Real Estate Inspector?

I know of at least one on here that recently started. Wondering, how is it working out? What would you do different? Best place to get certified? After speaking to several realtors, I am going to do it, just trying to avoid extra expenses. There is no certification requirement here, with the exception of radon testing, but I will be getting certified for home inspection, anyway.

If you get into appraisals, there's big bucks in that. Especially ranches.

Well Brian, you will be right popular and receive many more Christmas cards for sure.
Good Luck.

Zim

Well, I have been a home builder an an insurance agent, so I believe I am more than qualified. Considering starting a franchise operation. If there are any construction/sales folks out there that would like to set their own hours and gross 70K, I might be looking for you in the near future.

70k? Are you offering insurance and retirement benefits? If not good luck finding good qualified help in this economy.

Coonman is looking for work!

nice guy

Trapperkeck I started my own home inspection business about a year and half ago. I have several licenses electrical,gas and hvacr with 27 years experience and 15 years experience management of a lumber/hardware store doors, windows, roofing,TJI,Microsoft’s lambs etc. I would take a online course from either ASHI or NASHI. I went through ASHI and purchased their InspectIt software and so far haven’t had any problems with it. I also took my radon course with them. I went to every realtor within 50 miles and Introduced myself left cards and pricing. Also made a sample report using my own house and another using my friends house. I broke into the business with a local realtor that I knew and she already was aware of my qualifications and was happy to work with me. It’s hard to make the connections with realtors sometimes because new inspectors can raise undue alarm over small issues. I suggest you find a mentor and due a ride along inspection usually with someone not in your area. You will need a lot of business cards ,IPad,Inspection report software,printer,error and emissions insurance,water tests for FHA loans and basic choloform/E Coli,moisture meter, carbon monoxide meter, radon gas continuous monitor. I also passed the national home inspection exam. You can PM me if you want. I won’t be around until Monday. Be prepared for it taking a while possibly to get in with a realtor but keep going around and visiting them and ask to do some short presentation with your sample reports printed out for each one of the attendees. NASHI has several free videos on YouTube I suggest you watch them. Most of the online courses are 80 hours. I hope that helped. I also do some HVACR work to keep some income coming while getting my inspection business off and running. I have been pleased with it so far and am as busy as I want to be.

From the outside looking in, it sure seems like a good business to be in, in this housing market at least. I'm guessing there's limited overhead and a guy could operate out of his house if he wanted to. The going rate for an inspection around here is $300-$400. If a guy did 2 inspections a day, 5 days a week and took 4 weeks vacation, that's a gross income of almost $170k. Like you said Vermontster, there are costs associated, like insurance and supplies, but dang that all sounds pretty good.

Good luck trapperkeck. I can tell you when it came time to schedule our inspection for the new house we're buying, I contacted both inspectors my realtor suggested and it came down to who could fit us in the soonest and who had better reviews on Google.

I dabbled in the home inspection thing for a while. I got certified and took all kinds of classes through nachi, and passed the test to do radon testing as well, but never got into it. It was okay, I liked doing the inpsections, that part was easy enough. But the reports took forever, that's why I got out if it.

I'm planning to keep my current job, with benefits, until it doesn't work anymore. From the little bit of time I spent talking to realtors yesterday, there is a shortage of QUALIFIED inspectors out there. When we bought the home we are in now, the fella who did our inspection was a complete moron and I hope he has E/O insurance because he's gonna need it!

I appraise farms/ranches for a living. Good gig but the barriers to entry are pretty high due to licensing requirements to be a certified general appraiser. Can be tough to find a mentor willing to train their competition. It is a little easier on the residential side as far as licensing requirements and those guys do well in active market areas.

I inspected houses for a few years for realitors when I worked construction. It was a good gig but I discovered rather quickly that the realitiors want you to overlook or down play the smaller issues so the deal goes through. If you cause the clients to back away from the deal you may not work for that realitor ever again, yet knowingly lie and you'll wind up in court. Saying that, most inspections are a piece of cake once you get a routine down. I'm retired with a disability but this would be something I could do. I might be interested if things work out for you.

