Why the Home Inspection Industry is Great for Veterans

Happy belated Veteran's Day everyone.

The holiday got me thinking about a recent Spectora Spotlight podcast episode with Howard Burch when he said the home inspection industry is a perfect fit for veterans.

The industry has newcomers from all walks of life, but at Spectora we do see a high success rate of veterans and those with services backgrounds.

Why Veterans Thrive in the Home Inspection Industry

It's Regimented 

I was never in the military but my father was. And I remember he was a disciplined, regimented man. Systems and processes were essential to getting predictable results.

He was driven by organization and by controlling what he could control.

To do home inspections, you must be regimented. Or your ROI will be negative. 

From your templates to your scheduling to your services & fees; if it's not buttoned up, you will drive yourself nuts. Vets typically don't have a problem with adhering to systems & processes.

Standards of Practice

In the military, standardization is everything. You can't be the strongest armed forces in the world without documentation and standards of practice.

This translates very well to SOPs (Standards of Practice) in the home inspection industry. There is a standard and you follow it to a tee, every single time.

Service Oriented

There is typically a deep sense of mission and purpose in those that served our country; the internal pride that one feels when they serve and deliver for others.

As you can guess, this translates extremely well to the home inspection industry.

At Spectora we like to say "You're in the customer service business. You just happen to inspect homes".

Many home inspectors that are veterans approach customer service as "the job is not done until you are satisfied and don't have any further questions". This tends to lead to 5-star Google Reviews and great word of mouth among Realtors.

Intensity

When you've endured what many in the services have had to endure, your fire just burns hotter. Veterans tend to know what hard work is and what discipline really means. 

They've trained harder and longer and mentally had to overcome more than the average middle-class worker.

This manifests in locking in on the goal and focusing longer and harder on it than their competition. Ways I've seen this play out:

• Reaching out to twice as many agents as others
• More resilience when an agent doesn't use them right away
• Higher energy and enthusiasm for the tasks at hand
• Willingness to invest quickly and deeply to get results
• They're less tentative and second guess themselves less, resulting in more vulnerability with agents and clients

Why Veterans Succeed as Home Inspectors

Diligence, organization, customer service, and intensity; these are all attributes that can be learned. You can will yourself to be this way. It just takes intentional effort and discipline toward your goals.

If you're a veteran, thank you for your service. We appreciate you!

*** Veterans on the path to becoming a home inspector: be sure to get reimbursed for the cost of taking the National Home Inspector Exam.