ASHI Leads Legislation Drive In Michigan

Interesting:

“As MichAHI continues to stand by our Mission Statement and the MichAHI Values, an impact is being
made in Lansing. Our state legislature and several departments are starting to realize just how firm and serious
our stand is on home inspector licensing. In case there is any question or misunderstanding, the “official”
MichAHI position on licensing home inspectors is that we generally do not support it, primarily due to lack of evidence that it will accomplish any thing meaningful for consumers or the profession. However,[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
we are aware that some folk would like to license home inspectors. So, we are making every effort to educate
and influence those people to discourage the introduction of inappropriate or poor legislation.”[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]

We don’t support licensing but let’s encourage appropriate and good legislation…What?

How about we just say no since there is no evidence that it will accomplish anything meaningful for consumers or the profession?

Frank Accavitti is a good politician and wasn’t fooled by ASHI from the start. Read his quote from August 2004:

Update: The following came from an article dated Sunday August 29th, 2004 and quotes State Representative Frank Accavitti.

*Inspect the inspectors *
*Lawmakers introduce bills requiring home inspectors to receive training, be licensed *
*By DOUG HENZE *
*Of The Daily Oakland Press *

“While Accavitti says the three major home inspector trade groups-the American Society of Home Inspectors, the National Association of Home Inspectors, and the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors - have signed off on the licensing bill, some local inspectors say they hate the idea.” “Im dead set against it,” said Mel Jacobs, Great Lakes Chapter president of ASHI…

"Accavitti, who already has drafted a substitute bill to address the concerns inspectors have brought to him, said ASHI has tried to establish its test as the state’s. “That’s not going to happen in the state of Michigan,” he said, explaining that the law won’t be designed to give any organization an advantage.

There is no requirement for the NHIE, now, without a law. Accordingly, Nick, you will agree that the status quo fully meets this NACHI objective.

James, do you have any definitive proof of this? can you give us an example of a state where this practice has been successful and what the results where?

Your state is one of them.

It also happened in Kansas, Missouri, Florida, New York and now Michigan.

The most successful ruse of this sort came to fruition through PHIC (Pennsylvania Home Inspector Coalition) made up exclusively of ASHI and NAHI members. With their success in totally taking control of the industry in Pennsylvania, ASHI chapters took that model to every other unlicensed state.

The chapters force members to join and, although the coalitions usually have fewer than 20 participating members, their books reflect a hundred or more. Their main job is to (1) convince the legislature that they actually represent the majority of inspectors in that state, (2) get the NHIE written into law, and (3) mandate educational courses that are preformed to fit the ITA model. The leaders of these “coalitions” then are hired as teachers in the new schools that pop up as a result of the new law.

Some NACHI members belong to some of these coalitions and, at first, are made to feel like they “have a voice” but soon they realize that the agenda was fixed long before they came along. Jay Schwartz can elaborate on his Florida experience for you, if you email him.

It is a very well developed scam.

These coalitions can be easily discredited with proper use of the media and the legislature…but it takes work.

In Missouri, they teamed up with the Missouri Association of Realtors which made it tougher…since MAR already had the lobbyists in place. They are promising a “comeback” next year.

Of course…just like Michigan…the Missouri “coalition” states that they are simply “monitoring”…but they are already meeting to help form next year’s bill.

ASHI members in St. Louis are lied to by their president who is actually the president of this “coalition”. They oppose legislation and expect him to, as well, but he has been able to conceal his activities from them by refusing to discuss the coalition’s activities at ASHI meetings stating “there are spies in attendance”.

It’s the last effort of a dying association to be relevant, it appears.

James, I know all that, as I have been knee deep in BS in NH, especially with the coalition. They in fact tried to recruit me. My question is one of facts. Where was this actually successful? how many new ITA schools have started up in these states and how many ASHI leaders are now running the courses and are members of the state boards.

Don’t mean to pressure you but I’m a numbers guy and like to know the statistics.

