That’s what I suspected. I agree, tricky. I used that term to describe a question I saw posted on another thread.
So without speaking for you. You would agree the book material is good but the test is more “suspect”? 
I took the test back in 2008 and many of the questions had 3 out of 4 correct answers to choose from, the key was choosing the “most correct” answer, which was not an easy task, at least for me.
IMO it’s best to go with your first choice after reading each question and briefly pondering the answer, as opposed to debating which answer is the “best” choice.
I had an NHIE prep test book that I studied to prepare for the test and fortunately I passed it the first time I took it.
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Yes that would be my opinion. The information is good. For inspecting, I still prefer Internachi for learning, since they provide inspection specific material and also videos which helps. Like Scott mentioned, much of the stuff comes from the NEC, IRC, ETC, which is good knowledge to have, but not always inspection specific.
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Well said. 
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I have to that the test questions are far and few between that are actually in the study material that i used, the practice test here i scored at least 80 percent and the book i use mometrix I scored 99 percent, does anyone have any suggestions as another source that i can add to my study material that actually touches on the questions on the test.
These are no trickery questions that i am talking about.
Thank you
Why not go to the source! Visit the NHIE website, you will find all of the material you need to study and prepare for the exam. The best way to pass is to learn the subject matter and not just test questions. If all you are doing is studying various test questions without comprehending and learning the material you are almost guaranteed to fail. The exam is designed to test your learned and recall knowledge and each test draws from a pool of questions so no two test are the same if you take it multiple times. www.nationalhomeinspectorexam.org
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Thanks for all the suggestions and help! I retook the exam today and passed. It seems like the best thing to do, assuming you don’t want to spend money on the books or the practice tests, is to consider all the subject areas and become more familiar with things you’re not sure about such as different types of flashing, refrigerant cycle, etc. The practice test on the Illinois website was actually good at pointing out my weaknesses and I was able to brush up and get through the test.
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That’s awesome! Congratulations! Way to stick with it!
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Way to go Stephen!
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I’m prepping for the exam now, and your comments line up with what a lot of people have said. It’s not enough to know the answer, we need to be able to (to some scientific degree) be able to explain the answer and why it’s correct.
I’m scheduled for NHIE and TX state exams tomorrow. 194 hours of AHIT coursework + practicum, scored 98%-100% on the AHIT practice exams, read both of the NHIE prep books provided by AHIT a couple of times, and spent hours on Quizlet. Between that and scoring in the 90’s on the NACHI practice test very early on in the AHIT training, I’m feeling pretty good about the national. More worried about specific legal/chapter references for the state part.
Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for me around 7:45 CT!
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Sounds like you’ll do fine.
Let us know.
Passed! Don’t know the score yet BC that’s communicated directly to TREC. There was an issue with the state exam so I’ll have to go back next week to complete state.
Congratulations, Michael!!
I agree completely the reason people fail is that they try to study only what they think will be on the test rather than learn the basics of how things work.
I just passed the NHIE, first try, without much of a background in any construction field. I didn’t use any other study material other than what was presented on this site, for pre licensing and for certification. Maybe, I should have, but there don’t seem to be very many good resources or study guides out there, unless you want to read thousands of pages of code or pay for another organizations training,behich I suspect is quite similar to the material presented here. Usually when preparing for IT exams, there are books to cram for the exam. Within this industry, the available options are pretty limited. Probably, because experience is the usual route.
I knew it would be a challenge, for someone with a background vastly different than most Home Inspectors. That might have been part of what pushed me to absorb everything I could. I also knew that even those who were lifelong contractors, electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, and roofers often failed. So I was determined not to. I wanted to feel confident going into the test, without the need to cram information. In fact, I only “studied” specifically for the exam one night.
The night before the exam focusing on details that are hard to remember. Things like what size service connectors carry what amperage, how many inches away each component was supposed to be from another. I tried to remember the details through things I could relate to. Like PVC in my mind was already white, so I remember Pipe Very Cold, and CPCV became Color Pikachu Very Cold, since both of them are more prone to freezing than others. Polybutylene in my mind became PB for Probably Bluish Purple and Probably Breaks (as it’s the bad stuff) and Probably Bad. PEX became Probably Excellent, since it can be used for hot and cold water. That’s how I had to remember the information. I did similar things to remember important worse size gauges and anything else I thought might be on the exam.
I guess it worked, since I did pass with a score of 570. (Which is higher than the 500 required.) And I did so on my first attempt. So, I’m pretty proud of myself. When it came to college, I already knew most of the material. In this case, I knew nothing when I started. So I do have InterNACHI to thank for bringing me this far. I think my other skills will help to bring success as I move into this career. I see others here complain about how hard the test is, but it is hard for a reason. It shows that you didn’t just rush through your studying. Sure the rest has problems, asking about things you’ll never see as a home inspector (like stuff buried underground), but it does seem that if you know how a house should be constructed, you should pass.
One thing I will say was helpful, when taking the exam was to eliminate the obviously wrong answers. I could usually get questions I wasn’t sure of down to two possible answers. A lot of the time the test would use a phrase from a different system like pluming when the question was about an electrical system for example, which made that process easier. Then I had to think through what I knew to figure out the likely answer.
Its hard because there’s a lot of unexpected questions. We also don’t get the benefit of looking things up. I do think it’s rather crazy that every other construction related job that might need to know code has open book tests (engineers, contractors, code inspectors, etc.) where a professional that claims they don’t do code inspections has to know the code without looking anything up. Still, there’s a benefit to that. There’s a reason they ask the questions they do. We’re supposed to know and evaluate all the major the systems of a house. And that means knowing how one clue points to one condition or another. That is something that other professions don’t really do.
Anyway, I just passed using only InterNACHI materials as a study guide. I feel more confident now that I have passed the test. Because it was hard, I have more pride in passing this than I do any other test I’ve taken in my life. If it was easy, the public probably wouldn’t have as much confidence in the test to gauge our knowledge. Anyone struggling to pass the exam should stop focusing on memorizing material and actually taking the the time to understand the systems and components of a home. Yes, there’s still stuff to memorize (like all the details of safety requirements that are in the code), but it is doable. I know that if a computer guy can do it, everyone else with more experience in related fields should be able to as well.
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Passed rather easily the first time, get Mometrix NHIE study book. Listen to internachi podcasts, work at getting CPI certification at the same time. I had the advantage of paying a butt load for ICA curriculum. The NHIE questions are the same as the ones (in most cases) taken directly from ICA, and mometrix. Mometrix only goes over 200 questions that are from the pool of 700(or is it 800?) Available questions. ICA goes over all the questions. It was worth the expense. I dont believe i would have done as well (or passed at all) if it were not for the above suggestions.
Welcome Gina…
Question: What is your experience in the Real Estate and/or Construction Industry, whether personally or exposed to it via family/friends?
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None, my background was industrial maintenance, left that about 12 years ago, ive been in machine sales since. I do have a working knowledge of electrical, plumbing, so there was a little advantage there. But i had to learn ground up on the residential end of it. A 200 ton punch press is nothing like a house. 