Certification & Licensing
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InterNACHI®
InterNACHI® is a registered trademark of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors
Thinking about starting an InterNACHI® Chapter in your area? Forming your own chapter is easy and fun. And we'll help you. Besides, being an officer of your own local chapter of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors is great for your business.
IMPORTANT:
Some InterNACHI® members choose to form local chapters, which may be incorporated or unincorporated. InterNACHI® does not approve or supervise chapter activities, and has no control over such chapters, but InterNACHI® provides a list of existing chapters for its members. If you are a chapter president and would like to notify InterNACHI® of the existence of your chapter, please email Lisa Endza at lisa@internachi.org.
For more information about InterNACHI® events, including chapter meetings, please visit InterNACHI® Events.
To find an InterNACHI® certified home inspector in your area, visit Find a Certified Home Inspector.
HELPFUL GUIDELINES FOR HOLDING A CHAPTER MEETING:
If you want to hold an InterNACHI® Chapter meeting, here are some tips to get it up and running:
Get a website made. Think up a name for your new chapter. For example, many chapters have chosen their name based on their local geographical region so their meetings will be attended by inspectors from the surrounding area. (Here are a few good examples: the Heartlands Regional Chapter, the St. Johns River Chapter, and the Pacific Northwest Chapter.)
To get started on your chapter website, email InterNACHI's Director of Communications Lisa Endza at lisa@internachi.org and tell her you want to start a chapter in your area. She’ll help you through the setup process.
Write a chapter description. This is for the “About” page, which will be the landing page for your site – the first thing people will see. Put all the important information about your chapter here, including contact details.
Plan your first event. Schedule a time and place for your first meeting. A conference room at your local community center or Chamber of Commerce, or a local restaurant that has a banquet room located away from regular seating is another option, especially if you can get a deal on meals or a buffet and you want to hold your meeting around the lunch or dinner hour. If food is involved, it's best to price those options beforehand and clearly state them on your chapter website so that attendees can plan accordingly. (Do not offer or advertise options for alcoholic beverages, as there are serious liability issues involved.) InterNACHI® will advertise your event on our website if you give us at least 30 days' notice. And if you want to line up a guest speaker, they'll probably need at least that much advance notice, as well.
Get a speaker. If you want a guest speaker for your event, consider inviting someone from a local business for a presentation, such as a foundation waterproofer, an HVAC contractor, an electrician, a civil engineer, a CPA, an attorney who deals with real estate issues, a Realtor®, an environmental consultant, a chimney sweep, a pest exterminator, a vendor of home inspection tools or testing kits, a Certified Master Inspector® – anyone who can deliver an informative talk that's relevant for inspectors.
Consider holding a virtual meeting online. Follow your local area's guidelines for social distancing and limits on the number of people who can attend live, in-person events together. But don't let this discourage you from holding a meeting at all. You can explore different digital platforms to hold a meeting via Zoom, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, and other video chat options for multiple users for a live event. Research the different alternatives thoroughly before your meeting so that you can plan pre-registration, login and link information, and other requirements to ensure that your virtual meeting goes off without any technical glitches.
Request a webinar presentation for your attendees (whether you hold a live meeting or a virtual meeting) from InterNACHI's Ben Gromicko. Email him at ben@internachi.org with your proposed webinar topic and for his dates and times of availability.
Announce your event. Once you've posted an announcement for your event on your chapter website, click on the "Request Chapter Event Promotion" button so that InterNACHI® receives your information and can advertise your event (and don't forget about our minimum 30-day notice). InterNACHI® staff will email a formal announcement to all nearby inspectors on our mailing list. (To protect the privacy of our members, we cannot give you any mailing lists directly.) We'll also post a link to the formal announcement on several pages of www.NACHI.org. If you're a member of another national or regional association, post it on your association's message board, chat room, e-forum or website.
Invite the public. You can ask InterNACHI® to email the invitation to every inspector within 100 miles. You can also use the internet to find additional email addresses yourself. This is the most important step. As with any endeavor, advertising is key. Email nearby states, too, if you wish. People have traveled long distances to attend an InterNACHI® meeting. Invite local real estate agents, which is an especially great marketing idea for your business. Make sure the invitation states that you are the local chapter head, and include your home inspection business contact information. Drop off the invitations at all the local real estate offices in your area. It's good for your business and will enhance your position in your local market.
Get freebies for your event. Try to get some freebies to hand out, such as radon test kits, inspection reporting software, tool catalogs, discount coupons, literature from your speakers, etc. Ask and you will receive! Most vendors will gladly ship you door prizes to give away. Contact them directly and have them ship the items to you ahead of time. Many vendors will provide you with a certificate for the recipient to redeem for the item, instead of the actual door prize. Contact InterNACHI® and we'll have additional door prizes shipped to you.
Enjoy your meeting! To prepare for your meeting, provide name tags, and set up a sign-in sheet to get the names and addresses of all the attendees. Have a great time, and remind everyone there when the next meeting will be held.
ALSO:
Invite local real estate agents. They may not come, but receiving an invitation from you is good for your inspection business. Being the president of your own chapter of InterNACHI® enhances your position in your local market.
It's recommended that your InterNACHI® Chapter meetings welcome all inspectors – not just InterNACHI® members. This is an effective way to network and share knowledge. You may have many more non-InterNACHI® members than InterNACHI® members attend.
Holding or attending a chapter meeting counts as one hour toward your Continuing Education requirements.
Most chapters do not charge dues because there are no costs associated with maintaining a chapter.
Some chapter organizers will plan a meeting that may require a financial outlay for a guest speaker as an honorarium, or for reimbursement for travel expenses or overnight lodging, in which case they'll charge attendees a modest fee to cover such out-of-pocket costs.
If you hold a meeting at a restaurant, you can advertise the option of eating before or after the meeting.
If you’re meeting at a restaurant or cafe, follow up regularly with their management to make sure that your space is still reserved.
InterNACHI® will advertise your open-door meetings for which InterNACHI® is given at least 30 days' notice after the event is posted on your chapter website. Remember to click on the "Request Chapter Event Promotion" button at the chapter dashboard, which you will have access to once your chapter website is set up.
Remember that holding an InterNACHI® Chapter Meeting is meant to promote the inspection industry as a whole, with an opportunity for learning new ideas from fellow inspectors and industry experts, as well as enhancing the attendees' education and training. It is not meant as a means to promote your own or anyone else's business or commercial enterprise.
Still have questions or need assistance? Contact Lisa Endza at lisa@internachi.org or 303-225-5824.
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Check out all of the InterNACHI® Member Chapters.
Find out about InterNACHI's Mentor Program.
For more information about InterNACHI® events, including chapter meetings, please visit InterNACHI® Events.
To find an InterNACHI® certified home inspector in your area, visit Find a Certified Home Inspector.