Florida home inspectors pass a rigorous exam, but you can be prepared.

When you’re ready for your home inspection license in Florida, you’ll probably want some time to prepare before taking the exam. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation approves the InterNACHI exam, which is a proctored test. It’s not easy, but passing it means you’re all set to move ahead.

Once you’ve completed your ACI School home inspection course requirements, here’s what you’ll need to know about taking your state license exam:

How to Schedule and Pay for the Exam

InterNACHI explains that the Florida exam is offered at 9 different locations throughout Florida. The first thing you’ll need to do is select a location that’s convenient, then choose an available date and time.

Scheduling in advance is important, as the locations might not accept walk-ins. The cost of the exam is $125, and you can pay using a credit or debit card. If you need to re-take the exam, you might need to pay an additional fee.

There’s a wealth of study material available online.

Which Subjects You Should Study

The exam covers numerous topics, including general home inspection, plumbing, safety, structure, insulation and ventilation, interior, exterior, roofing, electrical, ethics, and several others.

InterNACHI also suggests several other study resources. There’s the InterNACHI home inspector courses and their “Wood-Destroying Organism Inspection course, both of which members can access for free. And there’s also the Florida Code, which is free to everyone. You can even take a free practice exam here, but you’ll need to provide some information to receive logins.

Passing the licensing exam is an accomplishment worthy of pride.

Scoring is Tough, but Fair

Earning your Florida state home inspection license isn’t easy, but good preparation will help. There are 120 questions, which are selected at random, and you’ll have an hour to complete it. If you don’t pass the first time, InterNACHI explains that questions on the next exam that you take will be different.

You’ll need a score of 80% to pass, but it’s a little tougher than that. If any section results in half or fewer questions answered incorrectly, the exam automatically issues a failing grade. Another way the exam is difficult is the weight that’s given to certain questions that deal with safety or potential public harm. Those questions carry a stricter scoring penalty for incorrect answers.

Passing the exam is only part of the requirements for gaining your Florida state license. You’ll need to provide fingerprints, be of good character, and obtain professional insurance, says InterNACHI.

Report Form Pro 2 is smarter and easier to use. We listened to your feedback, added new features, and improved functionality. Here’s why this version is the one to have.

This is another popular carryover from the first gen Report Form Pro app. Report Form Pro 2 doesn’t need any equipment to finalize a report besides the mobile device in your hand. Some apps are part of a complicated suite of software installed on a laptop or desktop. To finalize and send a report, you have to plug in your device and sync it to the computer. With Report Form Pro 2, you can start a report, take photos, edit them, save it and send, all from one device.

Check out this preview and see how it works.

It’s so easy to customize the appearance of your report, you can do it in just a few clicks. Either upload your logo or take a picture of it using your device. Once it’s in the device library, click to add it to the report and you’ve got a custom look. Fill in your business contact information and the result is as sleek and professional as any home inspection report you’ve ever seen.

If you’re not the handiest with typing on a digital keyboard, we’ve got the solution. Voice-to-text lets you free up your hands and speak the details that you want to enter. Your device will convert to written words on the screen and the app enters them into the correct field.

Not all home defects are easy to spot in a photo. With Report Form Pro 2, you can markup photos to help your customer see exactly what and where a defect is located. Draw a circle, make a like or use a red arrow to point out what you want the customer to pay attention to.

Once the inspection is over, you’ve got a few options. Finalize the report and save it, then you can share, email or save it to the cloud. It only takes a couple of clicks to choose any of those options. If you want to print a hard copy later, you can do that, too.

Certified home inspectors need the best tools they can get. And that includes technology. Report Form Pro 2 was made by home inspectors for home inspectors. It has everything that you need to complete home inspection reports and nothing to bog you down. Check out the app for Android or get it for your iPad or iPhone.

You don’t have to live in a gym and measure your meals to improve your physical fitness. The fitter you are, the better you’ll feel and the easier your job will be. You’ll also be less likely to sustain injuries on the job and have more stamina to take on more work.

