Licensing and Insurance
HomeSmart Inspections LLC assures that all of our inspectors are properly licensed and insured. To safeguard the buyers, our brokers, and ourselves, we hold both general liability insurance and errors and omissions insurance.
Licensing & Insurance Requirements:
Home Inspector Licensure requirements for initial licensure in Florida are:
​Passing a state exam certified by the department. Completion of a 120-hour course study that has been approved by the department and covers the structure of a home, its electrical system, HVAC system, roof covering, plumbing system, interior and exterior components, and site circumstances that have an impact on the structure. Candidates must be of excellent moral character, submit an application, pay a fee, and submit to a criminal background check.
Home Inspectors must obtain a $300,000 commercial general liability insurance policy.
In order to renew their licenses, both active and inactive licensed professional home inspectors must complete 14 hours of continuing education credits. The continuing education must consist of 12 hours of general continuing education courses on topics related to home inspection services or home components, including a limited visual inspection of the following installed systems and components of a home that are easily accessible for the purpose of producing a written report on the condition of the home for:
1. The structure
2. Electrical system
3. HVAC system
4. Roof covering
5. Plumbing system
6. Interior components
7. Exterior components
8. Site conditions that affect the structure.
What's the difference between a Home Inspector and a Building Inspector?
Home inspectors conduct visual inspections of homes to provide a written expert assessment on the state of the home. Building inspectors deal with and ensure that homes and buildings adhere to building codes. Anyone representing oneself to the public as a house inspector will need a license because home inspection is its own profession. This will apply to contractors, architects, and engineers as well as building inspectors. All of these occupations are permitted to inspect a home's components within the bounds of their licenses, but they cannot use the title "home inspector" or otherwise identify themselves as such. They have distinct vocations but are comparable.