Truth is… ITA started as school in AZ over 1 yr ago… To date I don’t think that have had any more than 1 or 2 classes due to a shortage of new inspectors signing up…

Are you a new ASHI instructor?

I cannot use the states I have already mentioned as examples, Paul, since we have (with the exception of Florida and New York) successfully defeated their efforts.

I do not have his permission so I cannot use his name, but the ITA connection was shared with me by an ASHI director who is very high placed in their association.

He explained this connection to me in the context that ASHI, as an association, does not push licensing…as some think. They actually oppose it for, once licensing becomes the “credential”, they lose members since ASHI offers nothing else for its members. But instead of the association pushing it, it is members of the association pushing it with the assistance and backing of ITA.

He then brought my attention to ITA’s website which happens to be the only educational provider that actually tracks and maintains an update on the status of HI legislation throughout the country. Instead of waiting for laws to happen, they are proactive in making them happen and tayloring them around their offerings. It is no accident that some unwitting congressman somewhere just happens to always come up with “60 hours” or “120 hours” or “80 hours” of education…yet, they cannot come up with an SOP or any specifics that the HI needs to learn.

Reading the various bills tells you where they came from, if you read them carefully. They are not being written by legislators or consumers.

It is no accident that, in every state that is presently unlicensed/unregulated, there is a “coalition” of home inspectors claiming to represent all of the inspectors.

With the majority of inspectors not belonging to ANY association, it has to raise suspicion that virtually all of these “coalitions” consist mainly…predominantly…of members of ASHI and NAHI, with a few NACHIs thrown in here and there as “tokens”.

Again…for the successful model…look at PHICin Pennsylvania. They have all used them as a model, for they took total control over the state and are presently…and exclusively…forming the upcoming law that will govern PA inspectors.

So are we talking 1 out 30 states they have been successful in?

A few more than that. Go through the list…look at the required number of hours to get a license and look through the course list. That is ITA’s involvement. They used “coalitions” to get these things passed.

Like I said…PHIC was their most successful and inspired the others to model after them.

No… Not at all… The only thing that I do close to teaching is teach a Mbl Hm course for a local school, [that now only offers CE courses] , once or twice a year.
A few years ago ITA did offer me a chance to do their Mbl Hm course, I declined due to my commitment with the local school.

Good for you. My son has just completed 2 years of building trades where they have built 2 modulars and have donated them to Katrina victims.

Teaching is a great thing, just as much as learning.

Geez crips busshy, have you ever considered that ITA is NOT the only school that has to jump thru hoops and meet financial requirements just to meet a states requirements.

Take AZ as an example… for over three years after AZ required HI
training ITA was not an approved school:roll: :roll: :roll:

Truth is other schools including real estate and internet based schools are the ones that lowered the standards that ITA and a few others including Dan B, Chuck B both are members of your org] worked had for to raise the level of HI training across the country.
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I can see the info. on their web site and have for awhile now.

What I want to know is some definitive numbers as to how serious a problem this is. You say that ITA and ASHI are pushing this agenda throughout the country and are setting up sweet jobs for all their ASHI hierarchy. What I would like to see is the factual numbers that back that up.

Believe me when I say I understand this problem first hand, but I’m not an alarmist, I would like to know statically what’s going on and how successful are they?

Forget AZ, dan.

You guys don’t even require continuing education, do you?

I am referencing ITA being proactive in pushing legislation that sets up boards that their “coalition” leaders (as in New York, for example) sit on and decide what courses are approved and what courses are not.

PS, when did this ASHI coalition start and how does that reflect on states that have licensing?

My understanding is the coalition thing is fairly recent.

Not too recent, although a few have just popped up in states like MO, KS and MI. PHIC has been around for several years. Florida starts one every year, then dissolves it after the bill fails, I think. Once the law is passed, the “coalition” shifts gears and its leaders take positions on the state licensing boards and the “coaltion” dies away.

James, Pro active and successful are two different things.

Can you name a few examples of the states, the boards and their ASHI leaders?