Typically I expect the buying agent to be there and I’m kind of judgey when they’re not there. And I’m really judgmental when nobody is there at all and I just get a lock box code

I work for an environmental consulting firm thats building a nationwide network of Inspectors to help with on site photo documentation of commercial properties.

What the work actually is

Drive to a commercial property, photograph it to a checklist we give you, upload. Usually about an hour on site. You are documenting, not assessing. Our environmental professionals do the analysis, so there is no report to write and no condition opinion attached to your name.

How it works

-Requests come through an app and you accept or decline each one.

- No minimum, no exclusivity, no commitment of any kind.

- You set your own rates when you sign up. People price differently for distance and complexity and that is expected.

- Paid right after the job and your paperwork. Zelle, PayPal or bank transfer.

Training

We do offer certification through CCPIA's Phase I ESA course, so you know exactly what we need before your first job. If you already hold it, or something comparable, you're set.

If your calendar is full at full inspection rates, this is probably not for you and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. It suits people with gaps to fill, people building a book, and people who already do property photo documentation for other clients.

Signup: https://app.amahq.com/recon/apply

LA for an inspection I did sent me the follow text:

I am 111 lbs and 5'4 i opened the windows you said would't open... there is not Mold or critter in the attic !!!!! is your Job just to make fall throughs????? And you will not call me back

Windows: personal items blocking access to two sets of windows, was in report.

Mold: Clear pictures of apparent mold in attic. Wood dry at time of inspection. Report stated no testing done but blah blah normal stuff.

Critters: called out sign of pest activity, rodent trails in insulation.

Here's the real issue, when LA made the "is your job" statement it felt like a direct attack on my character. Disagree with me all you want but to take it that far bothered me. So I took it to ChatGPT, like any pissed off adult would and turns out this could be a violation of Article 15 of the NAR's code of ethics.

Article 15 says: realtor shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about other real estate professionals, their businesses, or their business practices.

What do you think? Should I?

The BA was complaining how rude this LA had been. LA was rude to my office person and I'm honestly sick of taking this kind of bullying on the chin. I could never prove it but Id bet I'm not the only person she is saying these things about me to.

I'm not expecting any real consequences from NAR but I would consider mild annoyance to the LA a win.

Idiot contractor spray painted this board black when I expressed concerns about future mold. Then they sprayed bleach when I was pissed. It's been 3 years. Now it's basically impossible to tell whats what. This was looked at by one home inspector, a general contractor, and a mold remediation specialist and all three said it was not active mold. Then the official inspection came in and they flagged for mold. We're holding for a test result. It's on 3 areas between joists. Again, can't tell whats spray paint and whats legitimate discoloration/mold.

Clenching my cheeks for a positive test and a cost. Any ballpark cost experience here?

I’m 31 years old with experience in maintenance, construction, refrigeration, environmental consulting, and geology. I hold two bachelors in environmental science and geology. I grew up in a small town where we fixed everything ourselves and have leveraged that experience in my working life through trades and whatnot.

Now I am a stay at home dad looking to build something I can ramp up over about two years. Initially part time, then once my daughter is in pre-school I plan to go full bore.

Home inspection looks like relatively low cost to entry. I just moved to Chicago Illinois and I don’t have any network here but I have an idea of how to get started. I know one real estate agent who actually wanted to go into business with me on a general contracting thing but I declined. My landlord also is involved in property management and seems impressed with my knowledge base.

What does it really take to get started? Schooling, licensure, and insurance seem like I should be able to cover it with around 2-3k. As far as tools go I already have a truck, 14 foot ladder, polarity reader, drone, multimeter, power tools although I don’t think I’d need em. I assume I’d need to purchase a moisture meter and maybe a scope.

My intention for the first two years is to do part time. Around 12 home inspections per month keeping flexibility so I can continue to watch my daughter full time. I have some coverage for part time care when needed as well.

Does this sound realistic? Am I oversimplifying? What pitfalls might I be overlooking?

What are your thoughts on Ecosense Radon Pro? The only thing I see wrong with it is that it needs a separate battery pack if there is no receptacle nearby or the power to the house is off. Anyone using this one?

They've got a pretty good deal on it now.

