subject: So you really want to be a home inspector? [print this page] So you really want to be a home inspector?
I receive a lot of emails and phone calls asking me the secret to my success in such a relatively short amount of time, and how to become a successful home inspector. While I am flattered to actually be recognized as being successful, it gets to be a somewhat daunting task of answering all of the emails and voice mails I receive. I decided to write this blog to give some tips and pointers to those who are interested in entering the home inspection field. While I will not divulge all of my secrets entirely, I will spell out in detail how to get started and some of the ideas that have worked well for me personally. Please keep in mind that home inspections are very area specific and what might work in one part of the country may not work so well in other parts. Also please realize that the following is solely based on my opinion and experience in the home inspection field.
First off I will say upfront, that if you are thinking that home inspections are an easy way to make money, you really should give it some more thought. While you can make good money by becoming a home inspector, the task is not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. You should be prepared to work very long andhard hours. 12-14 hours a day is not at all uncommon in this field. Dirty, wet and spider infested crawlspaces, 120 degree attics and many other assorted hazards are also a part of everyday life as a home inspector. It is not a profession for the faint of heart. You will also need to keep in mind that you are much more than just a home inspector. You now own a business. You are your own customer service representative, marketing representative, bookkeeper, webmaster, phone operator, educator etc. You also will need to possess basic to moderate computer skills. Working knowledge of Windows, email, transferring files etc. There are many things to consider prior to entering this field. Make sure you have the time, energy and willpower to accomplish the goals you set out to acheive.
When all is said and done, be prepared to spend anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 in start up costs. This is typically the area that once heard,separates the "wannabees" from the serious professionals. This also illustrates why home inspection licensing is a good thing. Not just anyone can pick up a screwdriver and a flashlight and call themselves a home inspector.
As you begin your quest becoming a home inspector, I highly recommend reading a couple of very informational books that helped me on my journey.
"The Home Inspection Business from A to Z" by Guy Cozzi.
"Think Big and Kick Ass" by Mr. Donald Trump.
Okay, now let's get to the meat of how to become an inspector.
1) First and foremost you need to check with your states licensing agency to see if your state requires home inspectors to be licensed.To date, 31 states have adopted some form ofrules, regulations and or licensingon becoming a home inspector and you need to be aware of what your state actually requires. While not every state requires licensing, we will assume that it will for the remainder of this blog.
2) Contrary to what you might be thinking, all of your previous construction, building or engineering experience will not give you a free ride into the home inspection business. You will need to become certified in order to obtain your license. Becoming certified to do home inspections is a wholedifferent ball game than what you might be used to. It requires learning every aspect of a homes systems and components including; electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, insulation, ventilation, foundations, roofs, attic structure, interior sub structure, grading, exterior siding, fireplaces, chimneys, appliances, windows, doors, and thousands of safety relateditems just to name a few. In order to become certified in most states you are required to have a minimum of 90 hours of training by a qualified school. Some areas have local home inspection training in a classroom/field environment. There are also many reputable online courses you can take to become certified.You will need to do your homework in finding out if your city has a local school that offers home inspection training. If it does not, then I would suggest an online course such as PHII or AHIT. Typically you should be prepared to spend anywhere from $695.00 to $2,000.00 for your training, depending on who you choose. Whatever school you decide on, make sure it is an approved home inspection school with your states licensing board. Not all inspection schools make these lists.
3) Once you have successfully passed all of your training and become certified, you will need to take the NHIE. National Home Inspector Exam. This is a 200 question exam that you will need to pass in order to become licensed. The test is set up to ensure that 40% of people who take it, fail.The fee is $200.00 each and every time you have to take this test.
4) Once you have passed your training and the NHIE, the next step is obtaining insurance. In most states the minimum requirement is general liability insurance. You need to provide proof of insurance before you can obtain your state license. A typical liability policy should run you somewhere around $550.00 a year. While not required, it is a very smart idea to also obtain an E&O (Errors and omissions) policy as well as the general liability policy in your first year or two. The E&O will help protect you in the event that you miss something big during an inspection. It is a bit pricey, but well worth it in my opinion. It is a heck of a lot cheaper than if you didn't have it and you wind up getting sued for missing something that you should have found during an inspection. Be prepared to shell outat least $2500.00 a year for a decent E&O policy.
