Home inspector

[chancito1]

We need better home inspectors some of these guys are clueless

[EZTEXAG]

Bobby I own a home inspection company in Austin I started about 4 years ago and I'm also currently looking to hire another inspector. If you (or anyone else you know for that matter) are interested in an opportunity, feel free to PM me and we can discuss things further.

[DNTRanch]

What are the cost of taking the AHIT classes? It doesn't tell you on their website.

[JHT]

A good friend from high school has been one for years after we left the new home construction business.

He has worked for himself and has worked for several different companies. He has seen the pros and cons of both.

When he worked for the companies the usual politics was extreme. The senior guys would snag the easier jobs (newer homes) and the jobs closest to home. He had to take every job assigned to him and most of the time the older houses wouldn't pass and then the headaches would start when buyers/sellers called the head of the company complaining that he didn't know what he was doing/send somebody else mess/were notifying the state/he was unprofessional. He tried working for other companies and it was the same everywhere. Biggest plus was the jobs were consistent so he had a somewhat steady paycheck.

Working for himself he enjoyed getting out of the office politics but now when there are problems its all on him. And when his phone rings he has to answer it. He works weekends now to accommodate realtors who he has to keep happy. A couple of years ago he blew out his knee skiing. With no wife and no kids he was barely able to pull it off financially but admits if he had a family to support doing this he would have been toast not making a dime for a few months. He admitted it was a good lesson to learn at the time because it forced him to prepare for something like this happening again.

Summertime seems to be his busiest time of the year. Enjoy the attics.

[BobbyOrtiz]

Irfan.. to bad your not in the AUSTIN area, you seem squared away and feel I could learn a thing or two. I feel pretty fortunate because I actually already do very well for myself, my home inspection business will be for my future and retirement. I am not looking to make a living off of this right off the bat. My wife is in real estate along with several of her colleagues who are high performing agents. EzTexAg, I appreciate the offer but it’s time I build my own dynasty and this is a great time and opportunity. AHIT with the in person class was like 2900.. way less then my degree.

[jrfan]

Thanks, you can contact me anytime with questions 972-897-1405 name
Is Ed.

[hound dog]

Great info, I want to get started with AHIT, but don't want to get scammed out of my money. I saw 2 different web platforms on them. Anyone have the correct, non scam route to go. If you wouldn't mind posting the correct link, if this is the best route to go.
Thanks.

[Matt_g]

I also did the AHIT program. Don’t have anything bad to say about them!

[junior]

I'm looking at doing the same thing. I can retire from the school district in about 4 yrs. I'd like to get certified, and start doing some on the side so by the time retire I can do this full time. I Figure by then I'll be comfortable enough to do a bigger work load. What kinda start up costs are there, the class, the license, the tools, etc?

[Acameron52]

How do y’all charge for these?

[BobbyOrtiz]

Ok, so I have completed all of the steps to become a home inpsector on my off days from the fire department. I have been certified for a few months now and have about a dozen inspections under my belt. This has been a lot of fun to start so far and I think that being an HVAC technician for a decade and a firefighter for 2 decades has given me a really good basline for this ontop of all of the homes I have bough, sold, and flipped through the years. Once I start cash flowing I will change to being a sponsoring member on here. If you live in central Texas and need a Home Inspector you can hit me up here or my website @ offdutypro.net

Have a great day!

Bobby

[Lip]

Congrats on completing everything! Great looking website.

Did you do the Professional Inspector License or the Home Inspector License? I'm guessing since you have your own business, you went with the Professional Inspector License. I was visiting with a realtor friend of mine this morning and she suggested I look into home inspection since I was laid off in July and not really wanting/needing to go to work for someone else at this point in my life. She recommended the Champions School for the coursework and I see they have a location not far from me (Northwest Houston) if I want to go in person.

Anything you would different in your prep work for becoming a home inspector?

Anyone have experience with both Champions and AHIT to know if one is better than the other? Both get good reviews on the websites I've found on Google.

[jrfan]

Congrats on you completing the course and getting up and running.

[Lip]

Congrats on you completing the course and getting up and running.

Meant to ask, did you used to do inspections in Houston area? Someone on TBH did a home inspection on my house years ago.

[RiverRat00]

I’ve been inspecting homes for 15 years now. It can be a very good source of income if you put a little work into advertising. Sellers hate us and buyers usually love us. Just remember you don’t work for the seller, you don’t work for the realtor, you work for your client. Most people I see complain about us inspectors have no ideal that inspectors have a standard of practice they have to follow that is enforced by the state. Take AFCI breakers for example it doesn’t matter how old the home is, It is required by the state that the absence of AFCI be marked as deficient. My report typically says deficient but common for a home of this age. PM me if you have any questions.

I have a question- if I'm in the process of having a builder built my house at what point is it a good idea to hire the home inspector? At the end or at the beginning of building so inspector can oversee the whole building process?