one54ton

Im looking into getting certified through Allied Career School. Ive talked to a few people around here about an Inspection career and Ive heard great things. Id just like to have more feedback.

1-2-3

I've semi looked into it. It takes alot of classroom hours which I can't do at this time so I haven't persued it further. I don't remember the tests being very expensive. There are some expensive tools needed. Fiber optic scopes to look inside walls, etc. I've always thought it would be a cool career. Maybe when I retire in 7 years.

spunbearing

If you are going to be a home inspector the only school to go to is ITA. They also have an annual conference in Las Vegas that is alot of fun. The Vegas classes all have top speakers in their field and you get 20 hours of continued education credits for being there. It's a fun way to keep up your hours. The speakers at the classes are world class. The guys that wrote the code check series of books ( Doug Hansen and Mike Casey) are on the board and are frequent speakers and they are always at the conference. I can't say enough about these guys. They are all world class experts.

www.home-inspect.com

jeffahart

I am a CCI "CREIA Certified Inspector". CREIA is the California Real Estate Inspection Association. Go to one of their meetings to find out more about becoming an inspector. You need no qualifications, you can inspect right now! But you can get yourself into a real legal jam if you don't know what your doing. There is a lot you need to know. And BTW, I don't use any specialized equipment or tools. I perform a visual inspection. Go to a CREIA meeting and find out. It does not take much money, but a lot of time to train.

Hope this helps
Jeff

Bearwhiz

I'm currently looking into in Texas. To be a Professional Real Estate Inspector it requires 448 classroom hrs and the cheapest home course that I have found is $2000.00. They offer home study courses and classroom courses.

bearwhiz

spunbearing

California is one of the states that doesn't require any licensing or certification. You wouldn't beleive some of the inspectors I see around here. They never seem to last long. This is one field where a little bit of knowledge can get you in trouble really quick. It is really an acquired art. You need to be able to give people an overall picture of the condition of the house without making every little thing seem like a big deal. You also need to be able to shift the liability from yourself. If something doesn't look right with the fireplace it is not your job to draw any conclusions. You simply state what you see and reccomend further inspection by a licensed fireplace specialist. If you see a crack in the foundation it's not your job to determine what caused the crack. You say that theres a crack and recommend further inspection by a structural engineer. It's always a tapdance. You have to be very careful about how you word your report. Another example: If you are inspecting a house that was built in the 60's and there is no GFCI protection in the bathroom and you know that the family has children you can report it as a recommended safety upgrade AFTER the purchase of the house. You don't make a big deal and make them feel like the house is unsafe. You don't want to kill real estate deals over the small stuff.