How to start a home inspection business.

Get licensed first.

If your state licenses inspectors, the license comes first. Licensing rules vary by state and change over time. In states that license inspectors, you can't legally do paid inspections without one. If you are still working through licensing, the how-to-become-a-home-inspector guide covers the pre-license path in detail.

Once you have your license, keep the number handy. It goes on your reports, on the pre-inspection agreement, on your website footer, and on your insurance application.

Set up the business entity.

Most solo inspectors use a single-member LLC. It is easy to run, and the cost depends on your state. Steps:

1. Register the LLC with your state's Secretary of State. Most states charge a filing fee, and some add an annual fee or tax (California's is $800 a year).
2. Get an EIN from the IRS. Free, instant, and required for a business bank account.
3. Open a business bank account and a credit card. Do not commingle. It causes accounting problems later and can weaken the separation the LLC is meant to give you.
4. Register for state and local taxes as required. In many states, service businesses do not collect sales tax on inspections, but check your state's rules.
5. Talk to a CPA once a year. On the first conversation, ask about S-corp election, quarterly estimated taxes, and vehicle deductions.

An LLC can help keep business debts separate from your personal assets, but it generally does not protect you personally from claims over your own mistakes on an inspection. That is what E&O insurance is for. Ask a local attorney how it works in your state.

Insurance you actually need.

Two policies are standard for home inspectors:

• Errors-and-omissions (E&O) insurance covers your professional judgment. If a buyer claims you missed a defect, this is the policy that responds. About a third of states require it, and many agents and clients expect it. Premiums for a solo inspector often run $800 to $2,000 a year; ask your insurance agent what limits your state and clients expect.
• General liability (GL) insurance covers physical damage or injury on the job site. Someone trips over your ladder, you knock a lamp off a table, that is GL. Typical premiums are $500 to $1,200 per year for solo inspectors.

Together, expect about $1,300 to $3,200 a year for E&O and general liability.

Some inspectors also add commercial auto if they buy a business vehicle. That is a conversation for your insurance agent. Bundled E&O + GL policies through InterNACHI or ASHI are often the fastest way to a working policy on day one.

Tools and software.

Tools.

A working solo kit for a general inspection:

• Flashlight (headlamp plus a good handheld).
• Ladder rated for the roof heights you will inspect (typically a telescoping 15 to 17 foot).
• Moisture meter (pin and non-invasive).
• Receptacle tester with a GFCI trip button.
• Voltage tester and a screwdriver set that fits every panel dead front you will encounter.
• Infrared thermometer or basic thermal imager.
• Gas leak detector.
• PPE: N95, safety glasses, gloves, coveralls for crawlspaces.
• Boots you can trust on a wet roof, and a change of clothes for the truck.

Expect $500 to $2,000 for the starter kit. Do not overbuy in month one. Upgrade after you have run 25 inspections and can see what you actually reach for.

Software.

Inspection software handles the report, mobile field work, scheduling, agreements, payments, contacts, and your website. On the major paid platforms that runs $1,068 to $1,308 a year for one inspector's core plan, before add-ons, plus about $300 to $700 a year for a website, plus setup fees. That does not need to be a fixed cost of the business. HomeInspector.com is free, with unlimited reports and inspections, iOS and Android field apps, agreements, payments, and a custom website builder included. Compare the platforms.

Price your services.

A working method for setting your first prices:

1. Find your local floor and ceiling. Look at three or four established inspectors' public websites in your service area. Note their general inspection prices and the size or age tiers.
2. Set your general inspection at the middle of the range. Not the top, not the bottom. You are new and unproven, but you are not free.
3. Price specialty services separately. Radon, sewer scope, four-point, wind mitigation, mold, pool and spa, eleven-month warranty. Most add $75 to $300 per service.
4. Do not open with a launch discount that becomes permanent. "First fifty inspections at $50 off" is fine. "Always $50 off" is how businesses die slowly.

The home inspector salary guide shows how price times volume interacts with overhead. Read it if you have not.

Get the first paying clients.

In the first ninety days, focus is worth more than a big marketing budget:

• Meet five to ten local real-estate agents in person. Ideally through a warm introduction. Bring one page: services, service area, turnaround time, and how you handle repair-request workflow. Ask what they wish their current inspector did better.
• Publish a real website. Home page, services and pricing, service area, sample report, contact form, and online booking. Agents and consumers both check before they call.
• Set up Google Business Profile. Add photos, ask your first satisfied clients for reviews, respond to every review politely. Local SEO does more for a new inspector than any paid ad campaign.
• Discounted friends-and-family inspections. Five to ten of these build your report library, your review count, and your confidence. Deliver the same quality of report you will deliver to a $500 paying client.

Grow past the first year.

Once you are running 4 to 6 inspections a week reliably, your priorities change. In rough order:

1. Cut recurring costs before growing revenue. Every $1,000 you save in software is a direct raise. Every $2,000 in insurance you overpay for is one less specialty service you have to add.
2. Add specialty services with real local demand. Not all of them make sense in every market. Ask the agents you have already met which specialty services they order the most.
3. Deepen your top five agent relationships. Weekly touchpoints, quick turnaround, polite conflict handling, and a steady report. Repeat referrals compound.
4. Only then, hire. A second inspector paid a split of the fee (often around half; it varies) adds a whole revenue stream. An office manager is pure overhead until you have enough volume to keep them busy.
5. Consider optional paid work when it fits your schedule. In select pilot markets, collect a floor plan and additional property data while you are already on-site ($25 per eligible scan). Participation is optional. Your inspection report is not shared with lenders.

If you are considering switching from a paid platform later, read the switching guide so you protect a running business through the migration.