing for their license. In addition, some states require a business and law exam, which is much more difficult than the home inspection exam.
From your description it appears that you are studying for a test and not studying to learn what needs to be learned. There is only one effective method to pass any test and that is to know the material you are being tested on.
Actually, I think it is one state that has the 100 requirement and a few others have a 20-30 experience inspections as part of their licensing requirement. The majority of states do not have any experience requirement.
You need to go to the NHIE website and download the Exam Content Outline. It will show you the exact percentage of questions for each area or domain of knowledge you will be tested on, www.nationalhomeinspectorexam.org
Also, you need to not study test questions! You need to study and learn the material that you are being tested on! Those that just study test questions and do not comprehend the study material will almost always fail the exam.
My experience wasn’t that bad… I heard plenty of horror stories and came into it expecting the worst. I did the Internachi cpi classes then realized I needed to do the nhie and had other state requirements. I called a few inspectors and asked about their experiences and which direction to go. 1 do all my ridealongs with a trainer in field and do the 30-40 whatever hours of training and report class stuff. Or! 2 before doing that just study the nhie 2 books and work only for the test. In my experience the test questions from Internachi And The nhie are very different. I kind of had to forget my nachi stuff just Focus on nhie. Then now that I’m doing the state requirements and actually going in the field I see myself forgetting lots of the numbers and stuff I dedicated a long time to remember because I was scared to fail and waste my money on the nhie test. Those inspectors I talked to before the test recommended this route because they saw the same effect happening to them. They study and forget all that info when they get in the field. But many people will take the experience route and then go into the nhie test and fail over and over because they aren’t utilizing any of the things they learned in person. My test center proctor said the most she’s seen someone fail the test was 7 times before they gave up. It’s also got from her words about a 50% pass rate first time.
Best tips I can give u from my experience… forget nachi info. Go buy the online books for the nhie. Read those. And read them to learn. Not just memorize. Once ur done with those books go back through them and write it in a notebook. All the notes u think you will need. Any numbers. Then cram like mad for the day ur test arrives. Spend all 4 hrs on the test. Or at least until u really feel you’ve gotten the best you can do. Don’t go through it once and be done. I personally had quite a few weirdly worded questions that I was able to catch the 2nd and 3rd time through. Also remember the answer your looking for is the most correct. You’ll have answers that all feel right. But there is one there that’s worth the most points. Also flagging the questions you have questions on or don’t know. This will help because you can go back through and you may end up running into a question later in the test that gives you the answer. Or is very similar. On my test I I swore I had 3-4 questions that were the same exact answer just different worded questions.
You can definitely do it. If I can. You definitely can. Take ur time homie.
Had you passed the NHIE, know that you would have far more to learn to before you would be a competent inspector. I passed the NHIE on my first attempt. And when I look back at my inspection reports from my first year I cringe. I had 10-12 years of construction experience at the time. I had read many books on inspecting and the systems in the home. I spent plenty of time reading through forums on 3 different inspection sites. I was set up with my inspection software and custom narratives. And I was underprepared. This is not a profession you can dip your toe in and succeed.
Correct. PA is the only state that I’ve seen that requires 100. I’m in Ohio, and we are required to have 10 parallel inspections. That’s a far cry from “most states”. In fact, it’s a terrible requirement for PA. If someone lives in central PA, how do they get 100 inspections? Going to another state? Doing 100 for free? It’s a ridiculous law. The entire PA gov is out of their minds, so it doesn’t surprise me.
I recently took the NHIE exam for the second time, and unfortunately, it was a profoundly disappointing experience. This exam stands out as one of the most ridiculous and unpredictable tests I’ve encountered in my life.
One of the most frustrating aspects of the NHIE exam is the lack of clarity regarding why you fail or pass. It feels like walking blindfolded through a maze, never knowing which step might lead to failure or success. The arbitrary nature of the grading system leaves examinees feeling disheartened and disillusioned.
Despite thorough preparation, including studying from reputable sources such as the “Code for Homeowners” by Black and Decker, the Mometrix test book, and the preparation questions from ICA School, success still eluded me. It’s as if the exam questions were designed by someone with a sadistic penchant for trickery rather than a genuine desire to assess knowledge and competence.
Overall, my experience with the NHIE exam has left me feeling frustrated and disenchanted. It’s disheartening to invest time and effort into preparation, only to be met with ambiguity and disappointment. I hope that my feedback serves as a testament to the need for greater transparency and fairness in standardized testing processes.
I would agree with Larry’s suggestion, get the NHIE study guides. The guides are not cheap but sometimes you can get used ones on Amazon.
Do not memorize the information but “learn” it. Once you learn the how’s and why’s of systems, you will have the advantage that will help you pass the test and succeed as a HI.
Do not get discouraged. Take the failure as another learning experience and move forward.
Good luck!
I just wanted to say that I agree with you on some points but not all. I recently took both the Texas state exam and the NHIE exam. At start of the exam, I was about to give up and tell the guy at the front desk that I just donated my money for them to enjoy as the exam did not appear to be what I had studied on from course work, NHIE books, or InterNACHI study materials. I was overwhelmed to say the least. I finally settled down and realized that the questions were just being asked in a completely different way than all the study materials. So, I decided to slow way down and read and reread the questions as many times as I needed to understand what they were trying to ask. Once I did this, I started to go through the exams with little issues. I had prepped for these exams for 8 weeks, 7 days a week and as much as 12 hours a day. This is not an exaggeration. I used the entire amount of time to answer and review all my answers on both exams. In the end, I only changed 4 or 5 answers from the beginning of the first exam only. I am confident that I passed both exams with very good scores. Found my main problem was confusion due to the way the questions were presented. Nervousness was my second problem as it was making me feel overwhelmed. So, now that you have experienced what it is like to take the exams, though be it a negative experience, use this to your advantage when redoing your exam the next try. Slow way down and really concentrate on the question. Don’t get in a hurry as there is plenty of time to do the exams. Go through and answer the questions you know and then go back and try the ones you had to pass on. Once you have done that, go back and review your answers and make changes if need be. I reviewed my exams several times each. Go into the exam center more confident the next time because now you know to expect. This is a very difficult exam and some of the smartest people I know failed it the first time, citing the same reasons as yours. They passed it the next time because of the instructions I just gave you. Don’t let stress fog your thinking. You can do this. Best wishes for your success on the next try.
