How to start a home inspection business?

[Bill Morrison]

I'm sorry -- I'm certainly not trying to discredit anyone! This board has been immensely helpful to me.

I really, truly am under the impression that I can attend training programs and learn what I need to know to do an effective job. Is it your position that you have to come from the trades to be a competent home inspector? I realize that it's a path most people take, but just because you're good a framing or worked as a plumber doesn't necessarily mean you understand anything more about electric wiring, insulation, mold/radon, etc. than the average joe.

I will say that I do recognize that my best bet is probably going to be to team up with someone already in the business and learn the ropes. I don't really want to "fly blind."

[relliott]

Bill your last sentence makes the most sense.
Training class would be a good way to determine if it is for you also , but please do not bet the ranch.
When I attended class the Instructor whom is well known told us that out of each class only an average of one person will even persue the field.
I immediatly raised my hand and said here I am .
The other students gave me dirty looks but the instructor later came up to me and said , yeah I know.I can tell you will do well with this.
Three years later and I am still pushing it.
I will do well.

[Dennis Hodkinson]

Bill,
E-mail me at info@homelandhomeinspectors.com and I will send you some information on certifications in Arizona

[dharris]

I really, truly am under the impression that I can attend training programs and learn what I need to know to do an effective job. Is it your position that you have to come from the trades to be a competent home inspector?

Bill you can learn from training programs.
If you don't have bld experience the learning curve will be a little longer, due to having to learn bld technology and identifying building component's.

As a former contractor, and in the trades 30 yrs prior to becoming a HI, I will admit, that I thought I knew it all, [ everthing I knew I learned from Lic contractors, and builders] untill I hired a local inspector to do an inspection on my home , attended HI courses and talked to local inspectors, I soon learned that there were many things that I thought I knew, I was doing as a contractor were wrong.

As an inspector I soon learned, looking for, and being able to properly identify a defect, is far different than a contractor that contracts, does the work himself or hires employees to do the job, and collects payment when it is completed.

[Doug Edwards, CMI]

Bill,
Far be it from me to pee on someone's parade and am not going to try and discourage you. I for one, do not know enough about you to determine whether or not you will succeed in the HI business. You can spend a lot of money up front and find out that it isn't for you. By your own admission you are not very handy. By that, I guess you mean you do not do your own home repairs, upgrades, etc. I think by nature those kinds of people are typically HI and that is what attracts many of us to this business coupled with desire to work for ourselves and be independent of any one else.

Historically, I believe most inspectors have worked for someone or something else for the majority of our lives and the appeal of being our own bosses is a large part of the attraction. If you are not very mechanically minded the HI business may not be for you because a very large part of doing this is knowing how things work, are put together and how the various and sundry systems work together inside a house. You are going to see things every day that you have never seen before and not know what it is or how it works. There are already far too many inspectors out there taking people's money for an inspection when they really should be selling shoes or doing some other line of work. The bulletin board is NOT the place to come and have others write a report through a series of questions.

I went through a very extensive HI program (no longer available because of all the 80 hour courses that popped up when the HI business became popular) and when I was done I knew without a doubt that I knew enough to be dangerous to myself, my livelihood and my customers. I went and enrolled in schools in the building sciences. There are literally going to be days when you will have to recognize thousands of items and discrepancies, know what you are looking at, deal with a customer, deal with a Realtor, deal with a seller, deal with the cash flow, the bank, the credit card company, your family, the other trades, contractors, lawyers, mortgage companies and still manage to write a clear, consistent report, not miss any of the innumerable things that can go wrong on a house, put it into words your customer can understand yet still grasp the magnitude of it if necessary. Without a strong mechanical or construction background or some very serious training you are not doing your customers a favor.

You probably have heard about the diploma mills if you have read any of this board. Many HI schools are also diploma mills, promising untold wealth to the future Home inspectors. A lot depends on your market area, your business goals, your ability to sell yourself and your service. It took many of us years of hard work to finally get up and running in the beginning. When I started Realtors hated Home Inspectors (many still do). The good ones understand the value but many old timers have their horror stories and some times for good reasons. Some HI do a crappy job, snatch the money and head off to the next job. I guess it boils down to how committed are you to be a superb inspector or just get enough to get by and BS your way thru. We have both types in the business.