5) Now you are certified, passed the NHIE and you are insured. You can now obtain your license. Here in Indiana for instance, the fee for obtaining a home inspector license is $450.00 for the first two years and then $400.00 every two years afterwards. You must provide the licensing agency with your school certification, the NHIE certification and your insurance binders. Pay the applicable fee and get your license.
6) Now you need to think about the tools you will need for your business. You just can't show up to your first inspection with a flashlight and a screwdriver and expect to be taken seriously. First you need a truck. Yes I said a truck. If you show up to your first inspection in a Hyundai Sonata with a ladder strapped to the roof, you will not likely be seen as being very professional. You need a truck and you need to keep it clean at all times. A professional appearance is everything in this business. Along with a clean vehicle, you also need to be wearing clean clothes. I know it sounds funny and clich, but imagine how you would feel being the client and your inspector shows up in a rusted out old beat up pick up and he climbs out of it wearing dirty raggedy clothes. It is a good idea to have some "work shirts" made up with your business name and slogan on them. I personally recommend University Fashions. Now I am not saying that you should wear a suit and tie to your inspections. You can however look very professional in some clean jeans, work boots and a polo shirt with your business name on them. Some home inspectors will wear khakis and polo shirt, but trust me, jeans are fine, especially when you are crawling around on your hands and knees in a 12 inch crawlspace all day. Some other obvious tools you will need are a ladder (6 foot step ladder as well as an extension ladder), flashlights (you can never have too many of these. I highly recommend the LED flashlights), assortment of screwdrivers, a small ratchet socket set, moisture meter, receptacle and GFCI tester, fire stick, respirator, and a digital camera. These things will at least get you started. You will most likely pick up many more tools the longer you are in business.
7) Next, you need to think about a logo design for your business. There are many places to have a logo design custom made. You will need to do your homework in locating the right one at the right price for you.
Next comes the promotional material. Business cards, flyers, brochures, pens, magnets etc. I highly recommendVista Print for all of your promotional needs.
9) Now you need to think about what kind of reporting software you are going to use. Back in the stone age inspectors used to use 3 piece carbon paper and had hand written reports. These days that kind of reporting just will not fly. Real estate agents and buyers alike will want and expect to receive your reports electronically via email. This means you will need reporting software that you can easily transfer to a PDF file. There are many inspection software programs available. My advice isto notbe taken in by all of the claims these software manufacturers make. Many of them all do pretty much the same thing. You can expect to pay anywhere from $200.00 upwards to $1000.00 for some of this software. Personally I use PI reports. Believe it or not it is only $50.00 and is so easy to use, it is ridiculous. It is also the easiest report in the industry for your client to understand. It has no confusing legends or acronyms built in that so many of the other much higher priced software use. I have literally received hundreds of compliments on my report, why? Because anyone can look at it and understand it. Your client will appreciate it, I promise.
Okay so now you are certified, licensed and insured, you have the truck, the clothes, the tools and the reporting software. Now you can begin doing home inspections. But where is your business going to come from? Obviously you can't just sit at home and expect your phone to start ringing with inspection calls, so what do you do? For years and years since Jesus was young, home inspectors have been under the impression that the only way to get business is by wooing real estate agents. Travelling from office to office passing out business cards and flyers, trying to convince the agents that they are the best home inspector on the face of the planet. Some inspectors will even bring in lunch and little Hershey kisses trying to butter up the real estate agents in the hopes that they will get a referral or better yet, the grand prize of them all,getting on the real estate agents "preferred list of home inspectors" that they hand out to their clients. I am here to tell you right now that you do not need to do this. I am living proof that you do not need to compromise your integrity by succumbing to this pre-historic way of marketing yourself. Not to mention the incredible waste of precious time, money and energy involved in doing this as well as the serious conflict of interest it poses. Nope, this business is just like any other business. You have to pay your dues the old fashioned way, HARD WORK.
