• Home inspectors can save home buyers thousands of dollars.building inspector,woman image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  Buying a house is perhaps the most important purchase people make, and more than likely it's also the most expensive. Having a home inspector make sure that people are not committing to a house full of problems is an essential step when buying a home. Potential home buyers hire home inspectors to do a thorough inspection of the house they may purchase. Home inspectors can either be self-employed or work for a real estate or home inspection company, offering unbiased opinions on potential problems with a house. While there is no single route to becoming a home inspector, there are some basic requirements.
  
  

Education and Certification

• Home inspectors have varied educational backgrounds.construction, woman, quality image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  There is no one specific educational route to becoming a home inspector. Usually, people become home inspectors after spending several years in another related profession, such as construction or engineering. Others have worked in specific trades, like plumbing or carpentry. At the very least, to become a home inspector, a college education is required. There are several programs available to those interested in home inspection. Many colleges and universities across the country offer programs in building inspection, construction engineering technology, architectural technology, engineering, electrician studies, construction estimating, and building and property management. Any of these educational paths could lead to a career as a home inspector.
  
  In addition, many states require home inspectors to be licensed and certified. The requirements vary from state to state, and sometimes county to county. Usually, the qualifications for obtaining a license include experience, a high school diploma, having liability insurance and passing an exam. As of 2010, 34 states require home inspectors to be licensed. Home inspection licenses must be renewed regularly.
  
  

Experience

• Many home inspectors spend years working in a related field and then use their knowledge to perform home inspections. Work experience as a contractor, carpenter, electrician, plumber, architect, engineer, or general construction worker is a great advantage when becoming a home inspector. Having experience working with homes, the problems that can occur, and how to fix them makes for a reliable, dependable and accurate home inspector. Home inspectors with more experience will likely be more successful and command higher sums of money for their inspections.
  
  

Skills

• Home inspectors should be naturally curious, detail-oriented and have high levels of energy because it can be tiring climbing on roofs and crawling in basements all day. They should also have good interpersonal skills, as they spend most of their day relaying essential information to home owners or potential home buyers. On occasion, home inspectors will have to deliver bad news; good interpersonal skills will help to make this part of the job go smoother.