£6,750 + VAT to be a Home Inspector - Good Value?
The Housing Act passed in 2004 paved the way for the introduction of compulsory Home Information Packs. These will be required for all houses coming onto the market from June 2007.
The current estimated cost of the pack is reported to be in the region of £1,000.
Part of each pack will be a Home Inspection Report carried out by a Certified Home Inspector. Now even if you are a fully qualified RICS Structural Surveyor you still need to undertake a new exam and qualification to become a Home Inspector.
However there will not be enough Inspectors coming through this route so anyone else who feels attracted to this work can train and qualify.
The cost of such training is running at £6,750 + VAT. Is this good value and are you going to be equipping yourself for an interesting and worthwhile career change?
Well the estimated fee that Inspectors will charge is £300 and you should be able to carry out 2 inspections per day. So if you are fully employed on a self-employed basis then £600 per day, 5 days a week and say 45 weeks per annum gives a gross income of £135,000.
That looks great, so where do you sign up? However a slight pause would be a good idea. There will be costs to be deducted from your gross income and you cannot fully estimate these at the moment.
The costs of course will include transport to and from each property, equipment needed for each inspection, laptop computer etc. On top of this you will have to pay a fee on each inspection for the use of the proprietary software used to compile and submit the report onto the central database where it will be stored.
Annual costs will include your registration fee to be a member of a suitable self-certification organisation and a not inconsiderable insurance premium for professional indemnity cover.
The next matter that you might like to consider before committing to the training is just how long will this job be in existence. If you are already a surveyor this will not be a matter of concern since if the role disappears then you just fall back on your current qualification and carry on as before. However a new entrant will be left with a useless qualification that is not recognised for any other job.
So, how long will it last? There have been mutterings about the cost and inconvenience about this from the start but most of the policy makers and a number of organisations involved in house selling have been in favour. No doubt there has been an expectation that there will be more money to be made.
However now, even before the whole thing has kicked off, there are significant forces lining up against the scheme. The most important of these is the Conservative Party.
Where does this leave you? Well in a worst case the next general election will take place in 2009 and if the Conservatives get in they may repeal or amend this part of the Act at any time.
This means that your training will have given you a good income for 2 to 3 years, you won’t have been stuck in an office every day and you will have met a lot of new people. If that is worthwhile then you should have a go, but if you are looking for a secure new role away from the office then plumbing looks a much better bet. No amount of legislation will do away with the need for a water supply to and drainage from each house.
Stay tuned to Property Development Fortunes...
The current estimated cost of the pack is reported to be in the region of £1,000.
Part of each pack will be a Home Inspection Report carried out by a Certified Home Inspector. Now even if you are a fully qualified RICS Structural Surveyor you still need to undertake a new exam and qualification to become a Home Inspector.
However there will not be enough Inspectors coming through this route so anyone else who feels attracted to this work can train and qualify.
The cost of such training is running at £6,750 + VAT. Is this good value and are you going to be equipping yourself for an interesting and worthwhile career change?
Well the estimated fee that Inspectors will charge is £300 and you should be able to carry out 2 inspections per day. So if you are fully employed on a self-employed basis then £600 per day, 5 days a week and say 45 weeks per annum gives a gross income of £135,000.
That looks great, so where do you sign up? However a slight pause would be a good idea. There will be costs to be deducted from your gross income and you cannot fully estimate these at the moment.
The costs of course will include transport to and from each property, equipment needed for each inspection, laptop computer etc. On top of this you will have to pay a fee on each inspection for the use of the proprietary software used to compile and submit the report onto the central database where it will be stored.
Annual costs will include your registration fee to be a member of a suitable self-certification organisation and a not inconsiderable insurance premium for professional indemnity cover.
The next matter that you might like to consider before committing to the training is just how long will this job be in existence. If you are already a surveyor this will not be a matter of concern since if the role disappears then you just fall back on your current qualification and carry on as before. However a new entrant will be left with a useless qualification that is not recognised for any other job.
So, how long will it last? There have been mutterings about the cost and inconvenience about this from the start but most of the policy makers and a number of organisations involved in house selling have been in favour. No doubt there has been an expectation that there will be more money to be made.
However now, even before the whole thing has kicked off, there are significant forces lining up against the scheme. The most important of these is the Conservative Party.
Where does this leave you? Well in a worst case the next general election will take place in 2009 and if the Conservatives get in they may repeal or amend this part of the Act at any time.
This means that your training will have given you a good income for 2 to 3 years, you won’t have been stuck in an office every day and you will have met a lot of new people. If that is worthwhile then you should have a go, but if you are looking for a secure new role away from the office then plumbing looks a much better bet. No amount of legislation will do away with the need for a water supply to and drainage from each house.
Stay tuned to Property Development Fortunes...
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