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Start your Own Home Inspection Business

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12:28 am 12:28 am


By R.L. Fielding

As the housing market continues to cool, opportunities in related businesses, such as the home inspection industry, often thrive. Despite a slower than average market, the National Association of Realtors, estimates that 5.7 million resale homes will be sold and almost 852,000 new homes will be sold this year – and many of them will need inspections.

An inspection is one of the most important steps in the home buying process, especially in today’s market. At a time when price negotiations have become more vigorous, a home inspection can give buyers, or sellers, an edge in the negotiation process. A professional home inspection can help buyers avoid buying someone else’s problems, and for sellers the home inspection can help them eliminate potential defects that could turn off a prospective buyer.

As the home inspection business continues to remain steady and profitable, there has never been a better time to buy a franchise in the field. Buying a franchise is a wise investment, but only if the buyer understands the ins-and-outs of the relationship between the franchisor and franchise owner.

Franchises generally have successful track records compared to non-franchise start ups; however, it takes time and money in order to turn a profit. Like any small business, undercapitalization is usually the number one cause of failure. It could, in fact, take a significant amount of time before a franchisee realizes a return on his investment. However, once your franchise takes off, the benefits are well worth the investment in time and money.

The Benefits of Owning Your Own Inspection Business

Although the housing market has cooled in some areas of the country, the percentage of transactions where a home inspection is used has been growing. Opening a home inspection franchise offers tremendous business potential for entrepreneurs and for home inspectors looking to grow their business with the help of a national company. Just a few of the benefits of being part of a home inspection franchise system include:

• There is no building, real estate investment or inventory to carry.

• There is no construction experience necessary as you can hire qualified inspectors to work for you.

• You gain access to training resources and marketing support from your franchisor.

What It Takes to Get Started as a Home Inspection Franchise Owner

Becoming a successful franchise owner involves time, energy, commitment, and a willingness to be a part of the system. It also involves paying for an existing business model – one that includes approved marketing materials, the latest software systems, insurance and other operational systems. Owning a business franchise is an attractive option when considering the time and money it would take to organize all these elements on your own.

Successful franchise owners generally have a strong background in marketing, management, remodeling or home rehabilitation and utilize those skills to grow their local franchise and potentially expand into a multi-unit operator.

The best candidate for a franchise is someone who is interested in reaping the benefits of hard work, but values the added coaching and accountability of a franchise system. While a franchise owner controls the day-to-day operation of a business, he or she is also required to follow the franchisor’s ways of operating. These might include designated hours of operation, the use of specific equipment or materials to operate the franchise, or franchisor-approved marketing and/or sales materials.

If you think you might be interested in starting a home inspection franchise, it’s a good idea to consider the following:

1) Get Educated – Find out what kind of training is offered by the franchisor. Training is the cornerstone for success, so it’s important to make sure the training provided by your franchisor is top notch.

2) Get Input – As part of your due diligence, you will want to speak to as many current and former franchisees of the system as possible. As part of the disclosure process, the franchisor is required to give you these contact names – use them!

3) Assess Your Strengths – or weaknesses. Buying a franchise does not automatically guarantee clients. Calling on Realtors® in your area and bank managers dealing in home loans will be a big part of your marketing strategy. If you can’t see yourself putting on a professional presentation or making a sales call, a home inspection franchise is probably not right for you.

4) Talk to Your Family – Family support is a critical factor in making the dream a reality. If your spouse is against the plan, it will be difficult to navigate the highs and lows of a new business alone or with the added tension at home.

Deciding to invest a significant amount of your time and money into buying a home inspection business franchise is, of course, a risk. The first step should be taking the time to learn all you can about how to launch and operate a successful business. The rest should fall into place with a little perseverance, steady clients and a real passion for the business.

About HouseMaster

This article was provided by HouseMaster, the oldest and most respected home inspection business franchise system in North America. HouseMaster, founded in the late-1970s, has grown to over 350 local offices whose inspectors have collectively performed nearly 2-million home inspections. Home buyers, home sellers and real estate professionals rely on HouseMaster’s home inspection services for truly objective insight into the condition of any property. For more information, visit http://www.housemaster.com.

