Well, it finally happened. I sold my house. I had put a "for sale by owner" sign in the front yard a couple of years ago. I never really expected anything to become of it, and after 2 years, it was basically forgotten. One day out of the blue, a guy stops at the front door, and asks to view the house.
OK, I've played this game before, you know, the prospect looks the property over, and you never hear from him again. But he liked the house, and we talked numbers. A couple of months later, the sale was finalized.
When we realized the house was going to sell, we started looking at homes and found one we liked. The real estate agent suggested we have the house inspected. It had been setting empty for about a year. I agreed.
The inspector discovered a hole in the roof, plus several housing code violations. We were able to negotiate thousands of dollars off the selling price. It made me wonder, how tough is it to become a home inspector? I had seen advertisements for home inspector training all over the web. This guy made $300 dollars for about 4-6 hours work.
I went to Ebay and Amazon to start my search. I looked at home inspector books and manuals. Finding a interesting book listed on Ebay, I bid and won a auction. When it arrived, it wasn't just a book, it was a complete home study course. It contained 16 Cd's, and a 300 page manual. A complete training program.
I googled "home inspector" for my area. There were 2 listings. I then found 2 more in the counties east and west of me. In the county south of me, there were no inspectors listed! I wondered, why wasn't there more home inspectors available? Is this a profitable business? How tough is the learning process and certification? Are there home buyers begging for inspectors? Are the local inspectors backed-up and run over with business? Or is this a one day a month part-time job? Are there no inspectors because there is no available work?
I started looking and reading information on inspector training web sites. To get certified in Indiana, you had better know your stuff. 50% of the people who take the state test flunk it. I browsed through the course manual I had purchased and watched the first DVD.
In Indiana there are 2 state organizations for home inspectors. As a home inspector, you should probably join one of them.
Before you take the state exam you have to prove you have taken 60 hours of study from a board approved course provider. The state exam cost? $450.00, not something you would want to fail, and have to retake,(and pay) again.
I checked different websites offering online courses to certify an inspector. I found the cost of a approved course will run about $500.00. My home study course will give me the knowledge, but the state of Indiana will not recognize it as a approved course. The total cost to become a home inspector? Roughly about one thousand dollars.
I was my own general contractor when I built my last house. I did most of the construction myself. I feel I have a all around general knowledge of home repairs, defects, and construction. I talked to my wife about taking a approved course, and beginning the process to become a inspector. She replied that my plate was already full and to wait until I retired.
I'm 54 years old, and looking into the possibility of retiring next year. I'll put this on the back burner for a year, and take another look at it next summer.
One thousand dollars for the training, and then getting three hundred dollars per job, which is about 4 hours work.
If you have a all-around general knowledge of home construction and repairs, this could be a great career to get started in. Take the time to do the course work, and get certified. The next step would be to make contact with every real estate agent in your area, and let them know you're in business. This could be a great part-time,and possibly full-time job.
For more information, google "home inspector training".
