HUD Inspector

[gporter]

I applied to be a HUD Inspector and they sent me a letter saying I need to show where i was involved the construction of new homes or repairs. They said experience as a home inspector does not count. Any Thoughts?

[Doug Edwards]

Walk away. I do not know what kind of HUD housing you have in your neck of the woods but here it is more dangerous than Beirut in the 80s.

[gporter]

Thanks

[Michael R. Boyett]

I applied about 8 months ago. About 3 months after I sent my application in I received a request to identify prior employers and proof of applicable experience and I provided that information. Recent numerous phone calls have led nowhere. You pretty much have to start all over again when talking to them. HUD is a monstrous government organization that has so many parts to it and none knows what the other is doing nor who is responsible for what. I'm kinda with Doug on this one....I'm walking away.

[Doug Edwards]

Had similar experience years ago and recently just looked at it again. It had not gotten any better, just worse. You will be dealing with bureaucrats and as Mike said, one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

[Patrick Krzemien]

Gary, Go the the HUD website and download the reverse auction listings that come up. Keep those and then compare them to the actual bids that win later on. I recommend doing this before you invest any money. There may be a few gems, (those that no one else wants so the bid is reasonable), but all in all I wasn't going to waste my time. The software (downloadable from the HUD site) and overall process is typical Gov'mint headache-ware. Taking into consideration the winning bids, if you have the expense of traveling and/or staying overnight in an area it's absolutely a deal breaker. Time would be better spent marketing.

[mwood1]

I sent in my application to be a HUD inspector and didn't hear back from them. I figured it got lost on someone's desk or got rejected. I am now getting calls to do inspections and didn't even know I was accepted. I looked online and saw I am an active inspector. I tried to call them today to ask what forms I am supposed to use and sat on hold for an hour.

[ddelaney]

Guys, I applied to become a HUD inspector to get some residual income for the slow times (winter months). I met all the requirements, went to their 1 week training in DC (how fun that was), and then went through the final phase of training with a HUD inspector/trainer (which is required to become fully licensed). After all that fun, I realized that the reverse auction process has basically taken the money out of the inspections. If you do get some good ones that are close, HUD will have a follow-up inspector come behind you--if you happen to miss bad hinges on a dumpster (this is a true story), they will not pay you for the inspection at all. Miss three items, they pull your license--these items are by their protocol, which vary GREATLY from what we know of home inspections.

All in all, I lost a weeks worth of inspections during the training, the hotel fee, and had to turn down some home inspections because the HUD inspections are scheduled so far in advance (requirement). HUD doesn't do business very well!!!

RUN!!!! DON'T WALK, RUN!!!