TOPIC: Who makes the best home inspector ?

Who makes the best home inspector ? A Doctor, a Lawyer, Indian Chief or a licensed General Building Contractor ???

Hmm, this must be a trick question. But I'll go with the Indian Chief

From what I have seen, most home inspectors come to the the profession as a second career.  I don't hear of, or see many 20 something's getting out of college or quitting the burger joint to become home inspectors.

If seems to me that home inspectors need to have two very different skill sets.  They need to be technically compentent in forensic building science and they need to be better than average writers and communicators.

Those who have a hands-on technical bent usually like working with things instead of people.  Writers and communicators as a group tend to be more people friendly and less likely to play with tools.  Finding someone who can play well in both worlds could be a good home inspector.

I came from a techincal sales background.  I explained how the products worked and how they could be modified to the technical customers while I also had to explain conceptually how they worked and why they were better to the checkwriter CEO, CFO, and other "C" level execs.  25 years of writing responses to proposals for Fortune 100 companies and teaching technical classes prepared me for the mixed environment of home inspecting. 

Learning the technicial aspects of home inspecting has been relatively easy.  Memorize the IRC and learn to recognize the signs of improper building technicques that will lead to failure in the future.  Explaining that in laymens terms in 50 words or less is a bit more challenging.  The toughest part is the marketing and business management side.

While the GC may have a basic building science information, the communication skills may be lacking.  The doctor and lawyer spent years in school learning all kinds of inane tidbits and have run businesses.  Might be easier for them to switch to HI.  The indian cheif has good business management skills, people skills, and communications skills.  All he has to learn is the building science of the white man.  Probably not a bad choice.

Who makes the best home inspector ? A Doctor, a Lawyer, Indian Chief or a licensed General Building Contractor ???

None of the above.  It was my Mom & Dad!

Who makes the best home inspector ? A Doctor, a Lawyer, Indian Chief or a licensed General Building Contractor ???

None of the above.  It was my Mom & Dad!

Very good. I never saw that one coming.  ;D ;D ;D ;D

There is a joke here but I will wait a bit . Mom and Dad is very good, a sales person ?? I don't know about that. A doctor has to learn everything about the human body, a lawyer should know the law, an Indian Chief must take take of the tribe, counsel his people and listen to all the problems.