Becoming a Certified Home Inspector
In the current age of downsizing and outsourcing, it is becoming more and more common for professionals in mid-career to strike out on their own. The career path of choice has become consultancy. Being your own boss has a lot of great perks, but it also comes with greater responsibility.
One option open to those feeling a shift in the housing industry is to become a home inspector. Especially with new government grants for energy saving retrofits, the niche market of Energy Auditor is not only a popular choice, but is also becoming a very lucrative one, as homeowners rush to reduce their carbon footprint at the taxman’s expense.
Working from home, setting your own hours, and having clients seek you out may seem like a dream job. Although there are no formal regulations governing home inspectors, a good home inspector will not shirk their responsibilities in attaining and maintaining the following standards.
Create a knowledge base. Spend some time in the housing industry and get to know how homes work on a technical level. What works in a textbook doesn’t always work in the real world. Blustering your way through something you are not 100% sure about will come back to haunt you.
Take home inspection courses. Accredited training providers will give you the insight to do your job as a home inspector properly. Courses usually cover all sections of the National Occupation Standards except areas requiring legal knowledge. To find an accredited training provider in your area consult the National Certification Program website: http://www.nca-anc.com.
Apply for certification. Apply to associations that regulate the home inspection in your province (a list can be found at the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors website: www.cahpi.ca). Before applying check out an association’s standards to make sure you qualify. Some associations, such as the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (www.oahi.com) have different categories of membership with differing qualifications. A certified member of a recognized association will be seen and treated as a professional.
Maintain your qualifications. Every industry holds its members accountable. Being an entrepreneur means taking on this responsibility yourself. There is no boss to send you on conference or to test your skills to make sure you are staying on top of industry innovations. To help home inspectors maintain high standards, the National Certification Program has created the Test Inspection Peer Review (TIPR). In the TIPR home inspectors have their inspection, reporting and communication skills evaluated by a trained peer to help them maintain a high standard of professionalism.
Go Green. With federal tax incentives requiring an energy audit before and after retrofits are completed, many homeowners are turning to qualified home inspectors to help them take advantage of these tax rebates. For retrofits to qualify for tax rebates, a home inspector licensed by Natural Resources Canada must perform the energy audit. If you are thinking of adding Energy Auditor to your home inspection resume, contact Natural Resources Canada (www.nrcan.gc.ca).
Once you have met all of the industry standards and have received your certification from CAHPI or a provincial affiliate, maintain your professional relationships with your clients. Nothing makes a client happier than to be treated with respect, and they will not hesitate to refer you to their family and friends.
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