Here’s how moderate exercise could help you become a better home inspector.

Do you tend to crash around 3 p.m.? If so, you’re not alone. Coffee tends to wear off and whatever you had for lunch might be weighing heavily. If you were home, you might take a nap. On the job, that’s not an option.

Exercise helps improve your stamina and energy naturally and predictably. That means you need less coffee to stay on task and the afternoon lag won’t hit you quite as hard.

Getting a good night’s sleep is arguably one of the most important, healthy things that you can do for your mind and body. If you get plenty of exercise, you’ll probably sleep better instead of falling asleep late and crawling out of bed in the morning. Science says it’s true.

The National Sleep Foundation says there’s not enough evidence to claim that exercise always improves sleep for everyone. However, they go on to explain that in several studies, after a few weeks of regular, moderate exercise, people who had trouble getting enough sleep fell asleep faster, stayed asleep longer, and had better sleep quality.

The American Psychological Association (APA) can’t say enough good things about exercise. Michael Otto, Ph.D., who is a professor at Boston University, tells the APA that exercise improves mood in the short term and in the long term.

Otto also says exercise can help overcome anxiety. Men and women get different benefits from different levels of exercise. He says some research suggests that men gain more benefits from heavier physical exertion, and women benefit more from moderate exertion.

If you want to go to the top in medical authorities, it’s hard to beat Mayo Clinic. They make no bones about it; exercise can reduce stress. Here’s how they explain it.

The stronger and more sure-footed you are, the less likely you’ll be to trip and fall, lose your grip, or otherwise experience an injury. While exercise isn’t a foolproof way to prevent injuries, being healthier, more alert and stronger can only help. The Centers for Disease Control say that a brisk walk can reduce the risk of falling and it improves your ability to perform everyday tasks.

The caveat is that sports injuries are a very real thing. If you exercise too much or exercise in a way that’s not safe, you could sustain a different kind of injury, one that puts you out of commission while you recuperate.

According to the CDC, exercise wins again in disease prevention. It can’t keep colds and the flu at bay, but it can reduce your likelihood of developing some serious conditions.

They explain that exercise helps control body weight, which is a factor in disease prevention. If you get active and stay that way, your risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer decrease.

With all of that said, you should never take on any new exercise program before talking with your doctor. Chances are, you’ll get the green light. But a checkup and your doctor’s official word lets you know for sure.

Being physically fit improves life on many different levels. From a good night’s sleep to stamina during the day to a lower risk of serious disease, you’ve got plenty of reasons to give it a shot.

Not every home needs one, but for those that do, an expansion tank can prevent some frustrations, messes, and more than a few headaches.

An expansion tank gives excess water someplace to go when there’s no room inside the water heater and the supply lines are at capacity. In a closed plumbing system, this little device can help prevent some big headaches for the homeowner. Add this to your professional home inspection checklist and go the extra mile for your customers.

A closed plumbing system lets water in through the supply line and doesn’t let it back out except through drains and sewer lines. If you thought that described all plumbing systems, you’d be in good company.

What a lot of folks don’t realize is that water can sometimes move backward through a supply line. As water heats up, it expands. In a plumbing system that’s already full, water needs someplace to go, so it travels the path of least resistance.

A closed plumbing system prevents backflow from happening. A check valve installed on the supply line creates a one-way path for water to flow in. From there, it needs someplace else to go once it expands. Certified Home Inspector Reuben Saltzman writes for the American Society of Home Inspectors blog that in a home without a check valve, a pressure regulator can prevent backflow and create the same type of problem.

Knowing how a closed plumbing system and check valve function, you probably have a good idea about the job of an expansion tank. It’s a reservoir that’s on call to go into action as needed. When water heats up and expands, the excess flows into the tank. It is as simple as that.

