It's Really Hit The Fan In The Housing Industry

[hausdok]

According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor, 21,000 people - more than all of 2006 - had been laid off in the housing industry between August 1st and August 23rd.

One has to wonder how many home inspectors who're in business today will still be around a year, two years, from now.

Comments anyone?

[kurt]

Originally posted by hausdok

According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor, 21,000 people - more than all of 2006 - had been laid off in the housing industry between August 1st and August 23rd.

One has to wonder how many home inspectors who're in business today will still be around a year, two years, from now.

Comments anyone?

Yeah; dig your fingernails into the cliff and hang on.

[John Dirks Jr]

For extra money I am putting up signs for a realtor. I put up and take down 100 per week. 10% to 20% of them I dont recover each week. I suspect the cause is theft by other realtors. It is getting desperate for some I suppose. Last year at this point they couldnt keep up with the appointments. This year they cant make their own mtg payment. Crazy aint it? A good reason to always live below your means. But after all that isnt the American way, or so the story goes..we trudge on...

[Bill Kibbel]

Originally posted by hausdok

According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor, 21,000 people - more than all of 2006 - had been laid off in the housing industry between August 1st and August 23rd.

One has to wonder how many home inspectors who're in business today will still be around a year, two years, from now.

Comments anyone?

One also has to wonder how many laid off construction workers will try to become home inspectors.

[randynavarro]

My biz has hit the wall.

While digging and hanging as Kurt has suggested, my brain wheels are now officialy churning trying to think of other sources of income.

[hausdok]

Originally posted by inspecthistoric

Originally posted by hausdok

According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor, 21,000 people - more than all of 2006 - had been laid off in the housing industry between August 1st and August 23rd.

One has to wonder how many home inspectors who're in business today will still be around a year, two years, from now.

Comments anyone?

One also has to wonder how many laid off construction workers will try to become home inspectors.

Hi Bill,

Funny you should mention that. Just yesterday afternoon I was contacted by the state L & I about some fellow who they're trying to re-train into the home inspection business.

I told the lady that this was probably the absolute worst business for the guy to try to get into at this time, at which point she told me that she'd been hearing that from all of the inspectors she'd called. Then she proceeded to ask me all of her questions regardless, while reading from a script. It was clear from her questions that she doesn't really think that there's any "physical" aspect to what we do, and that he'll be ideally suited for it simply because he's been working in construction for years.

I wonder what part of, "One has to low-crawl through tight crawlspaces and attics a lot in this job. I was in the army nearly 21 years, spent a lot of time doing combat training, and I'd never low-crawled as much in all that time as I did in the first six months in this business. It literally kicks one's butt," she didn't understand.

It's pretty obvious that some poor sucker. who's recently been injured and is struggling, is probably going to find himself going down to ITA or something like it, and then will be jumping into this business. In six months he'll probably end up on welfare or will be one of the guys down at the intersection with the cardboard placard, because they'll tell him that they've spent all they intend to on his reeducation and he's on his own.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[SonOfSwamp]

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in assbackwards Nashville, there's a pretty strong push to send illegal immigrants back home. Such a push could count for a lot of "layoffs."

A buddy of mine who has a little home-improvement business tells that all of a sudden, he can't find any immigrant laborers to work.

As far as newbie HIs are concerned, TN is set up to turn any carnival roustabout or substance-abusing carpenter with a blown out knee into a home inspector.

If the RE lobby has its way (and it will) there'll soon be nothing left but bucketheads and ex-cons with jailhouse tattoos.

I figure that's when the building-consultant and EW business will perk up nicely.

WJ

[Scottpat]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

As far as newbie HIs are concerned, TN is set up to turn any carnival roustabout or substance-abusing carpenter with a blown out knee into a home inspector.

If the RE lobby has its way (and it will) there'll soon be nothing left but bucketheads and ex-cons with jailhouse tattoos.

I figure that's when the building-consultant and EW business will perk up nicely.

