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Home inspector training
Obtaining proper training to
become a home inspector is not easy. Back
when I started in 1993 people like me went to a
few day or one week class. Those who left the
class had no where to go for further home
inspector training. Back then a new
inspector could meet 100 home inspectors before
he found one who was being sued. Today it
is hard to find any that are not!
Home inspector training is easy to find
today. In fact it is too easy. One
would have to be blind not to have seen an add
or two for home inspector training.
Schools are advertising home inspectors make $
800 a day. While it is easy for a new home
inspector to gross $ 800 a day keeping half of
that is difficult.
One thing lacking from home inspector training
then as is now is quality. It is easy to
find a school but finding field experience can
be difficult. Many experienced inspectors
like myself have taken the time to mentor new
inspectors during hundreds of home
inspections. Inspectors who receive light
class room training or worse you home study
training are simply not prepared for the challenges
of being a home inspector.
Ask most people why they are getting home
inspector training and they will tell you to
make money. The sad fact is most people
who train to become home inspectors will not
make any money at it at all. Out of 100
people who start home inspector training only
about 50 ever take the state or national
test. Out of those about 25 or so ever get
jobs as home inspectors or start
businesses. After five years my guess is
only three are left. As far as I know this
rate is similar to other fields such as real estate.
Most newer home inspectors quickly discover all
the training they went through to become a home
inspector leaves them ill prepared for the
reality of the market place. 80% of home
inspection clients use the home inspector their
realtor recommends. This leaves new home
inspectors with a real dilemma. If they
tell clients everything that is wrong with the
home or everything that might be wrong with the
home many buyers will not purchase the
home. Many realtors will get upset because
they have spent weeks or months trying to get a
deal together and just like that the deal can
fall apart due to a few defects the home
inspector found.
Truth is in all they years I have been a home
inspector I have never killed one deal.
Not me. Not one. Why? Because I was
not the one who broke the home. I was not
the one who did not keep the home up. And
I was not the one who did improper
renovations. Home inspector training does
not prepare home inspectors for the realities of
the market place.
Home inspectors who choose not to tell all to
the clients or did not receive adequate home
inspection training will not work for long prior
to getting the dreaded demand letter from an
attorney or two. I teach all students
either learn it here, learn it during field
training or get taught one day by a guy wearing
a black dress. Your client must always be
priority one.
When looking at home inspection schools make
sure 100% the classes are taught by working home inspectors
with a minimum of five to ten years experience. Attending a school where the
inspector has no field experience will put you
at a huge insurmountable disadvantage.
Finding quality home inspection training will
not be easy. Doing without real quality education
will cost you and your clients
dearly. The last place you want to be is
in a court room where your life savings is on
the line. If you think the home buyer who
thinks you screwed him or her cares if you keep
your house or not you have got it WRONG!
Do not think your home inspectors errors and omissions
policy will back you up.
Think of it this way:
You have car insurance
You have not had one accident in three years
In year three you have three accidents in a year
How long will it be till you get dropped?
Now you have no insurance and in a state like
New Jersey that means you have to send your
license back!
Check into many schools, demand facility resumes,
call the facility up and see how well they communicate, check to see if they have the
experience they claim.
If any school makes claims of how much you are
going to make be very skeptical,, they are in
the business of obtaining paying students not
creating successful home inspectors.
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