Texas Home Inspection

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1:43 pm 1:43 pm

If you are in the process of buying a new home, before you go and complete the deal, consider taking up professional home inspection services. Home inspections will reveal conditions about a home that you normally cannot find by just looking at it, even in the case of a newly built home. More often than not people confuse the tasks done by a home inspector with those done by an appraiser. Home inspectors judge the conditions of a property, while an appraiser will determine the value of a property. There are many reliable home inspection services available in Texas.

Texas new home inspection services will carry out a noninvasive check on the home you are considering to buy. These services are carried out by professional home inspectors who have undergone training in inspection and who have the necessary certifications to complete the inspection efficiently and appropriately. They will carry with them home inspection software and special equipment to carry out a thorough inspection.

Now most of you are thinking… since I am buying a new home, do I really need a home inspection? Is it not just another expense?

A home inspection is as important for a new home as it is for an existing home. A home inspector not only checks if the home is in need of repairs, they also check if the right building practices have been followed. A home inspection is something a new home owner definitely needs to look into. Even in new homes, there may be some oversights that need repairs or areas in the home that were not built correctly. Such issues will come out in the home inspection report and you can use this information to assess the efficiency of the home builder.

Home inspection services do not grade homes. In other words you won’t see something like pass or fail being placed in the home inspectors report. What you will see is all the facts about a home’s condition and detailed information on minor or major repairs. The intention behind this home inspection is to help buyers make a better and informed decision on their intended purchase and to prevent them from falling prey to sellers who want to sell property that’s in really bad shape leaving the buyer with a lemon property and unexpected home repairs.

Long Island Home Inspection Will Let You Have a Good Deal

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6:22 am 6:22 am

Buying a home is one of the biggest investments of your life and thus, you surely would not like to go for anything that is unsatisfactory or unplanned. But unfortunately, many a time, due to lack of information or an impulsive decision, we often miss out on the very essential pre requisite of getting our home thoroughly inspected by a reliable and registered set of home inspectors. However, this sort of negligence can actually be the reason for getting a dreadful home deal. Hence, whenever you are on a mission of buying a new home for yourself, make sure to get the assistance of a Long Island home inspection firm, that will guide you thoroughly about the present condition of the home, you wish to buy.

Home inspection is a procedure of acquiring detailed information about the condition of the house, that you may be considering to buy. Long Island home inspection, offers an accurate analysis of the physical status, as well as, the status of interior components of your preferred residential building. Everything from the heating system, plumbing system, electrical system, to the arrangement of proper windows, doors, walls and ceiling, will be sincerely checked and verified by the qualified and well trained professionals of Long Island home inspection company. One thing that you must keep in mind is, that home inspection is not a mandatory task to be followed only by those people who are willing to buy a new house, in fact, it is equally important for individuals wishing to sell out their home due to relocation and other such reasons.

It is often noticed that people do not entertain the major necessity of proper home inspection before purchasing any new property, as they consider it as an added burden of expense. However, they fail to speculate the huge financial loss, that they may have to bear in case of an unplanned purchase. Hence, as we all know, that prevention is better than cure, you must opt for a good home inspection before investing your hard earned money into any property. Moreover, by adopting this task, you can also have the opportunity of estimating the correct value of the property and can save yourself from getting duped by the other party. Therefore, if you are also planning to buy or sell a property, then do not take a step further, before getting your property certified by the experts of a Long Island home inspection company.

However, there are few clauses that you must fulfill, before taking the assistance of any home inspection company. First of all, get assured that your selected home inspector is certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors. Secondly, always demand for a well categorized printed report, that clearly talks about the condition of all major components of the house. You can also ask for the photographs of the items that are in bad shape and need to be repaired and replaced. Thankfully, a Long Island home inspection company, carries out all these elementary measures and lets you have a clear estimation about the life of the systems, equipments, and major components of the house. In order to get more information about the complete procedure of home inspection, you can easily take the assistance of the internet.

 

Top Ten Questions to Ask Before a Home Inspection

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3:00 am 3:00 am

There are many things that you are going to want to ask before you have a home inspection. When it is time for you to begin preparations for your home inspection, there are probably all kinds of things that are flying around in your mind. Therefore, you want to take a moment and compose yourself, and get ready to make the most out of your home inspection.

If you are inspecting a home because you want to buy it, there are things that you are going to want to know. Likewise, if you are having your home inspected because you are selling it, there are also things that you are going to want to be sure that you ask. Therefore, you should make a careful list.

