How To Become an Experienced Home Inspector
Get the inspection experience and gain the confidence you need.
Finding hands-on training is a common hurdle for many aspiring home inspectors. The reluctance of seasoned inspectors to mentor newcomers may stem from fears of nurturing future competition or the constraints of a busy schedule. Furthermore, insurance limitations can significantly hinder practical learning experiences such as ride-alongs.
You're Not Alone
The first thing to understand when you're trying to get hands-on training experience as a home inspector is that you're not alone.
Find an InterNACHI® Certified Professional Inspector CPI®. Use www.inspectorseek.com to search for certified inspectors located outside of your market area.
Find a local InterNACHI® Chapter. Join a local Chapter of inspectors to meet and learn from other successful inspectors in informal settings. Visit www.nachi.org/chapters.
Find an InterNACHI® Mentor. Log into the worldwide InterNACHI® Mentoring Program to find a mentor who provides the advice and coaching you need. The mentor does not necessarily have to be located in your market.
Find a Certified Master Inspector CMI®. Find a Certified Master Inspector CMI® for expert guidance and advice.
Join the Inspection Community. Talk to other inspectors and InterNACHI® members on InterNACHI's Inspection Community Forum.
Follow and Learn from Master Inspectors
The best way to gain experience, with very little risk of making mistakes, is to do inspections yourself, by yourself, as you watch and learn from other inspectors.
Watch and learn from a master inspector as they perform a home inspection. Then, do your own inspection. Repeat ten times.
- Watch and learn from a master inspector.
- Do an inspection.
- Repeat.
- Watch and learn from a master inspector.
- Do an inspection.
- Repeat.
By using this training method, you can gain the experience you need to do an excellent inspection and to compete with the best inspectors.
Let's Inspect This House
Practice Makes Perfect
Practice performing home inspections on your own. Inspect your house or apartment on your own, without a client, and without any risk. Practice, practice, practice.
Inspect your house at least 10 times. Then, inspect your friend's, neighbor's, and family member's houses.
Offer a free inspection for a new real estate agent that you met in your neighborhood.
Use Software While Practicing
Inspect those homes using your inspection report software. If you don't have software, use InterNACHI's free inspection checklist (www.nachi.org/reportreview). Your first inspection of the same house will be very different from your tenth. That's because practicing on your own is essential.
Why Should You Inspect Your Neighbor's Home for Free?
Compare Your Inspection Report With Others
Reports should be easy to read and clear to understand. Practice performing inspections and writing reports. Then, compare your inspection report with those written by InterNACHI® Certified Professional Inspectors CPI® by visiting www.nachi.org/home-inspection-report-samples.
Introduction to Home Inspections
Learn how to perform a very good home inspection by taking InterNACHI's free online "Introduction to Home Inspections Course." You will learn the Home Inspection Standards of Practice, how to perform a home inspection, how a home works, how to find defects that may exist in a house, how to fix those defects, how to maintain a home, and how to save home energy.