Seems like a good business and everything but I dont see why it would be worth someone to franchise? Seems like the barriers to entry are low enough that someone looking to get into it would just start their own and not have to pay the ongoing fees.

That's exactly why I got into the profession. For the big bucks!!!.... On ranches!
Unfortunately, most of the ranches around here are leased, so its hard to get permission.

ol'dad

I had the opportunity to be a real estate appraiser about 20 years ago. A college buddy got in through the family business and he wanted me to work with them. I'm still kicking myself for not getting into it back then.

Real Estate inspection is good work, if you can get it.

First off, inspection and appraisal in Minnesota are two completely different animals. Inspection is unregulated and a lot more technical that appraisal. Appraisal now requires years of formal training, and time working under a certified appraiser, somewhat like an apprenticeship.

For a while I bought and sold houses, and needed to give up my appraisal credentials, as it could have been considered a conflict of interest, every time I made an offer..

I was also a home inspector. I took all the classes that were offered, took the National Home inspection test, and got myself certified by one of the National Associations.

Like I said: Good work if you can get it.

The only meaningful way to get in is to suck up with Realtors. Individuals buying their first house are really the target market. Experienced buyers hire contractors that not only list defects for free, but, quote prices to correct. As a home inspector, you cannot ethically offer repair services.

To summarize: Good work, if you can get it. And remember this: it is only a matter of time before you get sued. So, make sure you have all your bases covered.

I'm on the hook for thousands of dollars of repairs to a home I bought. It's probably safe to say thirty or forty thousand dollars. The previous owner didn't disclose the issues and the home inspector can't be faulted for not uncovering them due to the circumstances. If I had thought of it, I probably could have sued the home inspectors insurance company but it never crossed my mind. I probably would not have anyway. I did consult a lawyer about what recourse I might have in the state of Maine by going after the seller for not disclosing the issues. He said I had none.

I can't get out from under this house without shelling out a bundle of money. Caveat emptor.

If I understand it correctly, here in Minnesota a home inspector can only be held liable for his fees. Refund the fees and your off the book but never thought about their insurance company.

Make sure you understand septic systems and wells. If one or the other doesn’t work properly and you eye-ball it without testing, you could be in an expensive world of hurt real fast. Lots of us like fixer uppers, but nobody likes expensive surprises.

Home inspector’s here get on roofs and in attics. They look at electrical systems, plumbing, look for mold in basements and attics, drainage away from houses, cracks in basement floors and walls, cracks in garage and driveway surfaces. The list goes on and on. It would help to have training in wells, septic systems, electrical code compliance, plumbing, radon, lead-based paint, heating, a/c and overall ventilation, interior and exterior maintenance and so on. I would suggest meeting with city/county building inspection offices to get their take on codes and what they use as a check-off on homes and apartments. Some communities even want habitability inspections on rental properties once a year!

At the risk of sounding sexist, get your local building inspection training from a woman. MOST of the building/occupancy inspectors I’ve dealt with, who were women, were more conscientious about their jobs.

I totally agree. That is sexist!!

I'll tell you This from an ADC standpoint. Most home inspectors working with Realtors Do NOT know the difference between Rodent infestations AND Bats. Several times I've delt with Young Families with children that bought a home - being told they have rodents/ mice issues in their attics only to find out its Bats.
In this State if this Was known , the Seller or realtor cannot sell until a Bat colony was Evicted before listing. Many Realtors Dont want to hear that.

Well I took the plunge and purchased the certification training course. We shall see how it goes from here. Thanks for the help, and any further tips or pointers are welcome!

I attended a week long training class several years ago. We a had day of classroom study, two days of hands on field training and two days of how to write a report that covered your tail but didn't blow the sale for the realtor. My experience was that the bulk of your work came from realtors and if you gave a report that cost them a sale they would not call you back and word would spread like wildfire through the real estate world. I did and still do a few inspections, but only for the individual, not a realtors request. I refuse to play their game of semantics and down playing problems. Good luck .