Better School of Building Instruction

[jessie boyd]

Hi all, I just found and registerd on this site yesterday. Lots of Great info. here!

I was wondering if anyone has taken or heard any comments of this dvd course "Better School of Building Instruction" from hometraining.net. This course is on the list of approved courses for the Texas HI liscense requirement and is available from Texas State University.

Sometime after the first of the year I want to get training and so far this course is where I am leaning. I have heard good comments about Kaplan as well but they are a little more pricey.

Thanks for any insight on this or any other recommended courses.

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[John Arnold]

Unless it has improved greatly in recent years, I could not recommend it.

[jessie boyd]

Thanks John, how long ago did you take it? Kaplan seems good, do you have any thoughts on them or can you recommend others? Thanks

[John Arnold]

Thanks John, how long ago did you take it? Kaplan seems good, do you have any thoughts on them or can you recommend others? Thanks

I guess it was about 2001. I can't help you with Kaplan or others.

Due to PA law, I had to tag along on 100 inspections with established inspectors, and I learned approximately 1,000 times as much doing that as from the "school".
Then, in my first 500 or so inspections on my own, learned another 1,000 times as much.
IMO, there is no substitute for experience in this field.
By the way, I also learned more from this forum than from "school".
Don't forget there is a huge archive from the previous incarnation of this forum, which you can get to by clicking on "Message Board" over there on the left, and then picking "Board Archive" at the bottom of the drop down menu.

[Bob Spermo]

Jessie,

What part of Texas are you in? The only way to learn home inspection is hands on. The training that is given just by the internet or DVD or correspondence cannot properly prepare you. Look for training schools that have a good lab area where you can see HVAC units, water heaters, electrical panels etc. I would be leary of the combination courses where most of it is on your own and then 120 hours of hands on. Some community colleges in Texas have pretty good programs and they are cheaper than the Kaplans and Champions.

[jessie boyd]

Hi Bob, thanks for the help. I live in s.w. Dallas county so finding schools is really not a problem.

Not to argue at all with your reply because I do like hands on, but I feel I can get all the hands on I need at my home and my friends and family's homes. But yes, if the hands on is that much better and as long as I can have good material to keep, then I might just go that route. I am just thinking that correspondence material might be better for a referrence source that I can use to learn on mine and my friends/family homes.

Through all my looking and searching, it seems that Carson Dunlop offers a very good and respected course but I am having trouble finding a correspondence class that offers their books and is approved by the TREC.

[Rick Hurst]

Maybe one of the 10,000+ other home inspectors in Texas already will come on and help you out with your question.

I'm not familar with any of them.

We need another inspector in Dallas for sure. Several hundred just doesn't seem enough.

Rick

[jessie boyd]

Well, who knows. Maybe there will be several hundred and one.

[Rick Hurst]

Well, who knows. Maybe there will be several hundred and one.

Probably not. You'll replace one of the many who are bailing out every week due to the slump in the market and the insurance requirements.

I was looking at the TREC board last night and it is amazing how many have not renewed their license this year.

So maybe things will be looking up for you.

Rick

[Jim Luttrall]

Jessie, Rick seems to be busting your chops, but not really.
You may not want to hear this, but the vast majority of inspectors that get their license never renew. I have heard recently that there has been a 25% decrease in active inspectors in Texas. I am guessing some have just retired, some had to find other work due to slow RE market, some got sued out of business. Point is it is not an easy business to establish and the legislature just made it much harder to enter or just hang on.
Right now is not a good time to enter the business. It is a great time to get your training, set up your business model, practice, etc. During good times the common wisdom says that you need an average of three years to make the business profitable... and in case you have not noticed, this is not "good times", so add to the three year figure.
I really enjoy home inspections and you may too, but don't believe all the easy money claims out there from the schools, etc.
Also, before you spend your money on any school, check with TREC and see what else is required. From what I understand most people will have to spend time as a licensed inspector working under a professional inspector who is their sponsor. It is difficult to find a sponsor and expensive to get E&O insurance to meet the initial requirements. Just do your homework before investing time and money, count the cost.
Maybe visit with a few inspectors or contact a few of the inspectors that did not renew their license.

[Ted Menelly]

Well let me tell you. I have never had better............................

Shoot I aint gonna lie about it

I absolutely have never been busier..........Stop Ted.

Listen to Rick and Jim. It is going to be sometime before things get back to where they were. Well, a very good sometime. This is not going to be an overnight recovery by any means.

[Rick Hurst]

All of a sudden this scene came to mind.

rick

YouTube - A Few Good Man "You Can't Handle the Truth"

[Bob Spermo]

Jessie,

Hopefully you are aware of the Texas rule that requires all HIs to have E & O insurance. No insurance no license! It costs about $1500 a year. While it is great to have places to "prtactice" it would be even better if you had an experienced/competent HI to guide you. Do you construction experience?

[jessie boyd]

Man, take my wife out to eat and look at the all the posts I miss.

Thanks to everyone for the cautions. I suppose I should have expressed my ideas in my first post.

I am currently a ground worker with a major airline for the last 22 years. I hope to retire before to many years from now. Considering the shape of the airline industry, who knows if it wont be sooner than anticipated, or longer.

Anyway, home inspection at the moment is not a priority high on my list. Rather, it may be something in my future to provide additional income. I sure wont be retiring rich! My wife has a great job and she wants to continue working for another 12-15 years or so with her job. So steady income and benefits will still be there.

I have a fair amount of basic understanding of home maintenance procedures and have helped friends over the years with theirs. I have a couple of friends in the real estate industry, both of them very well established. Both have encouraged me to seek liscensing and would furnish me with enough work for a part time venture while I am still working full time. Maybe after several years, with their help, I could have enough of a client base built up to retire and still have a good income coming in. IF, I even would enjoy this kind of work. I sure do like working on things around the house and helping others, but doing it as a job is an entirely different matter and can take the fun out of things real quick.

As you might imagine, having friends in the realty business, I am well aware of the challenges of any start up hardships in this business, including financial. I would Definately have a leg up on the start up side of things though.

If nothing else, by taking classes and possibly getting my liscense, I would have increased my knowledge of home maintenance and repair. It would'nt be a loss if I never even got into the HI business.

Thanks Again Everybody!

[Jerry McCarthy]

Jessie, FWIW my opine:
"A Better School of Building Inspection" isn't.
Kaplan is only as good as the instructors you get.

[jessie boyd]

Appreciate the input Jerry.

I got the 3 free dvd's today and briefly skimmed over them. I put them right back in the package and in my desk drawer. I might not have given them a fair evaluation but I don't think that course is for me.

I really like the Carson Dunlop books. If I can find classes or a course that use their material and is approved by the TREC I will probably go that route. And as Bob said above, some "hands on" is probably the best way to go.

[Brian Thomas]

I have never heard of a better school of building instruction. So I cant make an claims about how good they are. I actually went thru AHIT and liked that program alot.

I am just getting stated too so its rough going so far but I am in a similar boat as you. My wife works full time and makes good money so Im not forced to have to bring in 60k a year doing this. I can probably wait out the housing slump longer than alot of folks that depend on their HI income to survive.