I am certified for HUD REAC inspections and currently getting occasional work. I just found this website today. I came here searching for info on FHA inspections, and now I found a topic where I can contribute some useful info from first hand experience.

You can get REAC inspection work from 2 main sources.
1. Inspections auctioned to eligible contractors in the HUD REAC RAP (Reverse Auction Program)
2. Inspections contracted from servicing mortgagees (inspections for companies that service HUD insured mortgages.)

The fees in either case typically pay close to $300 per inspection day. That is about 8 hours at the inspection site. There is no pay for time spent on general business activities such as scheduling, reviewing, uploading, downloading and archiving inspections, maintaining computers or dealing with arbitrary HUD requirements or dealing with contractors. REAC Inspectors are independent contractors and have to pay their own expenses for travel and a computer with enough battery power for a full day of field inspection work. Sometimes inspections get cancelled, and you lose the job and the income. HUD requires all RAP contractors and inspectors to purchase a $2,000,000 general liability insurance policy with HUD named as certificate holder. As an independent contractor you receive no benefits other than the fees per inspection.

The RAP works like an EBAY auction where HUD REAC RAP qualified contractors bid in a live auction to drive the inspection prices down. The RAP is usually held on a Saturday from 10am-4pm EST. Sometimes there are no auctions for 6 months or more because HUD is waiting for a new budget to be passed. Then finally, there is an auction and a feeding frenzy of starved contractors bids the prices down.

Everything you do related to this work must follow HUD REAC requirements and protocol. All inspections must be done with HUD REAC UPCS inspection software following HUD's UPCS protocol. During an inspection you must record each item into the software and call it out to the property representative as you observe it. You will be required to call HUD sometimes during an inspection, and you will have to wait on hold, but only for 20 minutes, then you will be automatically disconnected. So, you will have to call back again and maybe a third time.

To be certified you have to complete the 5 day Phase 1 classroom training and pass the classroom test. Then you have to complete a 3 day Phase 2 field training with a HUD QA inspector and pass the field test.

After you pass both phases and are certified, HUD tries to send a HUD QA inspector at least once every quarter to observe one of your inspections. They may show up and suprise you at your scheduled inspection or they may go reinspect several weeks later. If they find deficiencies on the property that you did not record in your inspection, they may consider you Outside of Standards or "OS" and issue a Performance Deficiency. You can also get a Performance Deficiency if you have an inspection rejected by HUD or for not complying with their Code of Conduct or not following their protocol. If you accumulate three Performance Deficiencies you are decertified. If you complete 30 successful inspections without a Performance Deficiency, the most recent deficiency can be removed.

You can also be decertified for not completing any successful inspection for a period of 90 days or 180 days if you pass the computer based training before 120 days has past since your last successful inspection. This requirement can be waived by HUD during the long periods when they don't issue any work through the RAP.

You can make a little money in this business, but not much and you can't rely on it. There are long periods between auctions. Some parts of the country have more HUD work than others. It depends a lot on your location. If you travel to do this work you have to cover travel costs and still be competitive with HUD certified inspectors that live close to that area.

My guess is the Jacksonville area has enough HUD work for 1 inspector to get less than half-time work (maybe an average of 8 inspection days per month). There may actually be a lot less work than that. I know Jacksonville just got a new inspector this year and there was already at least 1 living there and a couple in Orlando and several others in Florida. So, it looks like you could be the third REAC inspector in J'ville. You might want to contact one of those local REAC inspectors and ask how many days of REAC work there are per year in your area. HUD posts the names of the REAC inspectors who choose to allow their information to be posted on the HUD website. Just go to HUD.gov and use the search box. The search box is a good way to find anything in the HUD website.