WJ

Now Walter, you know it's not all that simple to get a HI license in TN. Applicants need to have that high school diploma or a GED; then they need 80 hours of pre-license education; then they need to pay and pass the NHIE; then they need to pay $4,000 for E&O and GL insurance and then they can send in their application to the state, along with $500. The initial investment to become a home inspector in TN is around $6,000 to $8,000.

The kicker is the mandatory E&O coverage. After a year or paying this with hardly any inspections the new guy/gals get out of the business.

[John Dirks Jr]

I wonder how long before the illegal immigrants want to become HI's

".....no speak english....wall broke...you call me hombre...he fix...mow lawn too..."

The sad thing is, some of our states will probably invite them.

[SonOfSwamp]

Originally posted by Scottpat

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

As far as newbie HIs are concerned, TN is set up to turn any carnival roustabout or substance-abusing carpenter with a blown out knee into a home inspector.

If the RE lobby has its way (and it will) there'll soon be nothing left but bucketheads and ex-cons with jailhouse tattoos.

I figure that's when the building-consultant and EW business will perk up nicely.

WJ

Now Walter, you know it's not all that simple to get a HI license in TN. Applicants need to have that high school diploma or a GED; then they need 80 hours of pre-license education; then they need to pay and pass the NHIE; then they need to pay $4,000 for E&O and GL insurance and then they can send in their application to the state, along with $500. The initial investment to become a home inspector in TN is around $6,000 to $8,000.

The kicker is the mandatory E&O coverage. After a year or paying this with hardly any inspections the new guy/gals get out of the business.

Ah, optimism. Pardon my cynicism, but I think the RE lobby will make frequent "adjustments" to the existing laws, to ensure a steady stream of dumb, cheap and compliant HIs with E&O insurance. Whatever it takes to sell houses.

If they have to tweak the laws so cocker spaniels can do HI work, they will.

Wonder how many working TN HIs don't have E&) right now. You know that legally, they can't be compelled to disclose whether or not they have insurance, right?

WJ

[Brian G]

In a reversal of the norm I haven't witnessed in all my previous 45 years, my little postage stamp of America is thriving. Industry is moving in with good-paying jobs, which keeps the housing market spinning at a nice clip. I don't see anything more than an occasional lull in the next few years.

In my first few years I continued to do carpentry between inspections, so if/when things slow down, that's what I fall back on. Never, ever, sell the tools. Never.

My sympathies to my struggling brothers. Hang in there.

Brian G.

Riding the Wave [:-thumbu]

[John Dirks Jr]

Brian,

In your area I bet the cost of living is measurably cheaper that in many other areas of the country. Put that together with the fact that we are in the midst of the massive baby boomer retirement. Many of these people failed to save enough for retirement and need to find places where the cost of living is cheaper. This benefits areas like yours I bet.

Having said that, how about we all move down to your neck of the woods and start marketing?[:-idea]

[Les]

Here in beautiful Mid-Michigan the real estate listing and sales numbers are down 30-40%. Inspections drop even more, percentage wise. When real estate lags 20% or so, the home inspections drop like a rock.

I am married to a broker, so around our house we eat at least once a day. The dog has been staying at the neighbor's house. In truth, 2007 inspection sales revenue will be at the same level as 1991. I keep very good records and used to be able to tell an inspector that he would have xx inspections on any given week. For the past 15 months I can't even look them in the eye and predict anything!

I've done ok for the last 1 1/2yrs with just EW work and commercial stuff. Our office is one of the fortunate ones, as we have other small companies and everyone is cross-trained. Last week one inspector with 12yrs experience worked a termite monitoring system installation.

I think the Midwest is looking at another year or so of very slim pickings! 3600 repo's in the Detroit area in July!

Next week I am hitchhiking to Columbia Missori to do a little panhandling with some of my affluent brethern. Maybe Watts will give me a gift pack.

The curve for slow business is inverse to the number of inspectors. No business, lots of inspectors. There are inspectors working for $125.00 a pop!

I take my gelatin pills, keep my fingernails trimmed and ain't going nowhere.