So after all the warnings and evil signs, you've decided to become a home inspector anyways. Good for you! The first trait to being a home inspector is the ability to hang tough. And guess what, you're going to need a lot more of that in the near future.
Well the next thing you must do to become a home inspector is to figure out a training plan. Not a business plan, we haven't gotten to that point and you won't be seeing much business in the near future anyways. What I mean is, how are you going to train yourself to become a home inspector? The first place most people go is to the internet and search home inspector training. At the top of that search page is going to be a big list of different HI training schools. I'm not going to name any of them as they advertise well enough on their own, but I will tell you one thing. STOP! You’re not ready for this yet.
HI schools can be a good thing, but they are NOT the all-in-one wonders some say they are. First off, they are not exactly cheap, ranging anywhere from $1500 all the way to $3000 or even $4000. I still don't believe you have completed step one and really decided to become a HI. As such, that is way too much money to spend. So for now, you need to look for lesser priced books and videos and begin your training on your own. Many inspectors as well as others have written some good books about inspecting. Read these first. Learn them, absorb them, and become them. Even the poor ones have some good information if you know how to pick it out.
Secondly, search for any HI forums that you can find and join them. Introduce yourself and tell us your plans. You'll get some GREAT advice about books, training plans, schools, tools, and just about everything else under the sun. Most importantly, you will be entering the realm of HI's and learning what kind of people we are. Are you one of us? You'll soon find out.
Step 2 is really just an extension of step one. There are many more people who decide against becoming a home inspector once they do this. And the best part about that is, they didn't spend thousands of dollars on the school yet and are not hurting.
BTW, don't fool yourself with your past experience. Just because you were a contractor for 20 years does not mean you’re going to make a great, or even a good home inspector. I personally believe that contractors have more to overcome to become a good home inspector vice those people with zero construction experience. You may have formed habits or gotten use to looking at things in a certain way. As an inspector, you can't look at things that way, you must learn how home inspectors do it. I have seen HVAC tech's turned HI do very poor inspections. They spend an hour wooing the client with their knowledge about HVACS but miss the fact that when the heat pump was installed in this new home and to make it fit in the crawlspace, several floor joists were cut. Maybe this was something you had done in the past, or maybe it was your boss/best friend, so it must be good no? Well I have seen this very thing happen. Of course, many contractors become GREAT inspectors. I just don't think it is required or even easier.
The last part of this step is to find a local HI and talk to them face to face. Buy a home inspector lunch and talk to him about the business. See if you can do a ride along where you go with him on an inspection. See how it's done. See the paperwork involved (and there can be a lot of it). If you do this, you are well ahead of most new home inspectors. If you do this, you are much less likely to fail, of course that is assuming you even decide to proceed.
So, study up with everything you can find. Search long and hard, the information is out there and a lot of it is free. Are you understanding it? Are you getting a grasp of it? Is it all making sense? If so, you may be ready for step three, the HI schools.
John E. Coker
Family Home Inspection LLC
(757) 202-3282
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