Home Inspector Jobs

What it Takes to Be a Home Inspector

A Home Inspector is trained to provide a visual and then written assessment of the condition of a residential home. A home inspector is usually engaged by the owner of the home when the home is being rented out to tenants, or in the case where the property is being sold and the buyer is wanting to get a heads up on any hidden problems that cannot be seen by the untrained eye.

Having a home inspector conduct a home inspection can be quite an educational experience for the home owner. A home inspector's role is to provide comprehensive information about the condition of the property – what state the property is in, what maintenance, if any, is required, and any areas where he or she might forsee that problems could occur in the future.

Using a reputable home inspector is particularly important for a home owner who chooses to rent their property out to tenants on a long term lease. Having a regular home inspection allows the owner to get an indication of whether that property is being well cared for and maintained by the tenants or indeed whether the owner or his or her agent needs to take some remedial action. However, during a sale oriented home inspection the home inspector will look for quite different things.

The home inspector will look at everything that is easily accessible during this kind of inspection. These things include but are not limited to the roof, structure, foundations, drainage and landscaping issues including swampage or leaks, retaining walls, gates and fences. The inspector can also test each system that is contained within the home, such as heating, plumbing, appliances, furnace, air conditioner or ceiling fans and the water heater.

Most of the requirements for getting home inspector jobs are physical ones, apart from a need to be able to write reports, gather data and communicate with people. In terms of the physical requirements of home inspector jobs, some of the more demanding and/or regular activities include:

• Driving to and from the inspection site
• Carrying tools or a tool kit containing items such as a flashlight, a moisture meter and a tape measure
• Carrying a ladder from the vehicle to the home for use in checking the roof and guttering, and
• If it is accessible the home inspector will attempt to climb into the attic to view the upper most level of the property.