How To Become A Home Inspector

According to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there is an expected growth of 18 percent in the number of home inspectors between 2006 until 2016. This can be considerably higher than other jobs, but the number of home inspectors can decrease in the future because some states are considering in increasing the certification requirements among inspectors.

These days, people are always moving or relocating. It's actually a trend as old as time itself. And because of that, people are always buying new homes located in the new neighborhood they have moved into. Now, for a home inspector, you know what that means. It means the home inspector has a job to do – to have a look-see at the house the client is planning to purchase.

Making a career out of how to become a home inspector is a good idea. People are always looking for a home inspector anyways to help them determine the condition of the building or the home they are trying to purchase. A good home inspector who is trained in all the right way of doing his job is not limited to inspecting just homes. Because of his training and background in construction, he may also branch services to include inspecting commercial buildings and such.

How to become a home inspector is not that hard. Like all disciplines, how to become a home inspector is learned through time and training. A lot of study courses online offer programs designed to help you on how to become a home inspector. These programs on how to become a home inspector more or less include the following modules:

* Home Inspection Basics
* Structures
* Interiors
* Insulation
* Exteriors
* Roofs
* Building Codes
* Plumbing
* Electrical
* Heating
* Air Conditioning
* Heat Pumps

Because the job of the home inspector is not only to assess the condition of the external structures of a home, but the internal systems as well, becoming a home inspector can get quite technical, hence, the study modules presented above.

But the great thing about these how to become a home inspector courses is that they are offered online, which means of course that greater convenience is afforded you. Most of these online courses only last a few months or so, from as little as three months to six months max. Often, textbooks, study guides, and tests are parceled with the courses you've taken so you don't even have to worry about where to procure those. If not, then you can always get your own reference materials via the Internet as well.

Getting Started

If you want to know how to become a home inspector, it is important that you first understand that home inspection is, first and foremost, a business. As such, you will need to learn about insurance requirements, reporting options, and administrative procedures. Joining professional associations is one good way about learning all these and getting some tips on how to become a home inspector. Once you become a member of one of these associations, marketing opportunities should be a lot easier to come by since one of the perks of belonging to an association is establishing a common client base and sharing it with fellow members.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there is an expected growth of 18 percent in the number of home inspectors between 2006 until 2016. This can be considerably higher than other jobs, but the number of home inspectors can decrease in the future because some states are considering in increasing the certification requirements among inspectors.

A survey in 2001 showed that 77 % of home owners would take advantage of home inspector services before they purchase or sell their homes. Home inspectors are responsible in evaluating the condition of houses and filing reports about the overall condition of the house to realtors or clients.

Home inspectors are responsible in inspecting utility and carpentry aspects of a house. Therefore, an inspector should at least have some knowledge on electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Aside from that, he should also have some knowledge about local building codes and ordinances to make sure that a house meets those standards.

But training and education-wise, what does a home inspector needs to have or how do you become an inspector? Here are some tips and steps on how to be a home inspector.

• Determine first, if this is the right job for you. How would you know? Search for job descriptions and what is a typical home inspector day. If you think crawling under houses and searching dark attics would be fine for you and fun enough, then it could be the right job!

• Although, there is no formal education required in becoming a home inspector, it would be important at least, to have a high school diploma. There are some college courses offered about building construction and inspection, like Associate of Applied Science in Building Inspection and Technology. It would be better to have knowledge in building inspection, since there are some states that have licensure and certification requirements before practicing home inspection as a career.

• Make sure about the training that you will be getting. Make sure that you would be getting education from licensed and good schools and programs. Home inspectors should have knowledge and training about foundations and structure, drainage, roofing, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, environmental, and visible structure aspects.

• Some home inspectors would be self-employed. If it is your first time to do home inspection, then you can start having on-the-job training to give you an idea on how home inspection is done.

If you are planning to set-up a home inspector's business or at least work independently, then you would have at least some basic business management knowledge and skill. You would have to decide on the structure and how your business would operate. Aside from that it is also important to identify your marketplace. You would have to know the number of houses being sold in an area and also check your competition: other home inspectors and their respective rates.

Home inspection may not be as easy or as simple as you have heard or read. There are different aspects that you would have to consider, like the reporting system. Narrative reports can cost too much, so you would have to figure a system that would fit your budget and at the same time your needs.

There are a lot of home inspectors who went in and out of the business, you would have to deal with physical inspections based on client needs, like time. So flexibility is important. You would have to develop adequate skill in technology like digital photography for you to document your house visit. It is not that easy, all jobs are not walk in the park.

But success would come from people who make the most out of opportunities.

After you've learned all that you need to learn on the business side of how to become a home inspector, it is now time for you to learn the actual trade. Your online course on home inspection should come in handy right about now.