You learned what is generally included in a home inspection from your home inspection courses, but what about ancillary services? What types of extra services can you offer to boost your bottom line? A home inspection generally takes a couple of hours to do, and home inspectors know the job isn’t over when they leave…
The roof is a big part of every home inspection. It is usually the most expensive part of a home, so if it needs repair or replacement, the potential homeowners need to know. While asphalt shingles still reign supreme in the roofing world, it is likely that you may start encountering more roofs with solar…
Doing home inspections requires a great deal of skill and knowledge. Home inspectors might think that it all revolves around home systems and structures, but in fact, an essential skill home inspectors must hone is communication. Excellent communication skills are critical in any profession that deals with the public. No matter what service you are…
An expansion tank is an essential part of certain heating systems, and when you’re inspecting a home, you’ll want to make sure it’s in good working order. What should you look for when you’re inspecting an expansion tank? Boilers operate by heating the water that heats a home. The heating process causes the water to…
Many home inspection courses deal with how to look for leaks and water damage. This is because of the top 10 most common home inspection problems, seven of them are related to water and leaks, according to Realtor.com. Water is one of the worst enemies a home can have. Another is fire, and that’s why…
Do you think you need insurance coverage for errors and omissions for your home inspections business? You may think you don’t, but insurance isn’t only for people who might make mistakes. It’s for people who own property, a business or have assets they don’t want to lose. Anyone can make a mistake, no matter how…
Your home inspection training helped you to learn ways to spot evidence of leaks — stains, warping, etc., — but how do you find the source of these leaks? Sometimes it’s easy. You may be in an attic and see water leaking through a hole in the roof. You may be in a basement and…
As a home inspector, you likely inspect lots of roofs covered in asphalt shingles. But what about slate roofs? You may not come across many, but if you do, this type of roof covering must be treated differently during inspection. Although slate roofs can be beautiful, they are significantly more expensive than asphalt shingles, so…
When most people think of crawl spaces, they picture the space under a building. This makes sense, but it isn’t the only crawl space you might have to go into as a home inspector — attic crawl spaces count too. You can argue that no crawl space is fun to inspect — after all, who…
Home inspectors check many important home systems, and one of these is the boiler. Boilers have the potential to cause catastrophic damage if they are incorrectly installed or otherwise improperly maintained, so it’s important to inspect these carefully. As a home inspector, you are not expected to be an expert in the operation or maintenance…
