The premier source for home inspector news and information. Whether you're a homebuyer or a licensed home inspector, you'll find valuable insight on the world of home inspection training and competency on this blog.
As the New Year begins, prognosticators are doing their best to get a handle on where the real estate market will end up in 2008. Yet the fact remains that millions of homes will be bought and sold regardless of where the market ends up. When you become a home inspector, you'll be part of a profession that simply doesn't stop during a market slowdown.
For certified home inspectors who own their own inspection businesses, knowledge of sound business practices are useful no matter what the market is doing. And graduates of accredited home inspection schools should expect their courses to include information on starting an inspection business.
In the November/December 2007 issue of The NAHI Forum, Rick Bunzel of Pacific Crest Inspection in Anacortes, Wash., outlined 10 ways that a home inspector can succeed when the real estate market is sluggish.
Mr. Bunzel's tips are an excellent resource for both veteran business owners, as well as recent graduates of home inspector training. The following is a summary of his business advice:
1.) The Market Doesn't Stop - Beware of negative media stories. Despite slowdowns, buyers are still making offers on homes.
2.) Business Plan - Devise a business plan with a marketing component. Consult this plan as you move forward
3.) Time Management - Block out your time. Deal with certain aspects of the business at certain times each day.
4.) The Pitch - Develop a 90-second pitch that will sell realtors on your home inspection jobs.
5.) Rise Above the Pack - Market slowdowns make good home inspectors look even better. Home inspectors with poor training and even poorer skills won't last long.
6.) Know the Numbers - Hire a good accountant and stay out of the red!
7.) Optimism - Successful salespeople and businessmen stay clear of negative people.
8.) Get Mentored - Find a successful home inspector or realtor and pick their brain. Share your business plan with them; get professional feedback.
9.) Work/Life Balance - Schedule time for your family and friends. Slowdowns are an opportunity to have more time with loved ones.
10.) The Comback - The market will pick up; be ready!
Becoming a home inspector means that you'll have to be both a skilled certified home inspector and a competent business owner, but not to worry, an accredited home inspection course will prepare you to succeed.
Labels: Certified home inspectors, home inspection jobs, home inspector training, real estate home inspection
You've walked on them your whole life, but when you become a home inspector, you'll have to examine a floor with a whole new critical eye - determining whether the structure is sound or not. First-rate home inspection training will prepare you to inspect, not only with your head, but with your feet.
If possible, get underneath the floor to have a more thorough look at the structure. The two biggest issues to gauge are sloping and uneven floors. Certified home inspectors don't have their heads in the clouds - they're using all their senses to perform a super home inspection job. Sloping floors usually go in one direction and should be noted in an inspection report. Uneven floors often have hollows in them, where the floor sags between joists. Sagging can also be observed on a larger scale when heavy objects, like appliances, weigh down a portion of the floor.
Then there are squeaky floors, which may give "character" to a house, but licensed home inspectors need to make note of such floor noise. The problem is often the result of a weak connection between the joists and the sub flooring.
The next step is to inspect the floor covering, which may be wood finish flooring, flooring tiles, carpeting, linoleum, etc. Like much of your home inspection, water stains and water damage are opponents to look out for. It's extremely important to look for rotting wood, particularly in areas of the kitchen and bathroom. Oftentimes a firm foot in a suspect area will tell you all you need to know. When you get your home inspection license, you'll soon gather on-the-job experience that will prove invaluable as your career unfolds.
As you walk the floors of a house, always be on the look out for tripping hazards; look for floor covering that is curved, sticking up or detached in some way. Inspect carpets carefully to see that they are securely in place and not bunching up. When it comes to wood floors, check for buckled floor boards. If you're examining tile, then inspect the grout and see if it's keeping things together.
Real estate inspection is not a job, as much as it is a craft. If you view your home inspection report as the sum total of your skills, patience and knowledge, you're bound to work more like an artist than anything else. And so if Michelangelo could work artistic wonders on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, then surely home inspectors can bring the same attention to detail to the floors they step on each day.
Labels: Certified home inspectors, home inspection training, home inspector training, real estate home inspection
Most of us don't spend much time thinking about the state of the doors and windows we use each day, but certified home inspectors don't have that luxury. Their mission is to focus their eyes beyond the obvious and the ordinary and see with eyes honed by home inspection training.
One truism of evaluating doors is that they often give licensed home inspectors a good indication of the overall condition of the house. If a door isn't fitting properly into its frame, it could point to a settling foundation causing the doorframe to shift. A quality home inspection job involves taking the time to check the condition of each door in the house.