Expansion tanks are commonly installed on the cold supply side at or near the water heater. But they might be anywhere, as pressure builds up throughout a closed system. Proximity to the appliance isn’t important.

Fast Water Heater Company says tanks perform best when installed “downstream of the shutoff valve.” Unlike what some expansion tank manufacturers say, the angle of the tank isn’t critical to its performance.

When water expands, the amount of pressure that builds up can be impressive. Think about every plumbing fitting, every connection, every joint and valve in the home. Each connection that’s glued, soldered, or clamped is a potential point of failure when the water pressure goes up.

One of the more common problems happens at the water heater. The pressure relief valve might leak, which is its job. If you spot water on the floor near the water heater, it might not be a defective tank, but a valve that’s protecting the system, if in a messy way.

Saltzman says homes that need an expansion tank might have other symptoms. With pressure built up in the line, toilets might randomly re-fill. Faucets might leak, as well.

An expansion tank isn’t vital, but if a home needs and doesn’t have one, it can create headaches for homeowners. A broken supply line is possible, but it’s not the most likely scenario. More often, the pressure relief valve at the water heater will leak and leave a mess.

When you’re developing your home inspection checklist, add expansion tanks to your plumbing inspection protocol. What you learn could save your customer hassles and some money down the line.

Not everything in a home inspection is in perfect condition.

One of the most unnerving things about performing a home inspection is the possibility of damaging someone else’s property. You’re there to create a report that explains the condition of the entire house, inside and out. But when you’re in someone else’s home, you never know what you might encounter.

So is there a specific protocol for handing a broken item? Not necessarily. But there is a professional ethic that guides you in the right course of action.

Here’s what you should do:

Realize that Things Will Break

The very purpose of a home inspection is to determine the condition and functionality of everything that’s inspected. Not everything will be in perfect condition, and sometimes things do break.

Occasionally, something will break while it’s being inspected. For example, the knob might pull off a cabinet door when you open or close it. Then sometimes, something that’s not related to the inspection will be broken or damaged. Maybe you’ll accidentally knock something off a shelf.

The important thing to remember is that while it’s practically inevitable that something at some time will break, it’s not common, and usually the item isn’t expensive. If you do break something during an inspection, you’re not alone and it probably won’t cost you a fortune in damages.

Your report should document everything, including an item that was broken during the inspection.

Put the Broken Item in Your Inspection Report

Bottom line, you are responsible for anything that you break, but that’s all within reason. And when something breaks, you’ll add it to your report. A good illustration of what’s considered “within reason” is given in a March 2014 question posted in Arizona’s Daily Courier.

A reader asked whether his inspector was liable for repairing a GFCI outlet that was working before the inspection, but not working afterward. The response explained that inspectors should be responsible for repairs for anything that’s broken. However, if something breaks during the normal inspection process, then that item was likely faulty to begin with.

Anything that breaks while you’re performing an inspection should go into your report, because you’ll want the documentation and so will the home owner. If you’re clearly at fault, then you should offer to pay for the broken item. But if the item was bound to break, as in the case of the outlet, then you’ll use your best judgment on whether to offer to pay.

Contact your customer about the breakage as soon as possible.

Be Honest with the Home Owner or Agent

Adding a broken item to your report is only part of the process. If the home owner or agent isn’t with you during the inspection, you’ll want to leave a note or make a phone call to explain what happened.

This part might be difficult, but it’s important and it speaks to your integrity. If the person who hired you returns to find a broken item, he’ll naturally wonder whether anything else is broken, how effective an inspection you are, and whether he can trust your work.

If you take the initiative and explain what happened, your integrity is intact. You might be asked to pay for the broken item, but again, most breakage during an inspection is relatively minor.

If you’re in the business long enough, something will eventually break on your watch. It’s happened to nearly every inspector, and it’s likely to happen to you. The good news is that by and large, the damage is minor.

The most important things are to document it, and then let the customer know right away. There’s no way to be a good inspector and never risk breaking something. But you can control how you handle it.