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Home Inspector Schools and Home Inspector Classes"Various conflicts and potential conflicts have caused me to temporarily stop teaching home inspection school classes, home inspection continuing education classes and home inspector mentoring. In spite of what you may read else where I do not offer any of these services at this time. The information provided on this page is being provided as a public service to those wanting infomation about becoming a home inspector." One of the first steps one usually takes when deciding to become a home inspector is to pick what school to go to. While many who want to become a home inspector pick an economical school saving a few thousand dollars at the beginning of ones training seldom results in any savings at all later on when claims come in from home buyers because of gaps in your education and expertise.While training in a home inspection school few realize how difficult it is to actually perform a home inspection for home buyers. In school home inspectors are shown problems one at a time in a controlled environment. In the real world problems are presented without any structure and in no particular order. For instance the boiler is not just evaluated during a home inspection as heating equipment. The plumbing to and from the boiler (hydronic systems only) must also be inspected as must the electrical components and with oil fired equipment the required and necessary fire rated drywall over the boiler. When inspecting the boiler one must also take into account its clearance from the floor (especially if there is an attached garage). All this must be done while communicating with a client, listening to the seller telling your client nothing is wrong and documenting the problem in your notes so you can explain it in your report. The first few hundred home inspections are mentally exhausting as the person who always wanted to become a home inspector begins to appreciate how difficult it really is to become a home inspector. Many how become home inspectors think getting the training and passing the test is the hard part. Little do they know the hard part is learning what clients expect of them. Clients are great teachers as are jury awards and fines from state licensing boards. Becoming a home inspector means paying attention in class because what you learn in class is paid for once and is a known amount. Learning from clients means paying out some big money to get things you missed fixed. Worse yet is learning from judges and juries because doing that requires your paying your attorney as well as making the client whole. Fines from state licensing boards can be quite substantial as well as embarrassing. Many state licensing boards are able to grant refunds of home inspection fees to clients as well as impose fines to home inspectors and or to require them to take CEU classes. Yes, all the above must be taken into account when one writes a report. Using out of the box home inspection software to compile a home inspection report is seldom a good idea as all of the software comments I have read must be changed to conform to customer expectations. Clients will teach you exactly what it takes to become a home inspector when they start complaining about any defects they find within the home. At the time a customer is complaining they suddenly forget you are not the one who told them the 60 year old boiler was just fine (that was the home owner) or what a great deal they were getting on the home. Suddenly the home buyer does remember you are the one with the check book. They are the one that was harmed and you are the one with the check book.
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