A realtor told me today that a builder they are working with requires any inspectors to be ASHI Certified. 1st time I’ve encountered this.
I want to follow up with the builder but wondered if any resources have been used in the past to help make the case for allowing InterNACHI Certified inspectors on their “approved” list.
Any help would be appreciated.
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“Ahh! So the builder wants less educated inspectors looking at their homes? Makes perfect sense on where they are trying to lead your clients…”
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You believed a used house salesman? I’d think twice about that.
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Nope, you’re shit out of luck. The builder can require anything and you can’t do shit about it because they own the house. Also, the more requirements to impede inspections there are, typically the builder is shittier and the house is shitter. If you’re really lacking of inspections, you could just temporarily sign up for ASHI since its so easy to get in anyways. I had to let this one go since I really didn’t want to jump through every fucking hoop the builder makes.
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Yeah, builders can and are requiring all kinds of crazy stuff and are generally within their rights since they own the house. Instead of throwing stones at the builders maybe we should collectively as a group ask why? We HIs have a track record of overstepping our bounds and using new construction as our CE class to be educated by electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, etc. all at the builder’s expense. If I were a builder I’m sure I’d so the same thing.
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Unfortunately, the builder owns the property and can set any requirement that they want for any home inspector entering the property, IMO some do this knowing that most if not all local home inspectors won’t be able to meet some or all of the requirements.
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This is where the 11 month warranty inspection shines. At that point the builder doesn’t own the property and can’t object. The owner will want to get things corrected before his/her warranty expires.
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It says be a member of EITHER ashi or. . . . What’s the other one?
Great point - I’ll definitely plan that.
I had a similar situation once. In the end, it didn’t matter because they didn’t bother checking into it. The builder required ASHI or similar… This is copied directly from the contract the builder had for me to sign prior to approving entry to the home.
“6.Association Membership: HIC must be a professional inspector who specializes in home inspections and is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or a similar nationally recognized tradeorganization, and familiar with new construction.”
I think builders just use blanket free downloadable contracts and put their own company names on them.
The biggest reason builders don’t like pre-closing inspections is they would rather wait until after closing where everything then falls under their “warranty” umbrella where more often than not, they don’t cover squat.
Just call the builder and get a copy of the builders requirements and look at the language yourself. They will most likely have a fillable form that has all this info. Playing nicey nice with whomever answers the phone can pay off as well. DO NOT bring up the whole ASHI thing when you call. If the form from the builder says ashi “OR SIMILAR”, like this one did, you won’t have an issue.
Maryland law requires the plan to cover, at
minimum:
• any defects in materials or workmanship for one year;
• any defects in the electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, and ventilating systems for two years
(not to exceed the period of the manufacturer’s warranty); and
• defects to any load-bearing structural elements for five years
The minimum performance standards in Maryland are those established by the National Association of Home Builders.
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Colorado doesn’t have any such statute. Builders are pretty much free to write up “warranties” how they wish. The only real requirements in this state are the home must be built to code and for the purposes it was intended. In other words, a residential structure has to be built for use as a residence and be habitable… There are state laws that seem to protect builders from liability for crappy work though. Kinda bass ackwards really. Yee who donates most to political campaigns wins…
I found this article regarding CO laws and home warranties.
Builder Warranties For New Homes - What You’re Getting, and What You Are Not - Colorado Attorneys (frascona.com)
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We had this from a builder. I forwarded the document to Nick Gromicko. InterNACHI already had addressed this with the builder and I was sent an updated letter the same day. The local office just had outdated info. The image shared looks like the same builder. I have used the document from InterNACHI a few times now.
I figured this had been addressed by InterNachi at some time in the past.
Can you share their document?
I will have to look for it which may take more time than I have short term. I would recommend sending it to InterNACHI’s legal group. They probably have far more resources and ability to determine if this particular builder has been addressed and give you the proper document versus the one I have, which is for one particular builder.
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Who the f do they think they are to limit or choose who accomplishes the inspection i pay for.
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I have a builder here that has dip-shittic requirements including the amount of time I can take on-site. This is a red flag to me that a builder may want to come after me (you) for any defects found especially something they can accuse me (you) of breaking. I let the client know that I will not be limited in that way and suggest they get another inspector that will bow to the contractor’s demands or wait till after closing to shake down the house. 9 times out of ten, they have me do the inspection after they own the home. And yes these homes are among the worst of the new builds.
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The property owner!
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