Qualified home inspectors, Licensed home inspectors

It is very easy for one to say that they are a home inspector.  Here in Texas, you do need to be licensed and take some courses.  It is not the most difficult class by any means.  I believe at last count, there are nearly 11,000 home inspectors in the State of Texas.  Having a strong construction background, I feel that it is imperative to have construction experience.  I doubt that over 90% of inspectors have noconstruction experience whatsoever.  How in the world could you be inspecting a property, which is the clients biggest purchase of their life, without the knowledge of how the structure is actually erected.  The only thing that these guys ever see is the cosmetic finishes after the structure is built.  They are clueless to what is behind those walls.  In saying that, I know many qualified inspectors, and we ALL charge a premium for our services.  You are paying for our knowledge and experience, which could save you thousands of dollars.  I know many people want to go with the cheapest inspector, and that is exactly what they will get, is a cheap inspection.  There are also large firms with many inspectors.  You must realize that if these inspectors working for this firm had total competence, they would be working for themselves.  You are basically getting guys that could not make it on their own in the business.