The U.S has a few national home inspector associations, lots of state and local chapters, plus independent state-level associations. Each one of them has something important to offer, whether you’re brand new to home inspecting or a seasoned professional.

There’s the camaraderie, of course, and also the chance to give something back. Members gain a lot in exchange for dues. When you actively participate in an association, you help support excellence in the industry in several different ways, and that benefits everyone.

Here’s what you can expect to get from the experience:

Home inspecting is rather solitary work. Even if you work for a home inspecting company or have employees of your own, most inspectors work solo. When you join one of the national or state-level home inspector associations, you’ll meet other people with whom you have something in common. That’s hard to come by in this line of work.

Associations usually have local meetings at regular intervals. And then once a year, many of them have a state- or national-level conference that you can attend.

Continuing education is part of the job, at least for most home inspectors. Some states don’t require it, but many do. And most home inspecting associations both require it and give you opportunities to get it. Sometimes CE courses are available through an association’s website. And some come as one-time opportunities at an association meeting or convention.

However you approach it, the group that you join should help foster professional growth through ongoing education year after year. You can help others by offering your own expertise and volunteering at meetings and conferences, and you might even hold an association office one day.

News travels slowly when you mostly work alone. When something new is happening in the industry, you can count on your home inspector association to update you about it. Most of them publish magazines, newsletters and send emails to members. They’re your lifeline to an industry that’s much larger than just your company.

Industry news keeps you on top of new materials, newly-discovered defects and hazards, and even new educational opportunities. Information is always a good thing.

Once again, the solitary nature of working in the home inspecting industry means that you don’t really have peers, at least not close by. Through attending association meetings, you’ll find many other home inspectors in your area, and some of them may become valued friends, colleagues or both.

When you associate with other inspectors, you learn a lot more about your own business. You might find a better way to perform part of your job, discover a new tool that everyone else is using, and have friends you can call if you run into a difficult situation in an inspection.

Beyond the backyard of your neighborhood or even your city, associations help you network with other industry professionals such as specialty inspectors and real estate agents. This typically happens at conferences or conventions, where everyone is more relaxed.

The value of networking can’t be overstated. Building a home inspector’s business means meeting the right people. Nowhere will you find more folks with a vested interest in your industry than at a home inspection association meeting.

Local, state and national home inspection associations are all a bit different from each other, but also largely the same. It’s all about creating a large, diverse and informed network of men and women who otherwise rarely have a chance to meet and interact with each other.

Joining an association is always a good idea. There are several from which you can choose, and each has a slightly different personality. You don’t have to attend every meeting or conference. Just belonging and having access to a larger network can benefit you in many ways.

The real estate industry can be a bit polarized at times where home inspectors are concerned. Everyone expects you to do a thorough job. But if there are severe defects and the customer balks on the sale, all eyes are on you. On the other hand, what if your inspection gives the buyer confidence to move forward?

A lot hinges on a home inspection. A great one can support a sale and a bad one might not. But either way, facts are what’s important. Home inspections really can affect the sale of a house. And that’s not a bad thing.

A home is probably the biggest purchase that your client will make. It’s financed for years, which means there’s an enormous commitment involved. Chances are, they’d make no other major purchase without kicking the tires, so to speak. And the same should apply to the house where they’ll live for at least the next few years.

Good, bad or somewhere in the middle, home inspections give your clients answers. And in many cases, if not most, those answers aren’t obvious on a basic walk-through. Inspections are a service that leads to informed decision making. That affects the sale, but that’s also the whole point.

Buyers and sellers, alike, wait on pins and needles for the inspection report to come through. Thing is, every house has at least some defects. And even big ones don’t spell the end of a deal. Affecting a sale and killing a sale are two different things.

Defects can give buyers a little bargaining power. The seller might reduce the price or offer to foot the bill for repairs. So instead of rendering the deal dead in the water, it could actually support it, just with a few tweaks. The same defects would emerge, no matter who the buyer happened to be. If the seller works with the buyer at hand, the whole process won’t have to begin again from scratch with a new one.

