I’m going through the licensure and insurance right now with my state and some acquaintances of mine are wanting to put an offer in on a house and they want me to do their inspection. To become a full member of internachi I still have to do my for mock inspections, could I do this on as a mock inspection or is it unethical of me to do this inspection because it’s in an actual real estate transaction? I should clarify that I would also not be accepting any payment for this inspection, it would be just for practice.
I would say you can do the inspection, however they cannot use it for the transaction if you are in a licensed state and would make it clear to them that it is not an “official” inspection. Not sure that I would provide a report. Once it leaves your hands, you don’t know what they will do with it.
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^^^^Agree, with Greg.^^^^
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If a realtor is involved, they will not except a non state -licensed inspector. The realtors don’t want any headaches after the sale.
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Thanks guys. Before I made this post I told my friends that if I did the inspection that it would hold no legal Merit and they would not be able to use it for negotiations but it would at least give them an idea of the condition of the place for personal views.
If possible, go through the house and write your report. Get them to hire the best inspector they can find and compare results.
That’s genius! That’s what I’ll do!
The mock inspections you need to fill out for InterNACHI are very basic if I recall correctly. The real learning comes with on the job training and job shadowing. But I do think Michael’s idea is great. As long as they know the purpose of your inspection.
Im pretty excited to do the the InterNACHI ones, let alone a real inspection. I have a lot of friends that own multiple income properties and restaurants so I’m going to be doing a lot of practice inspections before I do a paid one.
Jacob,
There are four (4) InterNachi mock reports required. I would recommend starting the process of filling one out, and report on your own home in order to get the hang of it. This way you will be very comfortable when writing the other reports. “Writing” a mock report is actually you typing data into an InterNachi webpage. It doesn’t take long at all. I think it took me 20-30 minutes per report. Also, ask a friend, or Mom and Dad, etc, if you can “inspect” their homes. You could bring your laptop with you and fill it out as you go.
WRT doing your friends inspection, I agree with the others who mentioned to pass on this one this time around. That was a good idea to ask if you can do a mock inspection on it if possible.
Good luck! Cheers!
Sean
Thanks Sean. I have my folks, brother, co-workers and friend’s houses to do before I actually start the feed ones. I’m shooting for 10 inspections before I actually start to get paid for them. Just a little more confidence building before hand. Thanks for your response.
Happy inspecting!
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I was advised by a long time inspector to do 50 mock inspections before I started doing paid ones. I think I got through about 25 or 30 before one of the people I’d done a mock inspection for, called me to do what turned out to be my first paid inspection. 5 years later - I haven’t looked back, and I continue to take every opportunity to continue my education, including absorbing everything I can from this and several other forums.
Best of luck to you!
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I have found my mentor-ship to be priceless, as there are so many things to juggle as a new business owner in this world. Time and financial constraints limit this, but going through the motions and watching difficult situations unfold for a while before considering diving into this alone with what I considered “good knowledge” has proven to be one of the best decisions I’ve made.
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Have them hire a licensed inspector first. Then do your inspection. Compare the two. Be professional, don’t beat up the other inspector if you find some minor stuff they missed. Do tell them about anything major you find.
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This is a great forum and topic. Your responses regarding “mentor” and “shadowing” are good, however I can not get one response for shadowing and mentoring in the New Hampshire and Florida regions.
Any help please
Thanks
I was in your position when I started. I had no one near my home town with the experience or professionalism to mentor or shadow. I did not know much about InterNACHI at that time, I live in a non-licensed state, but I completed a week long inspection training course with Kaplin University. The course I took prepared me in similar ways that the NACHI first year on line classes do. I also had decades of construction experience, so that provided a solid understanding of how buildings work and are built. That was my foundation, not knowing your experience or background.
Getting the report writing down was the biggest hurdle by far. The InterNACHI report is very basic and easy to do. The on site inspection itself is relatively easy, it’s the report writing that is the hurdle. If you decide that your own report will exceed the InterNACHI standards, the learning process may be longer. I suggest you inspect and write up practice reports to the level that you will be presenting yourself.
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Thanks for all the feedback! I am all ears for anything anyone has to say. You can never learn too much.
Micheal
Thanks so much for your response. I have various construction background and Mechanical Engineering professional experience. I would simply like to shadow someone during a few inspections… not asking for much. I mentored many professional individuals while working in my previous management positions.
This February I was at a training session that included a number of home inspectors. I noticed several were involved with franchise type companies, and it appeared several participated in shadowing/mentoring situations through those franchises. Pillar to Post is one that I recall. If you’re in a larger city, you may be able to take advantage of franchise recognition. There is advantage to franchise name recognition in larger cities.
My small community relies on a personal name or reputation. If you’re in an area where that is more dominant in business, you need to get your skills to an acceptable level and promote your name with realtors and banks. That worked for me because I was already well known in the community through my construction business.
Paul, my situation is unique but may help someone. I knew someone in Fire and Multifamily Inspections, he connected me with his recommended Inspector of homes to talk about a career in it. I basically treated our meet-up lunch conversation like an interview, with full preparation, resume, references, homework done, etc., and he mentored me on-spot. If he had not, I would have continued to search for well-respected (what they say), ethical (what I think after meeting) Inspectors for guidance. I guess willingness and hustle did it. I highlighted my marketing/networking/customer service experience to him along with any admirable qualities he may benefit from. I also let him know I would show up when available for free and do whatever is needed to wow the clients until I got the hang of it. I believe mentorship is an investment that pays perpetually for the heavy ‘cost’ upfront. After being a Staffing Manager and Recruiter for 11 years, I’d guess the missing element is the ‘wow’ factor from the trainee seeking the training.