Thread: Becoming a HI

Hello all,
I'm a new member and seriously considering becoming a HI in the Charlotte NC area (ahit program). I have been doing a lot of research about this career including the legal aspect of it. I do not have a construction background but do have the self taught knowledge and do understand the basic and some in-depth concepts of how a house is put together. I have studied my own house and even installed my water heater, swamp cooler, built my own In-ground 13x27 pool and replace my roof and could even replace my gas furnace if had to. I consider myself very detail orientated
Question,
how does one feel coming out of the gate going into business. I do have a son-in law that owns a web design business that could help with marketing and also have a daughter in-law that is an attorney(construction field).
Can one just venture out on your own? NC does not require "ride along" what's your opinion?

I would highly recommend doing a ride-along or at least looking into some mentoring. Utilizing the practical field experience of another home inspector, generally will only help you get a better understanding of the day to day work and knowledge required to succeed.

Thank you for the reply....I had been thinking about it. are there any other insights you can add

Contact the ASHI Chaper in Charlotte. There is another chapter north of you in Greenville. Attend a few meetings. Talk to the person in charge before the meeting and tell then you wanna become an inspector and want sit in and get introduced around. Greenville chapter is pretty good. Havn't been to the Charlotte chapter. Ask about the ASHI Greenville continuing education. They usually have nationally recognized speakers and great education. Worth the 2hr drive for you.

Then look up NCLHIA. About 1/3 to 1/2 of all NC inspectors belong to NCLHIA. The Raleigh chapter is the largest with Charlotte next. Attend a few meetings. You need to know more about your competition and your support group. It will also get you on the information track for their yearly training so you can meet your Continuing Education requirements for licensing.

NC is a licensed state so you will need to pass the exam which is only offered every other month. You will need to choose some software to generate reports. Make sure your reports meet the state requirements. Look up Wilson Fausel. He spent several years reveiwing reports for the licensing board and NCLHIA. He can help you make sure your reports meet the state requirements and the more common areas most reports fail the NC requirements.

You are not Required to do any ridealongs for NC but you need to. ASHI or NCLHIA chapter meetings is a good place to meet inspectors who would be willing to let you ride along. You need to do at least 4-5 ride alongs, each with a different inspector. Go to Raleigh, Greenville, etc. do ride alongs if no one local will offer. You don't know how much you don't know until you do a few inspections. Try writing a report after each ridealong. Ask the ride along inspector if he will provide you a copy of his report for the inspection so you can compare yours with his. Once you see 5 different reports from 5 different inspectors, you will have a much better idea what yours will need to contain. Then contact Wilson Fausel and ask him to review your best report.

There are several Licensing Board members who are inspectors. They are great guys and can get you started in the right direction. Contact Marion Peoples and Fred Herndon. The NC licensing board has contact information online for all three people.

Where are you going to find customers? You need to figure out why someone would hire you instead of all the other inspectors. You absolutely need a webpage. Be aware that 2-4 weeks of school will not adequately prepare you to perform inspections. Your gonna have to figure out things like how to guess the age of a roof, your pricing structure, your reporting format, note taking format, what your gonna wear, company logo, tools & equipment, etc.

Search Inspections News for the sub-forum for starting an HI business and all that it entails.

Everything and a lot more than what Bruce and Claude said.
Anyone can become a HI, apx. 8 out of 10 that became a HI don't make it past 3 years, the trick is figuring out how to remain being a HI..

I want to thank each of you for your feed back. Bruce yours were extremely informative. I will definitely follow through on all of your ideas. Thanks again