Form an InterNACHI® Chapter: Connect Local Home Inspectors

Each chapter must maintain an active presence each year. InterNACHI® promotes each chapter, so it is important that chapters are actively involved and hold regular meetings for their members. 

Ready to form your InterNACHI® Chapter? 

Create a name for your chapter. Many chapters have chosen their name based on their geographical region so their meetings will be attended by local inspectors. For example, the Western Pennsylvania Chapter, the Front Range Chapter, and the Lake Houston Chapter. You can view all active InterNACH® Chapters at nachi.org/chapters. Once you have chosen a name, InterNACHI® will design a free logo for your chapter.  

Create your chapter website. InterNACHI® provides free, template-based websites and hosting for chapters. To get started on your chapter website, email Lisa Endza at [email protected].

Write a chapter description. This will appear on the “About” page of your website, which will be the landing page – the first thing people will see. Put all important information about your chapter here.

Create a Facebook group for your chapter. Extend your chapter’s reach through social media. This is a great way to maintain connections with your chapter members between meetings, draw in new members, and to make them aware of events. 

Chapter fees. Most chapters do not charge dues because there are no costs associated with maintaining a chapter. Some chapter organizers will plan a meeting that may require a financial outlay for a guest speaker as an honorarium, or for reimbursement for travel expenses or overnight lodging, in which case they'll charge attendees a modest fee to cover such out-of-pocket costs.

Planning Your Events

Schedule a time and location for your meeting. A conference room at your local community center or Chamber of Commerce are great options. A local restaurant that has a banquet room located away from regular seating is another possibility. If you hold a meeting at a restaurant, verify whether food will be provided during the meeting. Price those options beforehand and clearly state them on your chapter website so attendees can plan accordingly. Do not offer or advertise options for alcoholic beverages, as there are serious liability issues involved. Follow up regularly with management to make sure that your space is still reserved.

Consider holding a virtual meeting. Although most members prefer in-person meetings, virtual meetings are a great option for chapters with members across different regions. InterNACHI® does not provide Zoom accounts for chapters, so explore different digital platforms to hold your meeting via Zoom, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, and other video chat options for multiple users. Research the different alternatives thoroughly before your meeting so that you can plan pre-registration, login and link information, and other requirements to ensure that your virtual meeting goes off without any technical glitches.

Select a speaker. If you want a guest speaker for your event, consider inviting someone from a local business for a presentation, such as a foundation waterproofer, an HVAC contractor, an electrician, a civil engineer, a CPA, an attorney who deals with real estate issues, a Realtor®, an environmental consultant, a chimney sweep, a pest exterminator, a vendor of home inspection tools or testing kits, a Certified Master Inspector® – anyone who can deliver an informative talk that's relevant for inspectors. Presenters from previous InterNACHI® webinars and InterNACHI®-approved vendors are great places to start.  

Remember that holding an InterNACHI® Chapter Meeting is meant to promote the inspection industry as a whole, with an opportunity for learning new ideas from fellow inspectors and industry experts, as well as enhancing the attendees' education and training. It is not meant as a means to promote your own or anyone else's business or commercial enterprise.

Announce your event. Once you've posted an announcement for your event on your chapter website, click on the "Request Chapter Event Promotion" button so that InterNACHI® receives your information and can advertise your event.

Meetings must be announced and promotion requested a minimum of 30 days prior to the event. InterNACHI® staff will email a formal announcement to all nearby inspectors on our mailing list. (To protect the privacy of our members, we cannot give you any mailing lists directly.) We'll also post a link to the formal announcement on nachi.org/events and the InterNACHI® forum, and we recommend posting an announcement on your Chapter Facebook group. If you're a member of another national or regional association, post it on your association's message board, social media, forum or website.  

Invite local real estate agents. They may not come, but receiving an invitation from you is good for your inspection business. Running your own InterNACHI® chapter enhances your position in the local market.

Open to all. It's recommended that your InterNACHI® Chapter meetings welcome all inspectors – not just InterNACHI® members. This is an effective way to network and share knowledge.

Get door prizes for your event. Reach out to industry vendors at nachi.org/vendor-offers to see if they will donate door prizes for your chapter meeting such as radon test kits, inspection reporting software, tool catalogs, discount coupons, literature from your speakers, etc. Contact them directly and have them ship the items to you ahead of time. Many vendors will provide you with a certificate for the recipient to redeem for the item, instead of the actual door prize. InterNACHI® will provide door prizes if requested in advance.  

Enjoy your meeting! To prepare for your meeting, provide name tags, and set up a sign-in sheet to get the names and emails of all attendees. Alert members that every meeting is worth 1 hour of InterNACHI® CE, and instruct members to add the event to their continuing education log. Have a great time, and remind everyone in attendance when the next meeting will be held. Take photos of your event to share to your Facebook group and the InterNACHI® forum. And send photos to [email protected] for InterNACHI® to share on our social media channels!

Ready to start your own chapter or discuss in more detail? Contact Lisa Endza at [email protected] or 303-225-5824.

~~~~~~~

View all active chapters at nachi.org/chapters.

Interested in being a leader in your inspection community? Learn more about InterNACHI's Mentor Program.  

View upcoming InterNACHI® events, including chapter meetings.

Find an InterNACHI® Certified Home Inspector in your area.