First I am the living breathing definition of a burned out carpenter. I've been self-employed doing home remodeling for nearly 25 years. before that another 10 years as an employee. There isn't much that I haven't seen or done. In the past few years I have been a fly on the wall as friends have had their future homes inspected. I'm shocked at some of the problems that these guys have missed. And they are busy. I'm certain that I can do as good if not better but I have some concerns. I get the feeling that you get referalls from real estate agents and if you find problems they don't make sales which results in you going hungry. so you wind up working for the real estate agents not your customers. Any truth to that? I read some where on the web that you should expect to have $25K in start up money. Is that realistic? I was also told that it was a " conflict of interest" for me to continue my remodeling business while doing home inspections. True or False? i'm just looking for a sense of direction.