I have been doing Home remodels on the side for many years for friends and family and am very familiar with home building and have done every part of it personally, many times. I am interested in becoming a Professional Home Inspector here in Texas but already have a full time job. I was wandering if after completion of online courses, if I only had to “pass a test” to get a licence or would I have to actually work so many hours as an apprentice with a licensed Inspector or Company before being able to do it on my own. My goal is to take online classes, receive whatever certification they provide, take the tests and start doing this part time after work/ weekends. Any thoughts on would be appreciated.
I’m not located in Texas but in my humble opinion being a Professional Home Inspector is not a part time job.
Three paths to a Texas Professional Home Inspector License.
Chuck’s link is definitely where you need to start. I did Option 3, using my 5+ years of experience as a home builder and GC to satisfy the “AND” portion at the bottom of that column. TREC required written affidavits from 2 sources, if I recall correctly.
I agree with Mr. Currin’s assessment. Credibility is a huge component in this business, and doing it less than full-time will affect how your potential clients view you. Just ask yourself if you would rather the biggest investment of your life be inspected by a full-timer or a part-timer.
Passing the test requires lots of study, and you will have to learn about systems that you have never encountered in your experiences here in Texas: Basements. Boilers. Snow loads. Drain tiles. Etc.
Your investment in education and equipment could easily top $5,000. That’s a lot to spend to enter a part-time side job.
Thank you all for the replies. Just trying to get started but cant afford to quit a good paying full time job at the moment for something that may or may not be able to provide a secure future. Thanks agin!