I am giving you the straightforward truth here in saying that there are not too many real estate agents in this country that will take a chance on a brand new inspector, it just doesn't happen that way. You can bribe them all you want, it will do you no good. Most agents (unless they are new also) have been using the same old school home inspector for years and simply will not jeopardize any of their deals by trying out a new inspector. Get VERY used to that idea while in your first year of business. It will make you absolutely livid that no real estate office willrefer you. After all, you worked so hard to get this far, you have the ability, knowledge and tools needed to perform a proper inspection, but no one will even give you the time of day. So what do you do?
When first starting out, try marketing yourself directly to the consumer instead. Bypass the real estate agents all together and go directly to the home buyer. You will save yourself a great deal of grief and blood pressure medicine by not playing the ancient "suck up" game. So how do you market directly to the consumer? Without question your number one source to reach the consumer is the Internet. 87% of all home buyers look to the internet first when selecting an agent and or home inspector. Place all that precious time you would be wasting in driving from office to office into building yourself a website. I recommend GoDaddy. I pay only $100.00 a year for a 10 page website and created it myself. You really do not need as much technical training as you might think. Godaddy makes it very easy for anyone to create a website. Your website is your meal ticket, I promise. Learn as much as you can about building and optimizing your website in your first year. Your second year will be well worth it. Also take advantage of all of the free classified advertising on the Internet. Places like Active rain, Craigslist, Kijiji, Topix and Olx are excellent mediums to get your business and website established. My website was only up for a week before the calls started coming in. Like it or not, the Internet is where it's at, and if you are going to succeed in starting any business, you need to have a solid Internet presence. I also recommend becoming a member of the Better Business Bureau as soon as you can join (typically 6 months to a year of being in business) as well as your local Chamber of Commerce. Both of these organizations are well known to everyone and will provide you with many networking opportunities with real people in the communities they serve.
Another thing to consider is how much you are going to charge for your services. Make sure that you have a set fee structure for all of your services before the phone starts ringing. When I first started out, I went to every home inspection company in Indianapolis and found out how much they charged. I wrote everything down, studied and studied and then placed myself strategically smack dab in the middle of all of them. You do not want to be the lowest priced inspector on the block, nor do you want to be the highest priced. Too low and they will wonder why? Too high and they will think you are just out to rip them off. Other home inspectors hate to hear me say this, but like it or not, it is a fact. If you want to put food on your table, you need to price yourself according to your competition and not by how good you think you are.
Now it is really all up to you. You control your own destiny. Obviously all of the above fore mentioned will do you no good if you do not do a good job. You need to be a people person and you have to have a personality.You need to be professional and honest, in your speaking, report writing (you must be able to spell and use proper grammar in your reports) and your actions. Be honest and straightforward with your findings during an inspection. (Do NOT be afraid that if you call something out during an inspectionthat the agent involved will never use you again. You are working for the client, NOT the agent). Most importantly you need to be thorough. If it takes you 5 hours to do an inspection, let it take you 5 hours. Customers like and appreciate thoroughness. Customers also like conversation. Ask them about their kids, jobs etc. Take a genuine interest in your client. After all, they are paying you good money to inspect their future home. That's a pretty big deal in most people's book. Inspect their home as if you were inspecting it for yourself or a family member. You will notice over timeby doing so, will pay big dividends in the end. You will start noticing that you will be getting referralsfrom your past clients to their family members, friends and coworkers who are buying a home. You will even start noticing a few calls from real estate agents who have heard about your work from your client and are impressed with your personable, professional and thorough self. It will take some time before this happens however. It is extremely important to be realistic in your expectations. When you first start out inspecting homes, do not expect to get 5 inspections a week. You will be lucky to get that in your first month. It is a very slow process, like starting any other business. It takes lots of patience, common sense and hard work. You have to beat out your competition by providing superior work and customer service. You have to give people something that they are not used to or do not expect from a home inspector. Word will eventuallyspreadafter your first year in business and if you do it right, and handle yourself right, you will start to become a successful home inspector. Good luck.
