Testimonials About Allied Home
Inspection School
You will find graduates of Allied’s home inspection program all over the nation. They have successfully finished our house inspection course and become a home inspector, employing the skills they have received in our course to start their home inspection careers.
Below, we give you the exclusive opportunity to read comments on how Allied has helped students realize their home inspection career goals. Click Here to read the personal story of a successful Allied Home Inspection School graduate!
“I found the course well laid out and easy to understand. The material was very extensive and covered each aspect of the inspection process very well. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to get into the home inspection industry.”
– David Jurney, Laurel, MD
“As a mother of five, the online course gave me the opportunity to improve my skills, learn something new, and use my own time to complete the course. The staff was extremely polite and helpful. I am glad I enrolled in Allied Business School.”
– Adrianne Herch, Arvada, CO
“This was the perfect course for me since I was deployed in Iraq. It will help me with my transition from military to civilian life.”
– William Terrill, Apo, AE
“Your support staff is incredible! When you consider that two inspections more than pay for the course, it is a great value!”
– Paul McDonald, Big Bear Lake, CA
“The home inspection course was excellent and put me on the path to my own business.”
– James Kemplin, Anderson, CA
“The teaching material was very informative and it was very easy to follow. I will be recommending these courses to friends.”
– Jay Arellano, Stockton, CA
“Every time I contacted one of your reps, I was treated with professionalism. When I’ve left messages, they were returned promptly and ALL of my needs and questions answered immediately. I will be looking at possibly taking more courses from Allied.”
– Steve Bledsoe, Moberly, MO
“The material was well presented and written…”
– William Culbertson, Gilroy, CA
“Good friendly people to work with. I was at ease the whole time I was doing the course…”
– John Patin, Brawley, CA
“Thank you for making this course so easy for me. That includes your easy payment plan, and the ability to study and work at my own pace… Highly recommended!
– David Kleinpeter, Taos, NM
“I enrolled in Allied Business School because I was told that I can do my courses at my own pace… I completed my Home Inspection course in only 42 days. Thanks Allied Business School.”
– John R. Gramlick, San Diego, CA
“The course was so well presented; the new inspector should feel confident in his abilities to provide excellent service…”
– David Ream, Visalia, CA
“I injured my back during this course and your staff worked with me on the extensions I needed. Looking forward to hanging my Certificate on the wall!”
– James Walters, Corrales, NM
“As a retired engineer and looking for a new career, this course filled the bill. I can enjoy a new career and help others as well.”
– Richard Figueroa, Tularosa, NM
“The textbook was complete, and easy to read. And now that I have completed it, I own my own home inspection business. This course has made my dream come true of being my own boss.”
– Christian Jensen, Riverside, CA
“I would commend Allied for a course that is quite comprehensively thorough. It can definitely act as a "kick start" in fulfilling a desire to enter a practical career.”
– William Babb, Rosamond, CA
“This is the best course I have done at my own pace. I would recommend this course to anyone that is interested in getting into the Real Estate field.”
– Erick Kinney, Virginia Beach, VA
“I was very pleased with the professionalism and courtesy I was treated with throughout the course.”
– Don Francis, Shavertown, PA
“This course has offered me the opportunity to move into a field of employment that I will enjoy, excel in and bring excellent customer satisfaction. Clearly, Allied Schools will be recognized as THE School to attend!!!!!”
– Galen Scott, Raymond, WA
“I found Allied's course to be comprehensive and well organized. The staff at Allied were always courtious and helpful.”
– Sheridan Lee, Blacksburg, SC
“My instructor did an excellent job in explaining matters. He was uplifting and made me feel like a winner.”
– Frank Dragotta, La Habra, CA
“This was the second course I’ve taken through Allied and I cannot express my gratitude for their service and commitment to their students. Always willing to help! Thank you, Allied, for providing an easy way to study!”
– Julio Giraldo, San Diego, CA
“The course was very affordable....”
– Daniel Harman, Greenville, PA
“Being accredited, offering a membership to the inspection foundation upon completion, and the structure of your course were my deciding factors. Low pricing was a plus.”
– Patrick Isabelle, Cordova, TN
“Your course was excellent. I would recommend it to anyone.”
– Michael Jeske, Bay City, MI
“Great course!”
– Angela Latulippe, Ocala, FL
“The home inspection course is the best. The course is very detailed and easy to understand. I am glad I chose Allied.”
– Manuel Lopez, Whittier, CA
“I had a very good experience with the online training I received.”
– Sean McCaffrey, Rosemont, MN
“Not only will this training provide a great opportunity for me in the future, it has allowed me to bring my own home up to standards.”
– Greg Overbeck, Hemet, CA
“I found your staff very helpful.”
– Carl Pierce, Reynoldsburg, OH
“I feel the course and material covered was very well organized. I will recommend this program to all of my future employees.”
– Leland Rainey, Charlton, IA
“I would like to thank the staff for their help in all aspects of taking the home inspection course. I was treated with respect and professionalism. They helped me quickly overcome the VERY FEW technical problems I experienced. They were a pleasure to deal with.”
– Kevin Reilly, Long Beach, NY
“I enjoyed the course. It has helped me start a new business and improve my way of life.”
– Cristobal Rubio, Seattle, WA
“You guys have the most helpful and friendly staff I’ve ever dealt with. Any problem or inconvenience I’ve had, they took care of it.”
