Has anyone thought about becoming a Home Inspector?

[WadeKoutnik]

I was thinking that it would be good information to get the educational requirements and also a possible second stream of income to my appraisal business. What are the pros and cons of making this move?

What kind of liability is there?

 

[Thomas Brown]

My experience

Maybe this will help. Many states require special license for home inspectors. Alabama does. When my partner and I thought the same thing you're thinking of, we investigated franchises and decided on that route. Reasons: training, packaged E&O insurance, plenty of marketing materials, national name recognition.

I personally GREATLY enjoyed the inspection business--from discussions & marketing (to agents) to crawling over & under everything to delivering the report to the customer.

Yes, LIABILITY runs ALL THROUGH the process, and you've got to have a handle on doing the job AND managing expectations. (Otherwise you'll be expected to have x-ray vision.)

One downside to watch for is simply a matter of workflow...managing your time for home inspections vs appraisal work. The home inspection is (hopefully) a 2 hour-ish block of time. Other than phone calls, that's it; you're done. (The appraisal is often spread over a couple of days depending on research needs.) And you DEFINITELY have got to be in front of real estate agents on a regular basis. With luck, they will put your name with a couple of other inspectors for their clients to make a choice.

Hmmm...there's a lot more to say. Questions?

--Tom

 

[dobie]

I was thinking that it would be good information to get the educational requirements and also a possible second stream of income to my appraisal business. What are the pros and cons of making this move?

What kind of liability is there?

Boy, where do I start? I stopped doing home inspections about 4-5 years ago when NJ went to licensing. I didn't want to jump through the hoops and the appraisal side was very good at the time

Too much liability especially for the inexperienced. Very expensive liability insurance. Steep learning curve.

If you really want to do it find a good mentor that will take you along on at least 50-100 inspections before you even think of doing one yourself. I don't care what anyone says you cannot learn home inspection from a book. This is not to say you do not need the classroom work because you will need that also.

Depending on the state you will also need a radon certification. In NJ you cannot put out a radon canister or collect one without the certification.

On the plus side I will say that it is a very satisfying profession because you're really helping people and they really appreciate it. Unlike much of the appraisal profession the client really wants the truth.

 

[jay trotta]

gave it a couple of thoughts, but spoke with a few friends -our State loves court, along wit the folks that live here, so needless to say, a 2 hour inspection generally turns into nightmare much quicker than appraising.

Am working on a new adventure, I think may provide a filler - we'll see

 

[TN Pro]

Ive had a couple of Tn inspectors tell me that they get similar pressure to us appraisers. If they continually find too many issues, deal killing issues, the word gets out and some Real it tors will try to make sure that they are not used.

Dean

 

[Dan/Fla]

Caution if you become a trained Home Inspector you are increasing your liability as an appraiser, because most of us make a comment that we are not Home Inspectors and do not make that type of inspection.

 

[Mr Rex]

A 2 hour inspection that meets any type of Standards of Practice? Must be doing all new construction.

 

[WadeKoutnik]

Caution if you become a trained Home Inspector you are increasing your liability as an appraiser, because most of us make a comment that we are not Home Inspectors and do not make that type of inspection.

Doesn't our Scope of Work cover that?

 

[Mr Rex]

Yes, instead of saying you are not an appraiser, you simply state that you did not perform a Home Inspection and provide a brief summary of the level of "inspection" in the SOW for the appraisal. Do what you say and say what you do.

 

[Lloyd Bonafide]

They do have a lot of liability, and they are probably slower than appraisers right now, because they depend on purchase transactions only.

I was talking to a home inspector at a property a couple of months ago, and he asked me if I have ever been sued. (In 22 years of appraising, I have not.) He said he was defending two different lawsuits right now, (one concerned an unpermitted addition.)