Become a Home Inspector

A Lucrative Career as a Home Inspector

by Debra Karplus

If you or a friend has recently bought or even sold a home, townhouse or condominium or any other type of real estate, you likely hired a professional home inspector for about $400 (an amount which varies depending on where you live) to make sure that what you were buying or selling had no major or even minor construction flaws such as plumbing, heating, electrical, roof, foundation or other concerns.  You might have even said to yourself something like, “I know as much about home construction as that inspector guy or gal does, why couldn’t I do what they do for a living?  It looks relatively simple.”

The American Society of Home Inspectors, ASHI, (ashi.org) is one of many web sites with details about what it takes to become a professional home inspector.  It states that approximately 77% of all homes on the market in the US and Canada are inspected prior to purchase; an increasing number of sellers are having their home pre-inspected to perform major repairs before the house is even on the real estate market in hopes of making the sale easier and quicker.  Since the mid-1970s, the practice of inspecting real estate has increased greatly.  Many banks and other types of money lenders require an inspection before any sort of mortgage can be negotiated.  For the potential home inspector this is great news, which translates to better than average job security.  Becoming a professional home inspector has great opportunity for growth.

Would you be a good home inspector?

If you already possess superb knowledge of home construction with an eye for detail such as a crack in a ceiling or a leak in the plumbing, have excellent people skills and you know you can provide wonderful customer service, even when an inspection needs to be scheduled on very short notice, such as tomorrow, and you know you can generate a thorough and detailed and accurate report immediately following the inspection including specific recommendations for repairs, that is of professional quality, then this may be the perfect full or part time endeavor for you; many home inspectors have other jobs.  Some are even in the business of buying and selling property as well as inspecting it.  Remember, that you can’t be squeamish about gross house stuff, such as seeing a mouse or evidence of one or many, or exploring on your hands and knees every corner of a musty smelling crawl space that contains some stinky standing water.

Some home inspectors are employed by a home inspection company, but many are self-employed, which means they are set up as a small business in terms of liability, record keeping and all required federal, state and local taxes. 

Self-employed home inspectors who get the most business are those willing to rub elbows with real estate brokers and other people who will bring business to them, because your reputation will grow based on word of mouth.  If you opt to go out and work on your own, you have the potential to earn even more money, but if you don’t have the management skills necessary for running a small business, you could get yourself in legal or financial trouble very quickly, so be sure to think it through.

According to payscale.com, average pay for home inspectors is about $45,200.  Those who also do additional types of necessary inspections such as those for radon, asbestos, termites, lead, mold or septic systems can earn considerably more money.

How can you become a professional home inspector?

You won’t be able to work as a home inspector without a license in the state where you will work.  If you live on the Indiana-Illinois border, for example, you might want to become licensed in both states.  Every state has similar but clearly different requirements for licensing.  Most states require you to be 21 years old, with at least a GED or high school diploma. 

Illinois requires 60 hours of course work, much of which can be completed online.  Basic coursework for potential inspectors costs approximately $700 depending on where you live.  Illinois requires 5 actual supervised inspections following the coursework, as part of the training pre-licensing, and then applicants must pass a state exam specific to home inspecting.  Once licensed, 12 continuing education units are required yearly to maintain current knowledge and skill.

Becoming a home inspector could be a challenging but interesting first career, late-in-life career, or something in between.  If you think it is something you could succeed at, put serious thought into specifics of becoming a home inspector