With all of the focus on defects, one important possibility gets overlooked. What if the house is in terrific condition? There’s no denying the weight of the inspection report. Inspection anxiety is why it’s so important to get the report in the hands of the customer as quickly as possible. With good news, everyone can take a breath and relax a little.

A glowing report on the house in question makes buyer, seller, and the real estate agents happy. The lender has less to worry about and so does everyone else with an interest in the sale. So while there will likely be defects, since all homes have a few, they might be so minor as to barely register on the worry-o-meter.

Home inspectors might take a lot of heat for bearing bad news, but that’s a short-sighted view of your work. A house can’t really pass or fail, it can only reveal its true self. And your job isn’t to alter or persuade, it’s only to report on what you find. Sometimes a shift in perspective is all that’s necessary to give everyone a much-needed break.

A home inspector’s services go beyond checking out home systems and filling out a report. The better the report and the faster you can send it, the more time your customers will have to make the right decision. Home Inspection Report can help with that.

Home inspections cover plumbing and fireplaces, but in-depth scans can reveal more elusive problems. They’re typically carried out by specialists in those areas. You can train to become a sewer expert and chimney sweep and expand your business. Or you can recommend experts to your clients. Either way, no home inspection is really complete until some of the most expensive and dangerous problems in vulnerable systems are either spotted or ruled out.

Here are three reasons why you should always recommend these scans to your clients.

Where there’s a sewer line, chances are sooner or later there’ll be a tree root. That’s the nature of how roots grow. They’re attracted to moisture, and many sewer lines have at least a tiny leak. That’s all it takes to send roots on a direct and destructive path to the line.

Instead of growing around a sewer line obstacle, tree roots often work their way into seams or create brand new breaks on their own. While a tree root doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole line needs replacement, ignoring the problem often leads to that end. It can be remedied, at least in many cases, if it’s caught early. If not, the homeowner will eventually face a major, costly repair.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends a chimney scan every time a house changes ownership. Where a break in a sewer line is an expensive problem to repair, chimney defects can put your home and family at risk.

A level 2 chimney inspection susses out degraded mortar, creosote buildup, damaged brick, a damaged chimney liner and more. It’s recommended for every type of solid fuel burning appliance, says Structure Tech inspections in Minnesota. Recommend that your clients use a “certified chimney sweep” to ensure they’re getting an expert’s assessment.

The older the home, the more likely it is to have a major blockage or break in the sewer line. And the same applies to a chimney. Time and continued use over the years often lead to a breakdown in the fabrication and materials of both types of systems. But what some homeowners don’t realize is that a new home isn’t immune.

Some brand new sewer lines and chimneys are built with defects. Sometimes the materials are faulty or the whole system falls prey to an outside force. For example, a tree root that’s nearby might make its way into a brand new sewer line over the course of a year. And the longer the line exists, the more time there is for infiltration. New is safer, but no system is too new to have damage.

Many homeowners enter into a home inspection with the belief that once it’s done, every defect will be accounted for. But you know the limitations of your work and can help educate consumers about important additional measures.

As part of the Home Inspection Report software, you get a pre-inspection agreement. That’s one way to inform clients about what to expect from a home inspection. Take the additional step and recommend sewer and chimney scans, and your clients will have a better overall picture of their risk and the condition of the property.

Of course, home inspectors inspect what’s visible and accessible. And some crawlspaces are unsafe for anyone besides a mouse. But what’s lurking inside could cause the customer problems down the road.

Older homes might have a low crawl space that’s so shallow you can’t fit inside. Some might have obstacles that block access. And some might have clear issues, such as flooding, that you’re not required to brave.

Chances are, you’ll one day encounter a tiny crawl space that you can’t inspect as you normally would. But you still have a duty of care to report as best you can. Here’s how to handle those cases and what you might find if you try a different route.

