New - No Experience?

I am interested in becoming a home inspector but don’t have any background involving construction, engineering, etc.

What are my chances of succeeding? I plan to take all of the courses offered here for members. I’m not sure how many actual hours of coursework that equates to, but will that be enough for me to get going? I’m okay with starting off part time. I don’t have any unrealistic expectations of jumping in and immediately having full time work doing this.

Any advice for a solid plan of attack?

Thanks

Probably about 20%. But that’s true for everyone.

IMO: Most fail for lack of business acumen so don’t neglect that. Try to find a mentor and get exposure to actual in-the-field inspections if you can.

The biggest problem you will have , or at least one of them, is going to be the ability to recognize what are standard building practices, and those that are not. You have a pretty steep learning curve in front of you and don’t take that for granted. You can do it, but find a mentor. The “class” I took was useless. Thankfully, I had decades of being a General Contractor to back me up.

Good luck!!

Where are you located as useful answers will be specific to your location.

Hi I am a new Home Inspector in Florida. I want to know if I need a special certification to inspect a mobile home. Thank you so much

Curious… what is your motivation to become a home inspector? Why a home inspector? What/who gave you the idea to become a home inspector? Why do you feel you will make a “good” (like Code… the very bare minimum) home inspector?

If any of your answers to the above was the plethora of advertisements from the multitude of Home Inspector Training Schools touting riches beyond your wildest dreams in less than a year… then my advice to you is to just turn and run like hell! The majority of new home inspectors fail within three years, and imo, most of them fail after burning up their life savings, so now out of work and broke, they search for work as a burger flipper or door greeter. With any luck, they have a spouse with a paycheck and benefits.

Not trying to scare ya, (well, maybe a little), just trying to give you a realistic view of what you are in for. Many here like to ‘blow smoke up one’s arse’ trying to be nice to the new guy. With no experience, you will need to work 5x harder than your competition just to stay in business. In 1 to 3 years, I don’t want you in that position and b*tchin’ that nobody gave you a fair warning of the reality of this industry!

Good luck!

I remember when I started out.
I sold my home for funding & rented for almost one year.
I said to myself succeed or fail, I will never know & would have to resign myself
to work for others the rest of my life.
Sorta like if you don’t ask, the answer is no!
Made a big party when I hit the 5 year mark. So here I am over 30 years later with no regrets. :smiley:

Best plan of attack is to have 3 or so years worth of money saved up to pay the bills while you learn the business.
Figure out why anyone would hire you, it’s important to know so you can sell yourself to potential clients.

Step #1: Take a field trip to Home Depot (for a week). This is what they make houses out of.

The more you learn, the more you will realize what you don’t know.
Look it up and learn everything you can about the subject.

Do Not come here and ask someone else what to do…
You’ll just be another message board junkie with little or no understanding.

You must remain “curious” about everything and motivated to learn, not just know the answer to the question.

I have a BS in Business and Computer Science. Never built a dog house before I became a home inspector. HOWEVER, I was an OSHA inspector for many years and then transitioned to a safety inspector in industry. So my background was in looking for things wrong and knowing how to look up and understand regulatory codes. My background and training gave me business, communication, and IT skills that made me very successful in this business. Language skills: the ability to speak and write and use good grammar are critical in your interactions with agents and clients and in report writing. Good physical condition is also important as the job can be physically demanding.

I also have a friend who is a retired postman and he is doing well.

Don’t quite your day job if you decide to try it. Work weekends and late afternoons (that’s a market most home inspectors turn down). Make the jump only when you get your boat close to the dock (when you can survive on the HI income).

Success all depends on yourself. You’re the only one who can answer that question. You will succeed if you want to succeed. No one can stop you. If you truly want to succeed in this industry you’ll have to work hard and not give up. Your next step is signing up to Internachi. Good luck…

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This.

Most inspectors fail because they spend all their time studying to pass whatever test, and it never occurs to them to put together a business plan or marketing plan.

Too many think being a home inspector will be a fun way to make easy money, but it’s no where near that simple.

There is a very significant market for inspectors that don’t know very much and are not interested in finding very much. There are many realtors that are looking for an inspector who can assure them of a “sure-thing” on the inspection. Just market yourself as such, and you will succeed. Just make sure not to have any place online where clients can leave reviews.

Does this advice come directly from experience doing such?

Hi Emmanuel,

Please do a quick Google search of the company I work for. This is not twitter or youtube. You don’t have to attack me personally to try to get a point across.

My comment was based on what I have seen from working in the inspection industry. Do you believe that most inspectors in the field today are incredible inspectors that are working hard for the benefit of their clients?

There is good and bad in every profession and I have seen just about all facets of both. I’ve also seen first hand many times what you are describing and wondered if that was an approach used by some Inspectors. However without an admission from those particular Inspectors one can really never know what their business plans are.

What would be interesting to know is if this business approach is being taught somewhere or mentored by some?

Anyone else notice the “new” guy didn’t stick around.

Another 1 and done poster.

Can’t say it was my bubbly personality this time! ;-):smiley:

Mebbe he took my advice…

Correct!