Since this is my first post here, a proper introduction is probably in order.
Hi all, My name is Ivan and I live in Calgary, Alberta. I have 20 years of commercial and residential construction experience and am in need of a change. I have my own construction company and have had enough of babysitting top paid “Journeymen” that produce greenhorn quality work and fighting for money from people who want champagne on a beer budget.
Admittedly this is Alberta, and to say that things have changed over the last twenty years would be an understatement. Having said that, I have been doing quite a bit of soul searching and I figure home inspections would be right up my alley. I have a wide range of construction experience and have built 4 houses so I believe a solid foundation is already there.
The home inspection business appeals to me for so many reasons, some of which are the sense of satisfaction helping out a potential home owner, not having to chase sub-trades to complete work, getting paid before delivering a final product(ensuring payment) and being responsible only for myself to complete jobs.
Having said all of this, I have been researching different training programs for the last 4 months or so and I have decided that a short course along with some home study would probably work best for me. I have basically narrowed it down to 2 programs but I haven’t ruled out others. My short list is between Inspect4U and Inspection Time.
Does anyone have any experience with these trainers or first hand knowledge of their programs?
And a question for the more experienced inspectors, knowing what you do now, what would be your advice to a would-be inspector looking to get into the business seeking training advice?
Thanks in advance and sorry that in my first post I sound a little jaded, it’s been a bit of a rough week.
Keep something thing in mind though, building a home or other structure gives you no idea on how they fail, or how older systems work, or don’t, as the case may be. Being a general also often allows only a good idea of what a recently completed job should look like or perform like not on the way it was done or the materials used nor on how the system or materials might fail in future.
As a general myself I knew there were many aspects of home building I did not have a full grasp of as they were contracted out to experts such as electrical and HVAC but you need to know authoritatively the details of these systems to be a home inspector.
A home inspector deals with the homes and structures in the location / area they intend to practice business in so outside of any general information or short courses look around at your area and search out information on the types of structures you will be dealing with. I believe this is key before starting out.
While you can learn what an older steam heating unit converted to hotwater heating looks like and how to inspect it later if it is something you will seldom if ever see. If in your location it is something reasonably common you need to know about it off the hop.
A century home is very much different than a subdivision home in almost all aspects. Though they may share having a heating system and a roof etc they are likely very different systems. No short course will teach you these things. Some longer courses will.
Thanks for the advice guys, I was hoping to get some actual input from people that have taken some of the various courses to see some of the pros and cons of the different training courses.
In any event, I will call some of the folks from Albertanachi and pick their brains about some of the local programs that may fit the criteria.
Bruce,
I know that home building is not home inspecting and vise versa, as well no course will ever teach someone everything they need to know about home inspecting. There is a significant amount of learning that takes place during any training program however the learning doesn’t stop with the completion of the program.
Inspect4u is basic. And expensive. I took the course and was unimpressed with the material. I know a few other inspectors here have had the same impression. Find what works best for you.
Do the NACHI courses required for the exam. Do the proctored exam through NACHI Alberta, then continue to support both NACHI and NACHI in Alberta, and continue to learn.
There is not substitute for continuing education, and there is no equal to the amount and quality of education available in InterNACHI.
You get the added bonus of the best marketing machine in the industry.