The main access to the crawlspace might be so small that you can’t fit through. The homeowner might have inadvertently closed off or locked the access. Or maybe heavy rains have created a swimming pool under the house. Regardless of why you can’t access the space, you might still find ways to take a look and report back to the customer.

One type of access is the foundation vent. In some homes, ventilation points are wide enough to shine a flashlight through. If the flashlight isn’t enough, maybe a camera will help. Most digital cameras have a zoom feature that lets you see deeper into the space. And that could let you check for (and photograph) at least some defects.

The key is trying to inspect the crawl space. Although you’re not required to attempt shimmying through a 14-inch access, you should make a reasonable attempt to inspect from the outside. ASHI Reporter says inspectors who don’t try alternative measures could, at least in some cases, be liable for report omissions.

If a defect is possible in a wide-open crawl space, it’s possible in one that you can’t inspect up close. The area might be tiny, but it’s not safe to assume that doesn’t have the usual home systems running through it. Here’s what can hide between joists and behind pillars:

The list could go on. Just remember if it’s possible in a full crawl space, it’s possible in a tiny one. And for every system that you can’t inspect up close, there’s the possibility of a defect.

If there’s no way to gain entry and no way to look inside, customers should be alerted to the situation. That way, you’ll cover your liability bases and they can consider hiring a specialist with tools such as a mini remote-controlled rover with a camera or a long camera scope.

Like it or not, the crawl space is part of a complete home inspection. At least if it’s accessible and doesn’t pose any obvious hazards. But if there’s no way to gain access, most inspectors still try to have a look, even if it’s through a foundation vent at a distance. When you go the extra mile, your customers get an inspection report that’s as complete as possible.

Testimonials are almost as good as a one-on-one referral. And there’s no better time than now to start building up your comment base.

According to a 2012 study by Search Engine Land, the majority of responders said they believe online reviews are trustworthy. Of them, over half said reviews drive them to local businesses. That’s an impressive number.

So if you want to get in on the testimonial action for your home inspection business, here are 4 pointers that work.

Grumpy customers are more likely to go out of their way to leave a review. But happy customers tend to leave testimonials and positive reviews if the process is easy. That’s why you should take advantage of every possible channel for promotion.

Social media is a great platform for testimonials. It takes very little time, and your customers are probably already there. KISS Metrics says you should list your home inspection business with local search directories, too.

For example, Yelp and Google Places reviews pop up when new customers search for home inspectors in your area. Some of them are connected, too. That means reviews at one local search platform can show up in the results for another platform.

No, we aren’t talking about paying for good reviews. But rewarding customers for their time, not for a positive review, is rarely a bad idea.

Fast food chains offer incentives for leaving reviews. So do some retail stores. So it stands to reason that your customers will take a few minutes to leave a testimonial if you make it worth their while.

You could offer coupons, or host a giveaway where every reviewer is automatically entered in a contest for a prize such as a gift card. Just remember that the reward is for taking the time to review, not for leaving a glowing report.

In every life, some rain must fall. Bad reviews happen to the best of home inspectors. What’s important is how you handle them. Conflict resolution can build public trust and solidify your company’s good reputation.

Some businesses ignore bad reviews. But American Express Open Forum says that’s a bad strategy. It’s also a missed opportunity to build goodwill.

Probably the best way to inspire more home inspector testimonials is to be a great home inspector. When customers get what they pay for, they’re more likely to be happy. When they get more than they expected, they might be thrilled.

Be punctual. Send the home inspection report as soon as possible. Use great images. Make yourself available for phone calls or emails. Invite the customer to the home inspection.

The importance of professionalism and dependability can’t be overstated. In the home buying process, your inspection could be one of the few pleasant spots.

Most of your customers are probably up to their ears in paperwork, not to mention all of the goings on of daily life. It’s easy to get too busy to remember the little things. So if you want more testimonials, don’t forget the most obvious way to get them: ask.

If you want more testimonials, be the home inspector that you’d want to hire. Provide a great service and work on building your company brand.