40-60% Ignore PA HI Law, per BBB

I suppose if the consumers really felt that they needed the protection…they would care about the law.

Someone send this guy a brochure about the real world. Where did he get these high prices from?

OK…who is the Pennsylvania Home Inspectors Council? This is a new one on me.

Is this guy crazy? He needs to find a better insurance agent. Someone is ripping him off for his CE credits. Wow! What a load!

Change “council” to “coalition”, and you have your answer.

Here’s their website

Scott,
I don’t see you listed on as a compliant inspector :shock: :shock: :shock:

http://www.nachi.org/byebyephic.htm

Good point, Jim. But can’t the same be said for tradesmen?

In Illinois, only Plumbers and roofers are state licensed, and GCs can get a local “license” with no testing.

And, I always tell my clients to hire licensed and insured professionals.

But many don’t.

You are involation of state law if you do roofing or plumbing without a state license, but many do. The reason? People hire the unlicensed guys because they are cheaper.

Human nature. Don’t do your homework and your own due dilegence, and you (usually) get screwed.

Then, rather than admit your own mistake, you cry to government to fix the problem that you caused your own self.

Then, the taxpayers, in general wind up footing the bill.

The HI laws are not initiated by or lobbied for by consumers or their lobbying groups.

ALL HI laws are the product of either product vendors creating a market for their wares…or inspectors looking to restrict their competition. All…as in…every single law passed or being considered, falls under one of these two categories.

So…when they go to the press and try to get more than a yawn from the public, they should not be surprised. Consumers are smart enough to know when they are being served…and when they are being exploited.

I sure meet a lot consumers who get screwed. Most hire an inspector
because they do NOT know how to do it themselves.

At least the consumer can prosecute the bad inspector here.

Little by little, they are being weeded out by higher standards and prosecution.

All consumers in all states…HI law or not…have the courts to support them in matters regarding home inspectors. If HI laws do anything, they restrict…not enhance…a consumer’s litigation rights in these matters.

[quote=jbushart]

ALL HI laws are the product of either product vendors creating a market for their wares…or inspectors looking to restrict their competition. All…as in…every single law passed or being considered, falls under one of these two categories.
quote]

Do not forget groups that want to shift liability away from themselves, and lawyers that will make money by the shift.

Or, as in Illinois, consumers were complaining to the state government, and their local state legislators, that their homes (some new construction, some existing) had big problems with them that were found out only after they closed. Also, complaints about shoody workmanship in remodeling and additions.

So, the legislators approaced the appraisers, looking to license them for apprasials and inspections. But the appraisers didn’t want to have anything to do with it.

So, they approached ASHI, at the same time ASHI was doing branding and approaching them.

And, they worked out a pretty good law.

But, the legislators recognised the “association wars” problem and made sure that there would be no particular association advantage in the law. The first 2 years, all ASHI with one NAHI guy on the state board, but the Director made the board “advisory only”. Once the guys who were the idiots found out that they could not get an advantage, they left the board. Then, the honest, multiple association guys got on the board and they started to make good changes for every inspector.

Then, we got Gov. Blaggo. He raided all the state funds for his universal health insurance scheme and to pay back his patrons.

So, we have a little setback, but all in all, people get good inspections, the bad inspectors get disciplined and things are getting better.

Hope this helps;

If a home owner in a non-licensed state has problems, they have to hire a lawyer and sue the inspector, at their own expense.

If a home owner, in a licensed state, has problems, they can just file a complaint with the state and get relief. They can also, after the state does its thing, go after the inspector on their own.

Licensing, done right, does help (at least the consumer).

Check it out for yourself, Jim.

One does not require a license to do a home inspection in Illinois. It is only required if you are doing a home inspection for compensation.

If you do a $450 doorbell inspection…you may add a free home inspection - no license required. Read your law.

How about this scenario:

Licensed State.

Inspector does 2 or 3 quick inspections a day, onsite quick report, does not truly meet any SOP. Gets most of these from agents.

Gets a complaint every so often and justs pays the client for the item(s) missed. (Most clients do not bother to complain)

Gross annual income around $200,000.00
Claims paid to unhappy clients that bothered to complain per year $8,000.00

Agents are happy because they know the inspector will “pay off the complainers”

Anything here illegal?

(In case you don’t already know, its not my business that operates this way)

Jim;

You error in that your argument si reducto as absurbum.

Sure, there are always guys who will violate the law, knowing that they are doing so, even if the try to hide it in some stupid ($450 door bell inspection? who, in their right mind would pay $450 for a door bell inspection? Only in some contrived scenario that dishonest people cook up in their own minds.)

There have been many such jokers who have tried this, but got wacked.

Also, there are two City of Chicago Fire Dept Asst. Battalion Chiefs who contuinue to do inspections, even though they are not licensed, and continue to be protected by politics.

No system will work, perfectly, 100% of the time. But that is no reason to not try.

No law “protects” ahead of time. Laws only exist to allow for the punishment (after the fact) of those that break them.

Nice try, though.

LOL

I can certainly understand why you would want to believe this, but it is not true. In fact, I know it to be a standard practice.

$300 septic inspection…home inspection free.

$350 water well inspection…home inspection free.

No one is being sanctioned for this.

In fact, in Illinois…no one is getting sanctioned for anything. With all of the unlicensed inspectors in Illinois (some even post on this message board) and those in bordering states conducting regular business without licenses…only 3…3 home inspectors in Illinois…were sanctioned in the past year. All three had licenses. One lost his because he paid for it with a bad check. A second got his suspended for having concealed some felony convictions, and third violated a “consent” order he agreed to with the Division.

Another gaping loophole is your law’s definition of a “home inspection assignment”, which determines if the inspector must be licensed. It reads like this: “Inspection assignment" means an engagement for which a home inspector is employed or retained to conduct a home inspection and prepare a home inspection report.” No report means no official home inspection, which means…no violation. Thus, consultations can be conducted by anyone, licensed or not, as long as there is no report.

It’s a joke. You guys should work on repealing it. It means nothing to anyone.

Many salesmen in licensed states continue to use unlicensed inspectors. In Illinois, there are licensed inspectors who…for the promise of future referrals…will actually sign reports under their license, at an agent’s request, when they use one.

Licensing is a joke. Consumers don’t care. Rarely, if ever, enforced.

Jim;

I don’t know where you get your data, but I get mine from the state site.

There have only been three court lawsuits against HIs, but there have been many actions from the state (administrative hearings with disiciple actions).

In fact,. a recent case had a local Village code inspector disciplined (with 1 $10,000 fine and he lost his job with the Village) for doing home inspections without a license.

Maybe, as you state, people from neighboring, non-licensed states, are doing inspections in Illinois, but you already know that this is illegal, and a violation of iNACHI rules.

If you know of any inspectors from other, non-licensed states, who are doing inspections in Illinois, please let me know (by private e-mail, see below) and I will do what I can to get them disciplined.

I have made this offer, before, but you just scoffed at it. I hope that you will now do what is necessary to make you dream of licensed states actually enforcing their own laws work,

It’s up to you.