Sharon and Tim Purtill own Canspec Home Publishing, which services the property inspection industry by providing marketing help, business consulting and a home inspection reporting system called HomeReport that is now in its 11th edition. Sharon answered these questions on behalf of Tim, who is a home inspector.  

Why did you decide to pursue this career field?
With a background as a licensed electrician and building experience, it seemed a good fit. I think those who look at home inspection as a career and have some type of building, construction or related trade as a background do have an advantage over those that come from unrelated backgrounds.

What type of preparation did you do to get into this field?
There are formal courses for home inspectors that vary by state. Someone interested in this training should start by contacting their state association for more information on when and where courses are available. Most education will lead to some kind of formal certification or license.

What types of classes and projects did you have to do?
A related background may allow you to write a challenge exam; for example an electrician can usually write a challenge exam and, with a pass, be able to skip the formal electrical training course, which was our case. Mentoring was critical, and no amount of class training can prepare you to be dropped in front of a house and told "Go inspect it."

How did your education help you in your career?
There are many good inspection courses out there and you can benefit greatly from those that offer real examples of real defects and gain a much greater understanding of the building envelope as a whole. Many courses will also take inspectors into the field, which is even more beneficial. The education will also teach inspectors how to properly prepare written reports for clients and ensure that inspectors understand the legal risks involved with the profession. My electrical apprenticeship education was invaluable in thoroughly understanding the electrical system and how it relates to the rest of the house.

What was your career path like in this field? 
Very rewarding! We went from working with another inspection company to branching out on our own as a single inspector firm doing three inspections in our first week to becoming a multi-inspector firm performing over 1,000 inspections a year in a very short time. It really boils down to the amount of work you are prepared to put in and the overall value of the services you can offer. While working for the other inspector firm in the beginning was not very financially rewarding, looking back, the apprenticeship was invaluable.

What types of skills is someone required to have to work in your position?
Unfortunately, in many areas, there is absolutely no formal training required. In some areas, one can decide to become a home inspector and hang out his business shingle the same day. But this is very scary! A home is the largest investment most people will ever make and stepping into a position of adviser without any formal education is only asking for a lawsuit. Having said that, a home inspector absolutely must have a thorough overall understanding of all the systems in a house and how they relate and impact each other. On top of that, an inspector must also have excellent communication skills in order to properly educate the client regarding the condition of the home.

What do you do on a typical workday?
As a property inspector, a typical workday includes always monitoring your phones, or having someone who can do this for you as we believe it is rude to take calls when on an inspection with clients present. You can be doing two to three inspections in a typical day and writing and delivering a full report onsite for each of those inspection clients. At the end of the day, your inspection and client information is usually entered into a client database. You may visit offices of Realtors or mortgage brokers while in your travels to drop off marketing material to help promote your business. Of course, home inspectors are generally small business owners, so there is all the administrative upkeep for running the business as well.

Do you plan to advance to another position within your career field? 
At this point we feel we have advanced in that we are no longer doing inspections. We sold the inspection side of our business to one of our senior inspectors following more than a decade performing home and small commercial inspections.

What type of person do you think is best suited for a job in your field?
As much as this is a technical job with technical training, it really is a people job and having a good personality and being able to connect with your clients is a huge part of what makes for a successful home inspector. So, while it's important to have the technical background and training, I think the best inspectors are the ones who can build rapport quickly and easily with their clients and have a good use of language so that they are able to explain things in a way that clients can understand and appreciate.

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to launch a career in your field?
Know going in that it is a tough industry to break into because there are many good established inspectors out there. A problem for the new inspector is that people don't want to work with the new inspector. It would be great if you could befriend a seasoned inspector and get some time training in the field under this inspector prior to going at it alone. With some experience, it will be easier to convince clients they should hire you. You will need to market yourself aggressively. You should price yourself in line with the experienced inspectors in your area so as not to send up a red flag that you are new, which is often taken as inexperienced, something people don't want when being advised on their largest investment. You need to offer more and be more than the competitor. If a home inspection career is really what you want, don't give up! It is a fun and rewarding career that can have good financial benefits as well.