So, You Want to be a Home Inspector in Nova Scotia?

I don’t get a whole lot of messages outside of potential clients looking for a home inspection, but when I do, a common theme is from prospective new home inspectors looking to get into the industry for the first time, usually as a mid-life career change. I always love talking about my journey and what led me to forming my own home inspection company. There is very little information online about how to become a home inspector and I am happy to answer any questions someone may have. Let me start by saying:

Being a Home Inspector is NOT Easy Money!
I have been asked occasionally what I think of my local competition. The answer is simple: my passion is helping homeowners have a safe and healthy place to live by offering high quality services at affordable (but not rock-bottom!) prices. However, if another local home inspector can better fill that need, they have my full support. My biggest pet peeve is when someone enters the industry looking to get rich quickly and tarnishes the reputation of the home inspection industry as whole by cutting corners and acting in a dishonest and/or unethical manner.

If there is one thing that I want to make crystal clear, it is that doing home inspections is NOT, in ANY way, a path to riches!  Like real estate agents, many people see that a home inspection costs an average of about $500 along with the relatively low barriers to entry and think they just found a cheat code to get rich. You could even substitute “Home Inspector with the phrase “Real Estate Agent” and not much would change. Let me say it again: this is not a path for the lazy to get rich quickly! While accurate data is hard to find, at least in Halifax, for home inspectors, based on data from the Nova Scotia Realtors Association and my own knowledge I would estimate the median income for a home inspector in 2023 was less than $5,000 a year!

There is a LOT of Potential Overhead
I give anyone who wants to become a home inspector a simple piece of homework: get a quote for E&O (errors and omissions) insurance in Canada while asking them what they think would be a reasonable quote for a year of coverage. The answers are always the same: $500 a year is a reasonable expectation. E&O insurance for even a part time home inspector (in other words almost all home inspectors due to the fluctuating nature of the industry) runs about $6,000-$7,000 annually, paid 100% in advance. We are presently about 400-500% more expensive than our American counterparts and that’s not getting into the high deductibles and many exclusions!

I tend to believe that many home inspectors spend more than they need on equipment. However, the fact remains that to perform a quality inspection you need a lot of expensive equipment. I would estimate all my equipment is about $6000 and that is on the low end. Thermal cameras, drone and sewer scopes are very expensive pieces of gear and while not required, are essential to complete a thorough assessment.

I also haven't gotten into the education and opportunity costs: sure, you can start a home inspection company without taking any formal education or training but that is a quick way to go out of business, fast. There is a lot of diverse knowledge required to be successful and it requires a combination of studying and hands on experience. 

The Fail Rate is Sky High in This Industry
If you research the various home inspection schools, you will see grandiose claims about how you can “make $100,000!” The simple fact is that most students in both Canada and the United States who start a training program do not complete it, and very few last more than 2 years let alone hit six figures at any point.

Too abstract? I did the homework for you and here is some sobering data for those who think they have what it takes to beat the odds and strike it rich: in the 2-year period around when we launched in 2021 (1 year before, 1 year after), there were a total of 33 other home inspection businesses registered and launched in Nova Scotia. As of my writing (May 2024), only 6 (yes, SIX) are still in operation. In other words, only 18% made it to 3 years.
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A Final (Positive) Note
I chose to become a home inspector because I am a)really skilled at doing quality inspections and b)extremely passionate about what I do, not because it is the way of making the highest income possible. The freedom of being an entrepreneur makes up for the hard work and long hours, especially when I genuinely enjoy working in the industry. Providing relief to a worried homebuyer or information to someone nervous about the largest financial decision of their life provides a deep sense of satisfaction.

I highly recommend you do your own research before going down the road to becoming a home inspector to make sure you are aware it isn't all sunshine and roses all the time. The simple fact is that flashy advertisements for home inspection training programs never even hint making a $100,000 income requires a lot of hard work, sacrifice and even a good bit of luck. 

If you only want lots of these, think of another career path!