So you’re looking into home inspection training, but you’re not ready to commit? That’s normal. After all, what’s it really like to be a certified home inspector?

Will you enjoy the work? A lot of inspectors wouldn’t do anything else. Are you prepared to take on the responsibility of running your own business? Even if it’s puzzling right now, you can learn the business skills you need. There are groups, such as the Small Business Administration, that can help you.

If you’re sitting on the fence but need to know a little more, here’s a typical day in the life of a home inspector. It’s not an easy job, but it might be one of the most fulfilling things you’ve ever done.

Tend to Paperwork and Get Ready for the Day

Unless you’ve got an early home inspection appointment, you’ll probably start your day tending to office work. You can handle paperwork that needs attention, check emails and phone messages, and confirm your calendar. Then you’re ready to take on the day.

Arrive for Your First Home Inspection

Certified home inspectors travel a lot, but usually just within the local real estate market. You’ll get to know the neighborhoods and what’s common in home construction for the area and what isn’t. When you arrive on site, you may meet the homeowner, real estate agent, the prospective buyer, or all three. In some cases, no one will be on site. The agent or homeowner will arrange your access to the property.

Assess the Home and Grounds

Before beginning a home inspection, you’ll have a look around. Walk the property to learn whether there are any obvious issues, including pets, that you need to know about, especially ones that might affect your safety. Then grab your tools and go inside. Bruce LaBell, a certified home inspector in Arizona, tells the American Society of Home Inspectors that he tends to set up his mobile office in the home’s kitchen.

Inspectors don’t make repairs, but they note defects that need attention.

Inspect the Property

Home inspectors tend to develop a system that they follow with every house. You might begin your work on the outside from the roof down to the ground. LaBell explains that’s the way he works because it helps him prevent tracking dirt and debris from outside through the house. You’ll want another pair of shoes to change into for inspecting the home’s interior.

Finalize Your Home Inspection Report

Nowadays, home inspectors tend to either use a laptop or a mobile device with home inspection reporting software or an app installed. Digitizing the inspection details makes the workflow easier. When the inspection is complete, you’ll scan back through it, checking for errors, and finalize the report. If you use an app, you can send the report to your customer on the spot. The same is true for some computer software, but you’ll need an internet connection.

Tend to Other Appointments 

One of the most important parts of being a home inspector is generating customer leads, and one of the best ways to get leads is through real estate agent referrals. For that reason, home inspectors often meet agents, drop off business cards and maybe a bag of candy or another small, inexpensive treat.

If you’re really on the ball, you’ll schedule lunch-and-learn meetings with agents on a regular basis. Provide a catered lunch, such as sandwiches, and give an informative presentation about what you do or about issues that affect homeowners. When you develop a working relationship with agents and they learn to trust your expertise, they’ll be more inclined to send customers your way.

The old idea of seniors occupying a rocking chair is long gone. Now, people approaching retirement and those who are already there tend to stay healthy, active, and working for longer than ever before. It might even be the perfect time to start home inspector training and start a small business.

According to CareerBuilder, at least half of people in the workforce don’t plan to slow down until at least age 70. Of them, 20 percent have no plans to retire at all.

#1: Study at Your Own Pace

If you already work full-time, you might think there are no extra hours in a day to learn a new trade. Not so.

#2: Set Your Own Hours

One of the most attractive things about working as a home inspector is freedom. That includes the freedom to set your own hours.

If you only want to work a little on the side of your regular job, you can do it. If you want to work on weekends or on Tuesday afternoons, it’s your choice. Even better, you can change the pace anytime you like, to ramp up your business or slow it down.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never owned a business before; groups such as the SBA have the tools you need to succeed.

#3: Build Your Business as Large or Small as You Like

With the freedom to set your own hours comes more freedom to turn your business into whatever you like. The majority of certified home inspectors perform general inspections for people in the process of buying a house. But that’s not the only avenue that you can explore.

Here are a few more ways you can put your certification to use:

You could also look into commercial inspections. Because commercial jobs tend to be much larger in scope than a home inspection, commercial inspectors tend to work in teams.

#4: Create a Business to Pass Down to Family

Time was, part of the American Dream was to build a business that could live in the family for generations. That’s possible in the home inspection industry.

EastWestBank has these tidbits of wisdom if you’re interested in building a legacy company:

Above all, you need an exit strategy. A Certified Exit Planning Advisor can help.

#5: Put Existing Knowledge to Good Use

If you have experience in construction or a related field, home inspecting is a natural transition. You don’t have to know everything there is to know about homes and their many systems to go to work as an inspector. That’s what home inspection training is for.

People with years of construction-related experience tend to have a smaller learning curve than those who don’t. That said, anyone in any industry can learn what they need to know to start a new home inspection business.

