I want to be a home inspector…
I have had many calls lately from the “I want to be a home inspector” group.
I am sure you all have that stack of cards and flyers from everyone who claims that they are now the best Home Inspector invented since sliced bread!
Currently, legally in Ontario anyone can call themselves a Home Inspector. Or if they want to call themselves a “certified” Home Inspector, all they need to do is go online and in hour they can pass what is called a “Home Inspectors Exam”. In provinces that have gone to licensing, this “Exam” was rejected as a qualification and many inspectors relying on this “exam” as their training were told they are not allowed to call themselves an inspector.
How hard is that exam to pass? (One person did tell me that it took him 5 attempts to pass this exam). My wife did this exam in 45 minutes, with a pass of 85%, but she refuses to inspect houses! One realtor said he took about 50 minutes and passed in the high eighties. He was shocked at how easily anyone can get themselves set up as a home inspector. If an inspector shows up to talk to him, and tells him that this is their qualification, their material goes in the garbage.
So this leaves you with trying to ensure that the inspector you know and NEED to trust will actually have the knowledge to inspect a house properly.
What training and qualifications should a professional inspector have? A good inspector should have a combination of:
An industry recognized education.
Experience in the construction industry.
Common sense.
Most community colleges, including Georgian, have an entire course setup with from 10 – 15 modules that anyone aspiring to be an inspector should be taking.
CarsonDunlop has one of the most recognized training courses in the industry. This is recognized in Canada, and many US states, use their courses and material extensively.
A good inspector should be familiar with new housing as well as older houses. This requires real life experience in the construction industry.
Some feel that an inspector should be an engineer, but as an inspector is not taking items apart to test them, being an engineer is not necessarily the best requirement.
Every inspector should have, or working toward having, the highest recognized standards in the industry. In provinces where licensing is in effect, the RHI (Registered Home Inspector) designation qualifies an inspector for a license.
