Questions about training

Hi, my name is Kevin and I have been in construction for almost 15 years and I am wanting to get into the inspection side of things. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time; I have looked into franchises but after looking over their(P2P) financials, fees, and just what I have heard in general, I decided against it. Recently I came across a training program with Non-Profit Home Inspectors in Oregon and I was curious if it was worth it, or a waste of money? Or just thoughts in general. It is an online program and I am pretty sure that they are just using InterNachi as their teaching platform. The main reason I am interested is that they offer 4 ride-a-longs as well as 6 Months Free HomeGauge Report Writing Software. Also, I am curious if there is a better way to get ride-a-longs because I feel like it would be a great way to learn the trade. I feel like it might be hard to get this opportunity otherwise. Because people could quite possibly be training competition. I would look for a job as a trainee, but I really don’t want to leave after I have been trained. I wouldn’t want to do that to someone. In my case, after I get my certifications and Insurance etc. I will be moving to a place where I am originally from and I am more known in the community. So it might be easier to get a ride- a-longs if I am not working in the area.

Here is what they are offering with their program for $895:

*** 1 Month Free Membership to InterNACHI (new members – $49 value)**

*** 6 Months Free HomeGauge Report Writing Software (new users – $354 value)**

*** Four Ride Alongs With Experienced Inspectors ($800 value)**

*** Free Business Logo Design by InterNACHI**

*** Copy of the National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) Home Inspection Manual ($98.50 Value)**

*** Copy of the NHIE Study Guide ($29.95 value)**

Here is the link too the training as well

So, any thoughts about this or does anyone think it is an Okay deal or would I be better off just joining InterNachi myself and doing it that way? I will be joining both ways, but through them I will basically paying 800 dollars for 4 ride-a-longs and 6 months of inspection software. Thank you for your time, and I greatly appreciate any input.

I think you’ll find everything you need right here. Check out the online resources.

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Hi Kevin,
I’ve never heard of them, but IMO $895.00 or even $800.00 for 4 ride-a-longs and 6 months of software use is a bit steep. For another couple of hundred dollars you could buy a good software program for life.

The best of luck to you.

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Kevin, if you’re going to move anyway, contact some CMIs or CPIs in 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.
Here is the link: https://certifiedmasterinspector.org/members
And the link for CPIs: https://www.nachi.org/certified-inspectors

P.S. Welcome to our forum… Enjoy!

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And, Randy is right. InterNACHI has educational material that doesn’t stop. Join for a month and check it out.

Contact Ben Gromicko at fastreply@InterNACHI.org to help you get started.

Best of luck to you.

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Thanks, I appreciate it.

Thank you very much Larry. I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I will contact some local inspectors, I appreciate the links. Yes, I am currently in Salem, Oregon and I’m planning on doing business in Eastern Oregon/Eastern Washington after I get things close to operation, so hopefully that is far enough. It will be a while tho, I want to make sure I know all the ins and outs before I start inspecting. I will be willing to work for them for free to get the experience. The only bad thing is there is probably not that much I could do on that front, I would probably be in the way, or slow them down at first. By saving the $850 and going through InterNACHI I could use that to pay them for their time if they want that. Thanks again, appreciate the info.

Good to know, thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

I recently researched several was to get certified/licensed/educated and simply joining InterNACHI had proven to be the best option. A lot of companies just try to put a cherry on top but the main cake is right here.

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Good to know. Yeah, I have been checking out a lot of different options for a while now. I was about to sign papers for Pillar to Post a year(ish) ago. I had sold my home and had the entire funding for the franchise. Something ended up stalling my purchase and I didn’t end up buying one. Now, I am really glad I backed off. At that time I spoke to a couple of franchise owners on my own while investigating the pros and cons of franchises. During that time, 2 of the 3 franchisees I spoke with were very successful. They had several employees and were doing 30+ inspections a week. Now that I have had time to talk to several more owners over the last year, In my opinion, not every franchisee is so lucky. A good amount were not, or are not busy enough to make it worth it, especially with all the extra fees and fine print that come with franchises.

The way I like to look at the franchising is if you drive past a Burger King, you recognize the name, so therefore you can argue it’s worth the price for the name. On the flip side, if you poll your non-HI friends about the largest Home Inspection companies, they can’t name one. I spoke with one owner of a franchised HI company and he put up $25k and had to buy a specific vehicle, apparel, etc and he is responsible for all his own marketing without getting hardly any brand name recognition. My opinion is that you made the right choice, and best of luck!!

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