becoming a home inspector

hi my name is Sal and i am located in the detroit mi area. i have been in retail for a very long time and its getting stressful. Although i make over 6 figures a year i am just not happy. i am looking to go out on my own and am looking at home inspection, just because my current management experience in home improvement retail. i am looking to become a member of internachi but had several questions. although michigan does not require a license i still want to be certified. question 1. how long will it take for me to get certified, 2. how much of an investment am i looking at for all the tools and marketing, 3. and finally i know its a competitive business in my area what is an average time frame for a business such as this to start making around 2500 a month. reason i ask this question is because i just bought a new house paid off all my debt, but would need at least that much flowing in before i can quit my job and at the same time i can not start this part time while working because i don’t have fixed schedules and i work 12 hr days. thanks in advance for all your help and i look forward to becoming a member.

So you’re making 0ver 6 figures and you are wondering when you might to get to the $2500.00/month range if you get into this business. $2500.00 is 6 figures.

Thanks for the response I currently make 115000 a year and 2500 a month is 30000 a year I’m comfortable with that to cover bills in order to quit my job. I ask cause it’s too hard with my job to do it part time cause of the hours I put in. I have some savings but I’d like to know if anyone has an expected time to make at least 2500 a month once certification is done or how long will it take me to get to that point. This way I can know if my savings will last me if I choose to quit my job. Thanks

I had a question similar to Sals actually. Is it unreasonable/unusual/impossible to become a home inspector without prior contracting or building experience? Let’s say you study your but off in your spare time, pass all the online courses offered at InterNACHI, become certified, and then utilize the sites marketing help etc… Is there any reason a person like that (with no prior construction experience) couldn’t become a successful home inspector? I hope some experienced inspectors respond to this because I’m very interested in the input. I too am considering breaking away (at some point in the future) from working for someone else to being in control of my own destiny and business. Thanks in advance for any thoughts, input or advice.

Hi and thanks for your reply. What i was trying to explain is that i make over 100k a year and 2500 a month is only 30k a year but I’m trying to find out once i get my certification and all my tools and i start marketing, how long in your personal opinion do you think it would take before i start making 2500 a month that will help cover my bills until the business grows more, or if that is too hard to tell how much can i expect to make in the first few months of starting. Thanks again for taking the time to help.

2500 a month is not 6 figures its 30k a year, i currently make 100k per yer. i am trying to find out how long after i start will it take me to hit the 2500 mark in order to cover my expenses until the business grows and if possible what can i expect to start making in my first few months. thanks for the reply and taking the time to help.

Most inspectors do not clear six figures.

You need to do market research for where you are http://trends.findthehome.com/l/30/Michigan Looks like a buyers market maybe.

Tools not much, maybe less than a thousand bucks, good ladder, good camera, vehicle that can carry the ladder, a few good hand tools, screwdrivers mostly, computer. You may already have it. Start with a new, clean good quality folding ladder that can be a step ladder and extension ladder.

Marketing, you will have to be on the internet. Start with google ad words, ignore the cold callers who will try to manage your ad words account. Get your own web site or use a google plus page (free), all your calls will come from adwords, or the free ads in whatever the people in your area use to sell their stuff locally, like craigslist or kijiji. Budget $400 a month and see where that gets you.

You should know how many inspectors are covering your territory, use inspector seek, google, and similar finder stuff on the internet use your phone or tablet for searching as well as your PC. Take note of who comes out on top and try to figure out how they are doing it.

You should talk to some real estate agents to get an estimate of how many homes that sold were inspected, what the average inspection costs for your area and the usual way clients find inspectors.

Make sure you have enough money in the bank to pay your living costs for 6 months or more.