– Dejan Samardzic, Santa Clarita, CA
“You have a superb staff, always willing to help and most of all very understanding.”
– Octavio Stewart, Jacksonville, FL
“The instructor I talked to every day was very nice and helpful and also made sure I was on track with my work.”
– James Stubblefield, Temecula, CA
“Allied was great. The price was right. The course got me on the right track to start my own business.”
– Michael Wernette, Tiffin, IA
Scott Swickard is a successful home inspector and president of Inspect OC, Orange County’s premiere home inspection company. He has performed over 1,500 inspections throughout Southern California.
But before he launched a successful home inspection career, he got his training from Allied Home Inspection School. Scott took time out of his busy home inspection schedule to let us in on how he got started and how he became such a successful home inspector.
Q: Scott, you’ve become a successful home inspector. How did it all start?
My background is in “Corporate America.” After 25 years working with consumer products companies, I got tired of the corporate games, and decided to take control of my own future. One of the things that I was investigating was Home Inspection franchises. After looking into them, I found that they didn’t really fit my personality in terms of running my own show, so I elected to investigate alternate methods of training, and how to get into the home inspection business.
Q: Why did you choose home inspection as an industry?
I’ve always been a very avid handyman, do-it-yourselfer, doing my own remodeling and repairs ever since I owned a home. It has always been something that I’ve enjoyed, and I’ve always had a very critical eye for work that other people have done, and that kind of triggered my mind when I saw the opportunities in home inspection. All those things came together and seemed to marry all my passions of running my own show, having a critical eye, and being involved in construction and components of a home. It was a good fit, and has been very successful for me, and I enjoy it. Every time I go out on an inspection, every home is different, each house is like a treasure hunt, you’re looking for things that are potential safety hazards or major material defects, and I really feel like I’m helping a homeowner or potential homeowner in the process of their transaction.
Q: Why did you choose Allied?
I felt that Allied was a good foundation to get my business started. The main reason I chose to go with Allied was I’m a big believer in online or self-education. One of the things that appealed to me about Allied was that it was specific to the industry that I was looking to get into. It was something I could do at my own pace, because when you’re busy trying to build something, you don’t necessarily have time to spend a week or two weeks in a classroom. Everything they showed me seemed to be top-notch quality, and they proved that to be correct when I got the materials.
Q: What kind of success have you had in Home Inspection?
I’ve had some early success. Within the first six months, I was doing 25 inspections a month. It got to the point that I was so busy that I didn’t have time to market, which can be good and bad. It’s a good problem to have, but it can also be a problem. So, I tried to keep focused on doing as much marketing as I could do.
Q: How did you find success so quickly after you finished the program?
While I was going through the training, I was also building a marketing plan, business plan, and strategies for how to introduce my business to the marketplace, primarily to real estate agents. As soon as I got the certificate from Allied, I started contacting people. I used brochures and business cards. My focus on marketing is all about face-to-face. It’s not mass mailings or massive email letters or anything like that—it’s all about going and meeting people face-to-face, and that’s how I established my initial contact.
I also had a website that I put up almost right away. The website really helped, because a lot of times, I could send people who had questions to my website instead of spending the time answering the common home inspection questions that come up.
Q: How did Allied help you succeed?
Once I decided to jump in, I wanted to get into the business fairly quickly and I also wanted to do it with a full-time 100% commitment. So I went to Allied to get more information about the industry and to take my first dive into training and get my career rolling. I finished the program in 30 days, and did everything that I was required to do with the Allied program.
Though I had done most of the marketing legwork on my own, Allied gave me some marketing tips and ideas on running a business in general as part of their education. But that wasn’t the part I was really looking to gain knowledge in. I was really looking to gain knowledge from the physical, mechanical, structural components of houses, because I had not come from the housing and construction industry. That’s what I was primarily looking for, and Allied’s training program exceeded my expectations.
Q: Would you recommend getting involved with associations?
Yes, I would. One of the other things I did right away upon starting my business, was to join CREIA (California Real Estate Inspection Association), which is probably the oldest and best known home inspection education group in California. They’re big on education and training. But primarily, they support the home inspection industry, much like their national counter part, ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors). There are a lot of other organizations out there that claim to certify their members for credibility for home inspectors, some are better than others, but I found CREIA was a real top notch organization.
Q: How important has education been in your success as a home inspector?
Once finishing the training at Allied, I did not stop my education. Associations like CREIA require a certain amount of education every year for membership, and I also attended some add-on programs, both classroom and online programs, just to keep the education going and to get a mix of what else was out there.
Q: What are the keys to success in home inspection?
Half of the reason for your success is your knowledge and ability to do a good home inspection. The other half of the equation for your success is whether you can communicate your findings effectively, without scaring people. You’re required and obligated to tell people the bad news about a house, but there are ways to do that that don’t necessarily scare people away. You can’t come across as all-knowing or an all-telling know-it-all, if you will. You’ve got to communicate your findings, but you have to do it in a way that is sensitive to everyone that is involved in the transaction.
People skills really help. Communication is all about people skills, how you get along with people. If you’re abrasive, I don’t care how good of an inspector you are, that’s not going to work. You’re going to turn people off and they’re not going to recommend you to other people.
