National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) — Practice Exam
Professional: practice questions
Our Home Inspector (NHIE) bank has 36 questions on this topic. Here are 5 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.
Question 1
Can an inspector accept payment from the seller for a buyer's inspection without disclosure?
- Only for condos
- No; any third-party payment should be disclosed to and agreed by the client
- Yes, always, as long as the payment is under a set amount
- Only if under $100
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B. No; any third-party payment should be disclosed to and agreed by the client — Third-party financial interest is a listed conflict.
Question 2
Who is the inspector's client?
- The real estate agent who referred the inspector to the buyer
- The person who hires the inspector and signs the agreement, usually the buyer
- The lender
- The seller
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B. The person who hires the inspector and signs the agreement, usually the buyer — Inspectors owe duties to their client.
Question 3
What should an inspector do if they lack expertise for an unusual system, such as a geothermal heat pump?
- Leave it out without comment
- Say it works
- Inspect within their skill, state the limits and refer to a specialist
- Pretend expertise, or leave the system out without comment
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C. Inspect within their skill, state the limits and refer to a specialist — Quality and integrity of the inspection process.
Question 4
Why must inspectors know their state's licensing rules?
- They don't apply to inspectors who belong to a national association
- Only for commercial work
- They only set fees
- States set required standards, reporting duties and contract terms that override general practice
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D. States set required standards, reporting duties and contract terms that override general practice — Jurisdictional requirements are an element of contracts.
Question 5
What does the NHIE note about building codes?
- Inspectors must cite the code section that applies to every defect found
- Only commercial codes matter
- Inspectors must cite code sections for every defect
- Inspectors generally don't report code violations but are expected to know basic code parameters
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D. Inspectors generally don't report code violations but are expected to know basic code parameters — From the NHIE references note on building codes.