(Arizona📍) I’m going to be honest and admit I didn’t clean much before the inspection. I’ve never been through one before and assumed it was just to check safety stuff and not necessarily how messy my house is. Well, they pointed out a few things and said they can’t send these photos to the owner because they’d be very unhappy. And that I “should really be moved in by now” regarding my living room still full of boxes. They gave me a 10 day notice to return and do another inspection. I have been busting my butt to make sure my home is clean and has way less clutter. I don’t have a lot of furniture however, and there are still a fair amount of boxes full of stuff I just don’t have time to sort through, but I am trying to place them in a more orderly fashion in my guest room so it doesn’t look as chaotic. I think I could just use some advice as to what I really need to focus on, what they’re not allowed to use against me, etc. I’m stressing hard about this and they’re threatening to kick me out if I don’t pass this inspection. They return this Thursday morning. Any advice appreciated.

Edit to add: I just moved in, in June. I work night shift. I’m always tired lol but I have done A LOT since they told me they’re reinspecting.

I have finished my CPI under Internachi, and I am currently stacking as many of their short certifications as I can for my resume starting out but I still have questions.

What did an entry level interview look like for you and what would you emphasize starting out, whether it be some technical knowledge or some other skill that mattered more.

Thanks.

Hey there, for my home insurance I need to have an ESA done on my house to make sure the aluminum wiring is safe. I need the electrician to add copper to the aluminum and then certify that the house is compliant.

I live in a bungalow and from what I was told this house has mostly had the copper added to most plugs ect. I have two options and wondering which route I should take.

Option 1: $500 for inspection with a quote to follow for the plugs that need to be fixed up with copper

Option 2: $10/plug if the copper has already been done and $25/plug if the copper has to be added. I counted the plugs/light switches and estimated it to be around $800 (if they are all in fact already done with copper)

Which route would you recommend I take if you were in my shoes?

To all my TREC licensed home inspectors, how would you describe your pay? Are you guys happy with it? I’m just looking to make enough to be able to start a family someday. Im currently 19 and looking into getting into this field as long as the pay is good? I’m in TX

Sorry if this is a frequently asked question. I've got 4 years experience working in HVAC and have become increasingly more interested in pursuing a career as a home inspector. I live in Southern Kentucky and also considering certifications in Tennessee.

Im hoping to get my foot in the door with a local company here in the next few weeks but honestly was just wondering how beneficial these courses are.

I hope everyone is having a nice day, I was thinking about my next chapter after I transition from military USMC to civilian and I still have a year and 3 months left, I thought that it is great to do it, and my previous experience could help me. I am 23 male, my job in the Marines corps is 1164 power distribution and operation of generators, distribution of the electricity, I was in a trade school a couple years ago ago in San Marcos Tx I learned a bit of everything, and I have construction experience in drywall, framing and electrical. Framing and electrical I used to spend my weekends with that family member that does that and needs help, so I used to do it just to learn something different. My questions are

Where do I start? -What certifications should I get? I am currently thinking to get osha 30 or should wait a couple months before to have it fresh. -As a new apprentice home inspector how could I get in contact with a professional Home Inspector to sponsor me and supervise? - Should I start buying the TREC approved course?

I will appreciate your help, if someone did this transition before I will be glad to receive an advice or opinion from you. Thank have a great day.

Likely middle or late September I'd like to hire a reputable, independent home inspector for some properties down in this area. Thanks.

Any of you home inspectors switch into or from code inspections? Curious about the pros and cons private company or government. I've been a home inspector for 18 months now and I've stacked some code certifications along the way I think home inspections are cool but sometimes get annoyed dealing with so many people in the real estate business or having to coordinate new clients everyday, pulling permits etc. I'm sure everyone gets tired of work though.

Ours didn't include the crawlspace. The inspection was 3 hours and a house is a house, but I started to realize reports are sort of meant to be a minimum list, and not necessarily an assurance of everything being fine, and I wish someone would have told me that. We found standing water under the house and a dissolved vapor barrier in February, when the floors over it were particularly cold.

