How Long Does it Take to Become a Home Inspector
State education requirements to become a home inspector vary from as low as 40 hours to almost 400 hours of training. There are some states that require apprenticeships. In those situations, you might have to be with your sponsor for a long time. On the other end, there are some states that do not even license their home inspectors. Click on the States button above to see how many hours your state requires. For most, it typically takes 2 to 3 months to get the training you need to become licensed and start a business. A Better School of Building Inspection's courses provide you with the start up and technical skills you need to start bringing in an income from you own business.
Some people wonder if they already have to be in the construction field to be a home inspector. Although a construction, remodeling, or handyman background can be helpful, it is not required. If you are willing to learn and have a good sense of observation, you can become a home inspector. Even if you have been around construction your entire working life, specific training is essential. The critical function of a home inspector is to identify defects in the home. People building homes do not see most of these defects when the house is new.
If you are hired by an existing multi-inspector company, they usually require their trainees to go on a number of inspections with a trainer. This is in the hopes that trainees will see enough defects that they won’t walk right by those defects when go out on their own. In some cases, home inspection firms require trainees to go on 100 to 300 inspections so they can see the kinds of defects home inspectors are expected to report on. They do this even if the trainee has a good background in construction, etc.
After completing a good training program, there are a number of excellent methods for improving your home inspection skills even before you conduct your first fee-paid inspection. Our training manual explains ways to complete hands-on training for checking the following: functional water flow, hose bibs freeze, boiler aquastats, well water, septic, thermostats, automatic dampers, boiler circulation pumps, evaporative coolers, etc.
Another “hands-on” method is to go on an inspection with an experienced inspector in your area. Although they may charge for this, sometimes you may find an inspector who will let you go for free. If the local inspectors are worried about increased competition, then you might want to find inspectors in locations as far as 100 miles away. It is worth driving that far to see how inspections are being done in your area.
Some people wonder if they already have to be in the construction field to be a home inspector. Although a construction, remodeling, or handyman background can be helpful, it is not required. If you are willing to learn and have a good sense of observation, you can become a home inspector. Even if you have been around construction your entire working life, specific training is essential. The critical function of a home inspector is to identify defects in the home. People building homes do not see most of these defects when the house is new.
If you are hired by an existing multi-inspector company, they usually require their trainees to go on a number of inspections with a trainer. This is in the hopes that trainees will see enough defects that they won’t walk right by those defects when go out on their own. In some cases, home inspection firms require trainees to go on 100 to 300 inspections so they can see the kinds of defects home inspectors are expected to report on. They do this even if the trainee has a good background in construction, etc.
After completing a good training program, there are a number of excellent methods for improving your home inspection skills even before you conduct your first fee-paid inspection. Our training manual explains ways to complete hands-on training for checking the following: functional water flow, hose bibs freeze, boiler aquastats, well water, septic, thermostats, automatic dampers, boiler circulation pumps, evaporative coolers, etc.
Another “hands-on” method is to go on an inspection with an experienced inspector in your area. Although they may charge for this, sometimes you may find an inspector who will let you go for free. If the local inspectors are worried about increased competition, then you might want to find inspectors in locations as far as 100 miles away. It is worth driving that far to see how inspections are being done in your area.