A slow-paced retirement doesn’t resonate with everyone. For some, there isn’t enough in retirement savings to consider leaving the workforce. For others, the very idea of not working doesn’t hold much appeal.

When you work in real estate, you understand the toll seasonal changes can take on a home. In the span of time it takes to sell a house, you might notice distinct changes taking place. Winter is one of the most challenging seasons for a home because the season can wreak havoc on a home’s exterior.

What can you do to spot the signs of a defect in home’s exterior, and how can you anticipate which houses are going to give you the most trouble this winter? This guide will help you understand the role a harsh winter can play in damaging a home.

A perfectly lovely home can suffer extreme damage when a harsh winter takes hold.

 1. Moisture Can Penetrate Exterior Paint

A poor exterior paint job can crack and chip thanks to freezing and thawing cycles in the cold. Lousy paint quality allows moisture, whether it comes from rain or snow, to penetrate the home. Water damage, mold, or mildew are potentially the result. Windows and doors closed up tight for the season can worsen the situation by providing the perfect breeding ground for mold.

2. Frozen Weather Can Damage Windows

Moisture that gets into wooden windows can cause the wood around a window’s exteriors to swell. This damage makes it difficult, if not impossible, to open the windows.

In some cases, wood around the window will also begin to rot. Moisture can also leak inside if the caulking has been compromised. The potential damage this causes could be costly to fix.

3. Weather Can Damage Siding

Aluminum and vinyl siding both become loose or damaged in inclement weather. When the siding moves away from the rest of the home, water can fill the space to cause mold and other damage. A home’s siding can also be damaged by tree limbs, shrubbery, and other objects sliding against the exterior of the house.

4. Wind, Rain, and Snow Damage Roofing

The roof is also damaged by bad weather, especially high winds. Shingles can lift up in the wind, leading to other roofing damage. Ice dams are also a consequence of freezing water at the edge of the roof. Even when the ice melts, it poses a problem by allowing water to seep into the walls of a house.

That beautiful layer of snow outside could be causing extreme problems for a house.

5. Gutters Can Overflow or Freeze

When channels become clogged with leaves and other debris, water backs up in gutters. This causes intense overflow when the rain starts, which can cause damage to the siding and even foundation of a home as water pools. If the water freezes in the gutter, the gutter may begin to sag. As the gutter pulls down or away from the house, it may cause other damage to the home’s exterior as well.

This type of damage is preventable with gutter cleaning and removal of ice dams. You can also change the gutters and downspouts if it is time to replace them. In areas prone to freezing, heating elements are available to prevent water from freezing.

As a home inspector, it is your job to be on the lookout for any of these changes that occur during a harsh winter. To spot all of these problems, you must stay on top of continuing education. Get a demo of a course to see how our selection will help you move forward in your field.

Training to become a home inspector is no easy feat. Educational courses are meant to facilitate the process, allowing you to become skilled at your craft. Building confidence through minor successes in training allows you to become an excellent inspector in the field.

Every student wants to know what he or she is getting into before beginning class. What could be a better way to learn about home inspector training than to read the reviews written by the students themselves?

As a home inspector-in-training, staying focused is a critical component in learning more.

Home Inspector Training Offers Clear Focus

By offering several modules, home inspection coursework allows you to focus on the crucial details. You have time to learn, section by section. You move on when you fully grasp each module.

Plus, the information available in these modules is accessible in the future if you need to review material. You will find that this comes in handy if you need to take tests in the future or if you have questions about your work later. Angela from Hydro, OK notes: “I do like the fact I can refer back at any time, and every aspect needed to get to the job and complete the task is included.”

One way home inspector courses allow you to retain information is through the use of real-world scenarios. When you have the opportunity to apply your coursework to actual situations you might encounter at work, you retain this information more easily.

Home Inspector Training Offers a Personal Experience

Students report that home inspector education can become what you make it. When you step up and ask questions, you customize your learning experience.

Home Inspector Training Offers Diverse Information

Even students who have backgrounds in construction will have something to gain from training. Instructors of our courses have extensive backgrounds in the field so that they can provide their students with the best and most current information out there. Andrew from Mayfield, PA notes: “The course material was professionally presented and it was also very fun. The instructor made it very worthwhile due to his extensive background knowledge in the subject matter as well as his experience in the field. ”

Home Inspector Training Allows You to Work at Your Own Pace

By taking a home inspection course online, you have the ability to engage in a self-paced education. While you do have deadlines to meet, you are not required to sit in a lecture hall with your peers or to get up early and trudge to classes.

Bryan from New Carlisle, OH says:  “I truly like the move at your own pace in this. it has allowed me to do it when I get time. Thanks again.”

Armed with a solid education, you can create a home inspection resume that works as hard as you do.

 Home Inspector Training Builds Skills

Don’t take our word for it. Read what our students have to say and then, better yet, get a demo of a home inspector training course today to learn more about your educational options.