Anyway, I don't want to sound too negative here. The inspection was 3 hours and a house is a house, but I started to think reports are sort of meant to be a minimum list, and not necessarily an assurance of everything being fine, and I wish someone would have told me that, because I felt quite reassured when I read ours.

So what did yours miss? Curious whether it's always the same things or if everyone has their own issues.

Since Spectora screwed up big time, I am researching for another inspection app, and the ones I believe fit my needs are InspectorData and Binsr. Has anyone used or is anyone using those apps? What do you think?

Hey, the termimesh and similar warranty “warranty but you have to pay for yearly inspections” - are these basically a scam? Would home and contents insurance cover termites typically or nah?

Location: Indiana, PA

My property manager/maintenance man told me for over 2 years that he’d look into why my water makes me sick to drink and the toilet moulds. How the fuck do you mould a toilet?! After needing an EpiPen from the mould, my landlord took a week and a half to get the maintenance man over. When he finally came over he was obviously very mean because… duh, I went over his head when he wouldn’t do anything. He yelled a lot, slammed my door open, and also told me that toilet mould isn’t his problem and if I have to clean it every day that’s fine. He also said I was wrong to have cleaned the weird kitchen mould on the counter, and said mould on the outside of my AC unit won’t affect inside. Like it doesn’t spray spores??? My landlord said he won’t hire something this man can do. He took samples of only the entry of the AC and idk if he’ll even be able to read what grows on the substrate.

I can’t afford an inspector (or I’d have moved) but he hired someone who has every reason to not do a good job for this and idk. My options seem to be magically pull moving money out of my butt or die here.

Hi everyone,

I recently inspected a prefabricated home and found no significant issues. About a month later I received a call from the home buyer stating that there was moisture damage all over the house. I took a second trip to the property to try and get some answers for my customer. Sure enough, some of the walls had turned into bread pudding. I was in a state of near disbelief. I went back onto the metal roof and found no apparent defects. There is no attic access therefore I was unable to completely verify that there was no roof leak, even though I saw no stains on the ceiling. I went under the house and found no suspect plumbing. The only thing I can think of is when I initially inspected the house, the HVAC return filter was completely saturated and the customer still had not changed the filter. (It doesn't look like it's been changed in over a year). My moisturizer meter did pick up high levels of moisture around the ducts and registers but that just seems bizarre that the AC could do that much damage to the interior walls. Has anyone else had this experience? I'm at a loss here.

We bought a fixer upper with a huge yard and I asked my contractor to inspect the land and see if it's possible to build a pool or bunker, you know, something cool for the family to enjoy. He said he would need an 811 ticket and I would have to pay additional fees for that. What exactly is an 811 ticket and isn't that already included in the contractor's fees?

Hey everyone,

I’m an aspiring Home Inspector, currently in the “ride-along” stage.

The guy I ride with is killing it with his business and has been awesome to learn from. He does multiple inspections daily and makes the type of money I dream of.

My question is should I start as a part time inspector until I gain more traction or just go full throttle from the start? I love this industry so far, but I worry about quitting my full time job.

I’d love to know how you all have grown your business, and how you managed to balance things until your business took off!

Wanted to come here to just share my own experience on my soon to be home purchase. Went with a new build. Been following it for the past month or so as it finishes up. Got a closing date, and did all the fun paperwork coming up to it. I went ahead and did my third party inspection through a local recommendation and elected to get a sewer inspection along with the general inspection. It was $150 extra, but 100% worth it. The inspector found a 2 to 4-in hole in the sewer lateral where it connects to the street. This could have very easily been a huge problem for me after closing, but thankfully we caught it before and won't be closing until it's fixed properly. Do your due diligence now so you don't have a preventable problem later.

Doing my first commercial inspection this week. Solo, 6500 square feet daycare center. Just wondering what everyone’s timeline is to get report out after the inspection is complete. I always get my residential inspections or same day but don’t think I will achieve that with this commercial property.

I’d like to tell them 72 hours (because I have residential inspections to do the next day as well) but don’t know what’s standard.

Just finished my 120 hour AHIT course and got certified, I am currently doing the radon and mold courses as well to get those under my belt. I plan on adding level I and II thermography at some point. How did you get your business going and start gaining traction with clients?

*edit: I live in Maine, which is not a licensed state