These days a licensed home inspector will evaluate doors made of wood, metal or vinyl, with some of them featuring glass panes mounted into the structure of the doors. Reportable deficiencies include items such as damaged weather stripping, air and water leaks or deteriorating trim, flashings or stills. Other issues to look for are doors that don't lock correctly or close without being touched. Allied School's website: www.homeinspectioncourse.com is an excellent resource for home inspection articles and news.
If the eyes are the windows of the soul, then it's fair to say that windows are the eyes of the house. Whereas doors differ somewhat in their material construction, windows are primarily categorized by their use and movement. Becoming a home inspector means you'll identify single-hung, double-hung, casement (open outward like a door), awning and hopper windows, to name the most common.
Real estate inspectors should also understand that many windows have a safety glazing coating the glass. Safety glazing is any substance applied to the glass that reduces the chance of injury if it is broken. It's normally found in places where children, or the elderly, might fall against glass and hurt themselves.
You'll find glazing on sliding glass doors, shower doors and storm windows. Licensed home inspectors may also find security bars (burglar bars) built over the exterior side of the window. All security bars must have a quick-release mechanism that allows residents to exit through the window in case of a fire. A real estate inspection of house windows should note broken glass, damaged window sills or deficient safety glazing, for example.
For the certified home inspectors, windows and doors aren't just something to walk through or look through, but a significant area of the house where their expertise, training and experience is critically applied. When choosing a home inspection course online, make sure the school is accredited, affiliated with industry trade groups and offers live student support.
Labels: Certified home inspectors, home inspection training, home inspector, real estate home inspection
There's an old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, if we apply this wisdom to certified home inspectors, then we might say it takes a trade association to make a home inspector successful. Licensed home inspectors who take the lone ranger approach to their business, more than likely will find home inspection jobs drying up. Like so many other instances in life, when people with similar interests band together, they tend to enjoy more advantages than those who remain alone.
Home inspection is now a well-established and growing profession, with trade associations like the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI), the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) and the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), to name a few, providing resources, services and directories.
A quick look at NACHI's benefit, for example, illustrates the kinds of tools and resources available to home inspectors when they join an industry association. NACHI members receive:
- Discounts on Errors and Omissions Insurance
- Group health insurance
- A listing in the North American Directory of Inspectors
- A variety of free continuing ed courses
- Use of NACHI logos for marketing
For a full list of NACHI's benefits got to www.nachi.org/benefits.htm
Before you sign up for home inspection training, find out if the home inspection school provides you with free or discounted memberships to one of the many good home inspection trade associations. After you finish your home inspection course, you'll want to get to know as much as you can about your new industry.
Labels: georgia home inspection school, home inspector school, National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, real estate home inspection
The use of garages has evolved to the point where Americans view them as extensions of their home's living space. Take a peak in your neighbor's garage and you'll find gym equipment, pool tables, televisions, workbenches, washing machines, and of course, stacks of storage boxes. One of these days you might even see a car inside! Licensed home inspectors, however, are trained to look past the furnishings and see structure through the trees.
If a garage is attached to the house, the first order of business during a real estate home inspection is to verify that the wall separating it from the house is fire-rated. A certified home inspector should make sure there is at least half an inch of drywall or gypsum board in place. Some areas of the country may even have tougher standards. Becoming a home inspector means you must find out about the particular standards of your area!
Inspecting a garage is a great chance to see exposed wood framing. A certified home inspector can check bracing, sill plates and the bolts that hold the framing to the concrete foundation. Reportable deficiencies include racking or twisting of the framing and insect-damaged wood from termites, for example. Home inspection training courses will provide you with all the creepy details concerning termite infestation.
If there is a door that connects the garage to the house, this is another key area for a real estate home inspection. This door must be fire-resistant, which means that it is sealed with weather stripping to prevent fire and toxic smoke from seeping into the living quarters of the house. The door shouldn't have any holes or glass parts, so it will be able to withstand the heat of a fire for at least 20 minutes. Check with your local fire department for specific requirements.
Finally we have the labor saving device known as the automatic garage door opener. With all its moving parts, there is much a licensed home inspector has to be on the lookout for. One note of importance is that the door opener's motor must be plugged into a wall outlet, and not an extension cord. One significant safety feature of an automatic garage door opener is the automatic reversing function. When the door is descending, it will reverse directions and begin moving up if it hits something. Home inspectors must determine if the auto-reverse function is working according to the book.
Certified home inspectors should understand that by venturing into the garages of America, they will encounter dusty copies of National Geographic magazine, turntables that haven't worked since 1966, shelves of Mason jars, and maybe even an automobile or two. Have no fear, however, because your home inspection training will prepare you to step into that garage with confidence and inspect it by the numbers.
Labels: home inspection training, real estate home inspection