First of all, if you are having a home inspection because you want to buy your home, remember that this is your one chance to make sure that you are buying a good home that is exactly what you are looking for. Therefore, make sure that you ask your home inspector about all of the things that he or she might find.

1.Make sure that you mention that you would like them to look carefully at the foundation, because this is one of the most important things. This is the first question that you are going to want to ask your home inspector. You want to be sure that the foundation is solid and is not cracked in any way. This will make the basis of the rest of your life, so be sure that it is solid.

2.Make sure that you are asking your home inspector about the various plumbing systems. This should include the water going in and out of your house, the pipes, the toilets and the sinks. You want to be sure that all of this is included so that you can make the most out of your home inspection.

3.The heating and cooling systems are also very important. This is because if your furnace or central air breaks after you have purchased the house, you will find that you have much more to worry about and it is going to cost you a lot of money. Therefore, you will want to know if there is something wrong with any of the central air or furnace components so that you can either get it fixed or replaced before you buy the house.

4.Another thing that it is very important for you to ask before you home inspection is for the inspector to look for termites of for other bug problems. Even though these might seem simple, they can actually be a huge problem for you. So, if you believe that you are going to have to deal with these things, you can figure out how to fix them before you buy the house.

5.The roof is another place where lots of problems happen. Therefore before your home inspection you want to be sure that you are asking about the roof. You want to be absolutely certain that there are no cracks, and the home inspector can help you find this out before you spend your first rainy night there.

6.The property itself is another thing that you are going to want your home inspection to focus on, so be sure to look at that. Be sure to ask about the driveway and other aspects of the property so that you can get a good deal on these things.

7.Other buildings should be included in the home inspection. This would mean even garages and sheds. You want to be sure that if you are purchasing these things they are being used for the right reason and you are paying the right amount. Therefore, be sure that you are putting your best into these.

8.Remember to ask your home inspector to look at the fire proofing and the electrical wiring systems in your home. You want to be sure that these are functioning and that you know you are your family are safe in the home. The wiring should be done correctly and should not cause any problems for you.

9.Also, remember that you want to take a look at the windows and doors. Your home inspector should look at the various ways that these work and whether or not they are in good shape. Remember that if you need to replace them it will cost a lot of money, so you want to be sure that you are either getting that taken off the price or that you don’t have to worry about it.

10.Lastly, you want to ask your home inspector about the history of the home. There is a lot that the home inspector can discover, just by looking around, so you should ask about is so that you know what the home has been through.There are many things that you are going to want to ask before you have a home inspection. When it is time for you to begin preparations for your home inspection, there are probably all kinds of things that are flying around in your mind. Therefore, you want to take a moment and compose yourself, and get ready to make the most out of your home inspection.

If you are inspecting a home because you want to buy it, there are things that you are going to want to know. Likewise, if you are having your home inspected because you are selling it, there are also things that you are going to want to be sure that you ask. Therefore, you should make a careful list.

First of all, if you are having a home inspection because you want to buy your home, remember that this is your one chance to make sure that you are buying a good home that is exactly what you are looking for. Therefore, make sure that you ask your home inspector about all of the things that he or she might find.

1.Make sure that you mention that you would like them to look carefully at the foundation, because this is one of the most important things. This is the first question that you are going to want to ask your home inspector. You want to be sure that the foundation is solid and is not cracked in any way. This will make the basis of the rest of your life, so be sure that it is solid.

2.Make sure that you are asking your home inspector about the various plumbing systems. This should include the water going in and out of your house, the pipes, the toilets and the sinks. You want to be sure that all of this is included so that you can make the most out of your home inspection.

3.The heating and cooling systems are also very important. This is because if your furnace or central air breaks after you have purchased the house, you will find that you have much more to worry about and it is going to cost you a lot of money. Therefore, you will want to know if there is something wrong with any of the central air or furnace components so that you can either get it fixed or replaced before you buy the house.

4.Another thing that it is very important for you to ask before you home inspection is for the inspector to look for termites of for other bug problems. Even though these might seem simple, they can actually be a huge problem for you. So, if you believe that you are going to have to deal with these things, you can figure out how to fix them before you buy the house.

5.The roof is another place where lots of problems happen. Therefore before your home inspection you want to be sure that you are asking about the roof. You want to be absolutely certain that there are no cracks, and the home inspector can help you find this out before you spend your first rainy night there.