If you intend to join us, do us and yourself a favor..be the best damned inspector you can be and that money can buy. Hope you succeed in whatever you decide.

[asargisian]

Also Mr Morrison you can find a local Inspector in your area, and have them become your mentor, while you complete your education in the inspection training. This will give you a better feel of the business and ask questions while watching your mentor do the work. Take your time in learning, there are many corners to a home inspections. I wish you success with your inspection career. InterNachi is the largest well organized team membered organization I have ever been with.

Good luck..

[aerb]

Hello
I have taken two years of training and 10 years of being in the trades,4years of owning my own renovattion company.
and there is always going to be more to learn.
Some helpful advice to not make it a stressful time is get a job in the trades or something relavent until you can support yourself and family, with your home inspection business.
go to school, join NACHI, learn as much as you can. this is a great place
Know what you are getiing into, do your research
one step at a time!
"If you intend to join us, do us and yourself a favor..be the best damned inspector you can be and that money can buy. Hope you succeed in whatever you decide."dido

[Nick Gromicko]

www.nachi.org/success.htm most all of it is free.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by dharris

As a former contractor, and in the trades 30 yrs prior to becoming a HI, I will admit, that I thought I knew it all, [ everthing I knew I learned from Lic contractors, and builders] untill I hired a local inspector to do an inspection on my home , attended HI courses and talked to local inspectors, I soon learned that there were many things that I thought I knew, I was doing as a contractor were wrong.

As an inspector I soon learned, looking for, and being able to properly identify a defect, is far different than a contractor that contracts, does the work himself or hires employees to do the job, and collects payment when it is completed.

I agree with Dan. I have seen many former contractors, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, roofers, etc, try to get into this profession. The problem is that they were used to DOING the work, not INSPECTION the work.

Besides, a former electrician (let's say a good, professional and experienced electrician) will ne looking, primarily, at the electric. Not the roof, foundation, plumbing, siding, windows, floors, appliances, and hundreds of other little details.

And it only takes one missed detail to get you sued.

I know many contractors, long time, good contractors, who look down on inspectors.

But their job is NOT our job.

A good inspector has these qualities:

1) He has to know the technical stuff. And, he has to know all the little details. This takes book and classroom learning, AND it takes field experience. The proper mix of the theoretical and the practical.

2) He has to be able to describe, in writing (and in complete sentences and paragraphs) what he is seeing. He has to be able to describe the existing condition, THEN also be able to describe the peoblems (if any are there). AND he has to be able to describe both of these in layman's terms, understandable to the client AND the client's lawyer / Realtor and anyone else who reads the report. The report has to be clear, understandable and written in plain language. AND you cannot just quote local building codes. You have to be able to explain the problem in terms that the client will understand. The local codes often "allow" things that are not "best practices", but things that "every one does" and things that will give the client grief.

3) The inspector must be a good applied psychologist. He has to be able to meet the client where they are. He must meet them and teach them in terms of the technical things. He must meet them, where they are, in terms of their fears and concerns about what will happen in the future. He must be able to teach and educate the client that there is no such thing as a perfect house, and teach them how to prioritize their concerns. He must be able to educate them on how to properly maintain the house. He must also be abe to do all these things without freaking them out. The house is not just "the perfect house" and it is not just "a rotting pile". The house is what it is and you must be able to explain that.

It is a very daunting and challanging job.

And, don't expect to make a profit, even if you are REALLY good, in the first 2 years.

Plus, you have to be a fairly good accountant, businessman, marketing genius, jail-house lawyer, have a great wife and family (for support) and be able to absorb a tremendous amount of information, properly interpret it and convey it to people who, for the most part, don't really want to understand what you are stating to them.

If you can handle that, welcome.

If you have any doubts, run away.

Hope this helps;

[dharris]

Dang.
Decker agreed with me 2 times in less than 1 week
I must be wrong
I take everthing back that decker agreed with me on

[relliott]

You must still be dizzy from all those hot attics

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by relliott

You must still be dizzy from all those hot attics

I think ou're on to something Bob.
Dan's brain being overheated would explain a lot of his posts.

