10 Things Home Inspectors Should Do to Prepare for 2025
With 2025 on the horizon, it’s time to prepare your home inspection business for success in the new year. This means getting ahead of the game in a few different ways – from reading up on real estate market predictions to completing Continuing Education, finding new referrals, and taking time to enjoy the slower season.
So, whether you’re finishing up your home inspector training or winding down your first year (or tenth!) in the business, here are 10 things you should do to prepare for a successful 2025.
1. Complete Home Inspection Training Ahead of the New Year
Are you currently training to become a home inspector? Or have you been thinking about jumping into a new career in home inspection? It’s the ideal time of year to make your move.
Complete home inspection training now and learn everything you need to know to launch your business in January. Start by checking your state license requirements and reviewing the steps to become a home inspector in your state.
In some states, you can complete home inspection training online in as little as three weeks. Consider taking a live training course as well. Field training helps you practice your skills at real homes with a knowledgeable mentor-instructor by your side.
Train now and you’ll be ready to hit the ground running for the busy spring selling season!
2. Finish Continuing Education and Work on Professional Development
If you’re already working as a home inspector, you may notice that business slows a little in the wintertime. This can be a welcome respite. It’s also a perfect opportunity to finish any Continuing Education (CE) your state requires.
You can also earn extra home inspection certifications and work on professional development courses you’ve been interested in. Pursuing both will help increase your income, differentiate your business services, and build the value you bring to clients in the new year.
When shopping for CE courses, be sure to check your state’s CE requirements for home inspectors to ensure you’re completing the CE hours you need to maintain your license. AHIT offers fresh, never-boring online courses and one-click state CE course packages in a range of topics to expand your skills.
3. Nurture Leads and Referral Sources with Holiday Greetings
The holidays are a great time to nurture your leads and referral partners, keeping your name and business top-of-mind for inspection work in the new year. Here are a few easy ways to connect with your contacts.
Send Holiday Greetings
Send holiday greetings to your existing contacts—including past clients you’ve helped, referral sources, and new client leads. This is not only a way to express your gratitude for past business and the connections you’ve made. It’s also a great way to keep your name top-of-mind for the next time someone needs a skilled home inspector.
Keep in mind that handwritten cards are especially effective over emails these days.
While real estate activity usually slows at the end of year, you can often find real estate agents working on their own real estate CE courses and professional development during the holidays. Use this as your opportunity to nurture and grow your relationships with local agents.
Consider doing the following:
- Drop Off Treats to Real Estate Offices. Visit real estate brokerages with holiday treats and business cards to help with word-of-mouth marketing.
- Schedule Meet-and-Greets. Schedule quick meet-and-greets with agents to make new contacts and meet future potential customers.
- Offer Agent Classes. Offer agents “Home Inspection 101” classes covering the home inspection process, what to expect, and how to guide clients through an inspection.
- Visit Open Houses. Visit all the open houses you can while you have the time. Introduce yourself to agents and let them know you’re ready to offer reliable inspection services to their clients when needed.
The holidays are a great time for home inspectors and real estate agents to network and build relationships that will fuel business in the new year.
4. Read Up on 2025 Real Estate Market Predictions
As a professional home inspector, your business is rooted in real estate. Therefore, it’s important to understand what’s happening in the real estate market and prepare for how it might affect your business in the new year. Be sure to dedicate time to read about 2025 real estate market predictions from various reputable sources.
For instance:
Bankrate’s housing market predictions for 2025 predict that:
- Mortgage rates will decrease slightly – albeit slowly – in 2025, driving more home sale activity.
- Rising home prices will continue in 2025, but at a slower pace.
- New housing inventory may come mostly from new construction.
- The housing market will be a seller’s market in most areas.
More home sales activity generally means more buyers will seek out the services of a skilled home inspector when purchasing a home. It also means more real estate agents will look to partner with a licensed home inspector who can serve their clients.
Browse housing market predictions from other sources such as the National Association of REALTORS®, Realtor.com, and Statista for the most updated info.
5. Create Your Marketing Plan for the New Year
If you’ve been in the home inspection business a while, think about your marketing efforts over the past year.
What strategies have worked? Which ones haven’t? What’s worth spending more time on, and what’s worth dropping? The slower holiday season is the opportune time to re-evaluate your strategies and business needs – and create a new marketing and business plan for the new year.
