Home inspection franchise businesses have become increasingly popular, due to their massive growth potential.

That's due to the fact that home inspections - once quite rare - happen in more and more real estate transactions every year. The fact is, almost all realtors (99% according to a National Realtor Association Study) recommend a home inspection to their buyers! According to US GEO, "94% of buyers are likely to get a home inspection for future purchases."

That's an tremendous number of home inspections! Also, that's a great deal of income potential foranyone considering an investment into a home inspection franchise.

What's also good news is that, nowadays, buyers as well as sellers realize the benefits of a home inspection. Buyers realize that it protects their investment. Home sellers realize that pre-listing inspections eliminate deal breaking surprises, and are shown to sell homes faster and for higher prices. Without the need to convince customers to get a home inspection, many inspectors are enjoying greater success and opportunity.

The question is: what makes a great home inspection franchise? Here are a few important things that separate the best opportunities from the rest..

A Powerful Competitive Advantage:

In many places, home inspectors are everywhere, so to be really successful, an inspector needs to have a competitive advantage over other options. A great home inspection franchise will provide this competitive advantage right off the bat. Things like advanced inspector certifications, the comprehensiveness of the service, and powerful, marketable guarantees can really win over customers. Some inspections sell themselves over competing options - most do not.

A Turnkey Marketing Plan:

When you choose your franchise, check to make sure that they have a turnkey marketing plan. Nothing is worse than buying a franchise and finding out that there lacking marketing help, collateral, tools, or a proven plan to win new and repeat clients. The franchise YOU choose should provide this turnkey plan to you, including proven marketing pieces, promos, websites, and much more.

Experience and Reputation

Just because a company is looking for franchisees, doesn't mean they've got a business worth buying. Make sure the company you're considering has stood the test of time and is highly regarded in the marketplace. Be mindful of who launched the company and the reputation they have in the industry.

Realtor Focus

Real estate agents are in a unique position to refer home inspectors a LOT of clients. Is this franchise you're considering taking this into account? Do they have a marketing plan for generating consistent referrals from real estate agents in your location? You'll find that success comes much easier if they do.

Exclusive Territory

Nothing is worse than investing in a franchise and finding out that there is a second (or more!) business owner going after clients in your territory! A company that truly values its franchisees will give you an exclusive territory where you can grow without fear of company competition. This is extremely important!

Quotas

A lot of franchises charge what's called a "sliding scale royalty fee" charged on their franchisees' weekly sales, typically in the range of 6 and 9 percent (this is pretty much "taxing" success) not to mention co-op advertising fees of 1-3 percent. In additionto that, many franchises demand a monthly minimum or "quota" that needs to be reached.

Policies like these bring undue strain on the business owner -- and regardless, it's difficult to understand how penalizing your business owners (making them pay more as their sales grow) is fair. Make sure that you understand and agree with the quotas and fees your home inspection franchise plans to charge you. Or better yet, decide on a company that doesn't charge quotas at all… and that charges only a flat fee!