How Do You Stack Up in the Home Inspection Field?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for “building inspectors,” including home and commercial inspectors, was $52,360 as of 2010 with the top ten percent of those in the field earning $81,050. According to Simplyhired.com, the average salary is actually $45,000. We wondered what else we didn’t know about the inspection field. Here’s what’s going on with the typical inspector.

* He or she believes that the home inspection profession could be a little more organized.

According to a joint survey conducted in 2009 by the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) and the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), the vast majority of home inspectors believe that a unified inspection association would positively impact the profession. More than 80 percent of all respondents believed that a unified inspection association would be able to provide greater benefits and services to members, more educational opportunities on the national level and would be better able to utilize human and financial resources.

* He or she is plagued by bad roofs, faulty electrical wiring and water penetration. 

Research from ASHI shows that water presents the biggest challenge for inspectors. Among the top ten most common problems inspectors reported seeing, four were related to water damage. The top three slots were taken over by improper drainage or grading, improper electrical wiring and roof damage while problems like exteriors, poor ventilation and miscellaneous problems took over the bottom three slots.

* Conferences count, but chapter events count more.

A quick poll by ASHI shows that home inspectors are more likely to obtain their continuing education credits from their local home inspection association chapters than anywhere else. According to the survey, approximately 13 percent of respondents received the majority of their continuing education from InspectionWorld while almost 45 percent did from chapter events and nearly 14 percent did from paid online courses.