6.The property itself is another thing that you are going to want your home inspection to focus on, so be sure to look at that. Be sure to ask about the driveway and other aspects of the property so that you can get a good deal on these things.

7.Other buildings should be included in the home inspection. This would mean even garages and sheds. You want to be sure that if you are purchasing these things they are being used for the right reason and you are paying the right amount. Therefore, be sure that you are putting your best into these.

8.Remember to ask your home inspector to look at the fire proofing and the electrical wiring systems in your home. You want to be sure that these are functioning and that you know you are your family are safe in the home. The wiring should be done correctly and should not cause any problems for you.

9.Also, remember that you want to take a look at the windows and doors. Your home inspector should look at the various ways that these work and whether or not they are in good shape. Remember that if you need to replace them it will cost a lot of money, so you want to be sure that you are either getting that taken off the price or that you don’t have to worry about it.

10.Lastly, you want to ask your home inspector about the history of the home. There is a lot that the home inspector can discover, just by looking around, so you should ask about is so that you know what the home has been through.

Typical Mistakes Made at Home Inspections

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6:38 pm 6:38 pm

When you are buying a home, the home inspection is one of the move important parts of the process. If you don’t get a home inspection, you may pay for a house that has a leaky roof, poor wiring, termite and other pest damage, dangerous asbestos qualities in the air, a crumbling foundation, or more! After you’ve purchased the house, there is little you can do if you’ve waived your right to a home inspection. They’re absolutely necessary.

Even some people who get home inspections make huge mistakes in dealing with these findings. What do you do if your inspector finds a problem? What do you do if your inspector misses something huge? How you react is up to you – but don’t make the follow home inspection mistakes:

Mistake #1: Not Signing a Contract with your Home Inspector

Some inspectors are sent y the city in order to ensure that the home in inhabitable or able to be renovated. However, when it comes to buying a home, you’ll more than likely need to work with an inspector who works for an inspection company. In this case, always sign a contract.

Home inspections usually cost between $300 and $2000, depending on the size of the home and the types of things the person is inspecting. Read the contract carefully so that you understand exactly what you are getting for your money. There should also be something in the contract guaranteeing you against mistakes and omissions so that if the home inspector is wrong or doesn’t see a huge problem, you can get your money back or otherwise take care of the problem.

Mistake #2: Not Considering your Payment Options

In today’s market, it is a buyer’s world. That means that homeowners often offer incentives to potential buyers. Find out when it he last time the buyer had the home inspected. If it’s been five years or more, ask them to partially pay for a new home inspection. You might not decide to purchase the house, but if this is the case, the homeowner will have the home inspection results to show other potential buyers.

You can also talk to the homeowner about signing a contract to buy if the home inspection comes back clean. You’ll be able to consider your options if there are problems, but otherwise, you’ll go into escrow and purchase the house. If this is the case, the homeowner might be willing to completely pay for the inspection.

Mistake #3: Hiring an Inspector Affiliated with a Contractor

Inspection is a tricky business. If your home inspector is affiliated with a contractor of any kind, there’s the chance that his review of the home might be dishonest. He may say that your foundation needs work, for example, but in reality, that might be just to direct your business toward the contractor.

Many states have strict laws as to how an inspector must work. In some cases, it is illegal for an inspector to be affiliated with a contractor or to do any kind of contracting work himself. In other states, this is not illegal. Regardless, be very careful about who you hire. Ask for recommendations and samples of their work before you shell out any money.

Mistake #4: Not Understanding your Home Inspection

If you don’t understand your home inspection, why get on in the first place? Make sure that the results you are give are easy to understand so that you can make a good choice about purchasing the house or not. If there is something that you don’t understand, ask the inspector to explain it to you.

In addition, the home’s current residents should completely understand the home inspection as well. This is especially important if you decide not to buy or are asking for a credit to fix a problem that was uncovered. Provide them with a copy of the inspection report, as well as the phone number and other contact information of the inspector.

Again, the biggest mistake you can make in regards to home inspections is to not get one at all. Current homeowners aren’t necessarily out to trick you into buying a property with a ton of problems. However, they’ve probably lived in the home for years – or even decades in many cases. They may simply not know that there are any problems. By getting a home inspection, you’re protecting yourself and potentially avoiding making what could be a bad investment. Home inspections should be a part of every real estate transaction.