Explore the marketing strategies below while you have a little breathing room. Use these tips whether you’re a home inspection business owner or a brand new one just starting out.
- Work on Your Website. Create a home inspector website (or update your existing site) to put your best face forward when promoting your services. Read up on basic local SEO strategies for your site as well.
- Get Active on Social Media. Become active on the social media channel(s) of your choice (if you aren’t already). Create business pages and share content that promotes your services and builds your local following. Check out these evergreen social media tips for home inspectors!
- Lean Into Email Marketing. Brainstorm and create a seasonal email marketing campaign that promotes your services to your existing contacts.
- Set Up Online Business Profiles. Create local business profiles on Google My Business, Yelp, NextDoor, HomeAdvisor, and your local Better Business Bureau. These will help increase your business visibility locally and provide a way for clients to leave testimonials about your services.
- Look Into Print Advertising. Local print and direct mail advertising are still solid strategies that help get the word out for your growing business. Brainstorm and create new print marketing materials that can generate leads now and into the new year.
Learn more go-to marketing strategies for home inspectors.
6. Offer Pre-Inspections and Home Maintenance Inspections
Home inspections for homebuyers may slow during the holiday season. But that doesn’t mean your services are off the table. Many home inspectors turn toward offering pre-inspection services for sellers and home maintenance inspections for homeowners during slower months.
Pre-inspections offer valuable insight for sellers looking to sell their homes in the new year. Based on the results of the inspection report, sellers can make necessary updates and repairs around their home before listing it for sale in the spring.
Home maintenance inspections are just that—inspections that provide homeowners with insight into the ongoing maintenance needs of their home. As an expert on home systems and components, your knowledge is valuable to anyone who owns a home. You can guide clients through the major systems of their home and alert them to important seasonal home maintenance needs. You’ll also help clients identify dangerous issues they need to correct for their home safety.
Both of these offerings help you gradually build relationships with clients who may end up hiring you again and again for home inspection services.
7. Test Out New Home Inspector Tools and Technologies
When was the last time you upgraded your tool bag? Or maybe you’re just starting out and putting your home inspector toolkit together for the first time. Whatever the case, now is the ideal time to test out new home inspector tools and technologies and work out the kinks before inspections ramp up again.
Take a new tablet for a spin, try out a new home inspection software, test out a drone for roof inspections, or investigate the new thermal imaging camera you’ve been wanting. Now is also a great time to shop the holiday sales and save a little money on the tools of the trade.
Read about AHIT Instructor Chris Chirafisi’s favorite home inspection tools and get advice from AHIT Instructor Hank Sanders on choosing the most useful home inspector tools.
8. Renew Your Home Inspector License and Pay Association Dues
In states where home inspector licenses are required, license renewal fees often come due at the end of the year (or every few years). Likewise, if you’re a member of a home inspection association—such as the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors® (InterNACHI®)—you have annual dues.
The slower holiday months are the ideal time to take care of membership dues, inspection licensing renewal fees, and other administrative tasks before the busy season arrives. Read this blog to learn all about home inspector license renewal.
9. Review Your Errors and Omissions Insurance Policy
Every home inspector needs business insurance to protect themselves. It’s also important to review your business insurance policy annually to ensure you have the coverage you need.
Spend time reviewing your Errors and Omissions (E&O) and General Liability insurance policies. Consider your coverage, any claims you’ve had over the past year, and your premium fees. Should you increase coverage? Decrease it? You might also consider shopping around for rates from various insurance providers to ensure you’re getting the best coverage and value.
Now is also a great time to review everything you should know about E&O insurance for home inspectors.
10. Enjoy the Slower Season and Spend Time With Loved Ones
Of course, you can always use a healthy chunk (or even all!) of the slower home inspection season to spend more time with your loved ones. That’s a key advantage of this career, after all.
Home inspection is a highly flexible career with a schedule that can be managed on your terms. Be thankful for these slower months and use this time to reconnect with your loved ones. Rest up, have some fun, and restore your energy for a new year of success in your business.
Train With AHIT and Launch Your New Home Inspection Career in January
If you’ve been thinking about making a switch to home inspection, AHIT is here for you. Start AHIT home inspection training today. You have plenty of time to complete it and launch your new business in the new year!
About the Author: Ashley Roe