[Erby Crofutt]

Here's some info for you.

http://localism.com/article/130362/K...pector-Startup

Don't let the lack of trades experience stop you. Most of them know how to do it, NOT how to do it right.

You have an advantage. You don't have to unlearn all that "do it" stuff that the trades guys learned wrong. Took me about six months to unlearn that junk.

You can do it with patience and perserverance and lots of study.

Don't believe that bull**** from the HI Schools about getting rich quick. It just ain't gonna happen.

Good Luck.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by ecrofutt

Here's some info for you.

http://localism.com/article/130362/K...pector-Startup

Don't let the lack of trades experience stop you. Most of them know how to do it, NOT how to do it right.

You have an advantage. You don't have to unlearn all that "do it" stuff that the trades guys learned wrong. Took me about six months to unlearn that junk.

You can do it with patience and perserverance and lots of study.

Don't believe that bull**** from the HI Schools about getting rich quick. It just ain't gonna happen.

Good Luck.

Here's a PRIME EXAMPLE of what's going on in this industry due to the fact that you can get easily "certifed" through a lot of organizations or diploma mills:

A new franchise operation started up in my area about 15-16 months ago. The CEO has only been a certified HI since Oct/06 and I know of very little inspection experience for him before this startup!!!

From their website:

Currently we have inspectors billing $10,000 - $30,000 per Month!

So some of their franchisee/associates have been in busines only, at most, 16 months, .....most less than that, and they're billing this amount in a market overcrowded with HI's!!! Outright lies!! (well, maybe not if they [the franchisor who also inspects] are including the franchise fees they are hauling in from suckers naive enough to believe this crap, but then that's not inspection revenue) So far they have 5-7 suckers on board.

HHHMMM! Maybe I should join......at least $10,000 billed every month would be enjoyable....... should give me $70,000+ net every year!!!! Whooohee!!!

Be wery, wery careful, Bill. Roy has been saying 90% of HI's fail in 1-2 years...that's a lot of time and money invested. I've been watching another new independent HI's website fairly regularly for a year or so....he has available booking times listed just on weekends (obviously has kept the fulltime regular job) and have rarely seen a booked spot.

NOTE: I have already had a complaint call about one of the franchisors's inspections. The report was fluff......no ages, expected life or condition reported for DHW heater or furnace. Two types of water supply line in place and in use were not reported. The "skirting" around this older raised bungalow style house on concrete piers and stones had rot and holes large enough that a medium size dog and anything smaller could get in......not mentioned. I was only there an hour or so to discuss how to proceed with the shocked homeowner and if they wanted to go farther.
ps: Today we set Saturday as a tentative time for our next meeting.

If this is what a home inspector is today, then we're all in trouble as a group and the better of us should consider getting out before we're all dragged down by the industry reputation as it gets worse and worse due to the diploma mills!!! Just my HO.

[Rickbunzel]

Bill,

You clearly have an up hill battle on three fronts: Little knowledge of the industry, Have to do ride alongs and a slowing marketplace. This is not to say you can't be successful but you are going to have a tougher time than someone who started 3-4 years ago. Be prepared to be in startup mode for at least a year. You ask when you would hit breakeven? Looking at the averages in a recent InterNachi poll it could be some time as close to 50% http://www.nachi.org/forum/f11/many-inspections-20551/
of the inspectors do 3 or less inspections a week. If your average AZ. inspection is $300 then your making $900 a week GROSS. If you think your better than most of the folks here go to the next level and you may be doing 3-5 inspections a week. Figure out your costs and see if you can make ends meet.

Most inspectors do not want to train their competition so I imagine you will have to go out of the area to find a inspector to train with. I understand that many charge a fee but they can probably teach you more in the field than you can learn in a classroom.

After reading all the posts you may feel dismayed but we are just being realistic. The more you know going in the better chance you have making it through your first two years. BTW those that believe they can work part-time in this field to get "established" have a higher chance of failure.

//Rick