As a member, I have found my association to be “ill”.
For example:
It embraces legislation that it confesses to be harmful to consumers and home inspectors, but beneficial to itself.
It provides inferior educational products with flawed information, encouraging home inspectors to tell their clients that their 2004 water heaters need to be replaced and has actually encouraged home inspectors to enter wet, low crawlspaces.
It provides video infomercials that are 90 minutes long and provides 4 CEUs of credit.
I feel I have a duty to try to make my association better than it is and I am doing my part.
Uh, Yes. I have to agree. If you have but $289 to spend, you should probably get a website. I’m still amazed at how many InterNACHI members don’t have a website even though they get a basic one for free with free hosting by being a member.
ASHI is in the same stage that Detroit was in when the Japanese hit the market…it’s called DENIAL. As they see the $$$$ go away, along with membership, they will wake up; if not then they will go the way of other companies that fail to provide the service that its clients expect and demand.
I liken ASHI unto French…they think more highly of themselves then they should
I get to see ASHI inspectors who find out about the InterNACHI benefits, that we enjoy
all the time, in my classes. They are literally blown away at what we have at InterNACHI.
If you read the InterNACHI agreement and benefits when you join, and still like it, then
stay and enjoy the family. If you see that you are not receiving the stated benefits, then
simply leave and do something else which is better. Tell us later of your success.
I have never seen one person hang around and whine, who made themselves look
smarter or increase their status. It simply make them look like a disgruntled church
member who wants to bitch on the way out the door.
If you have a personal issue with Nick, go to him in private. Why make the forum
suffer through all the cheap shots and slander of your bitterness. Why use the forum
Nick provides as a pulpit to take cheap shots at him? It makes you look small.
I have much more to do in life than to make the forum a place for Custers last stand.
It just looks stupid, and yet some people repeat this pattern in many walks of life as
they burn out with various groups or endeavors.
Come on now Will. You don’t really think the association makes the inspector do you? For crying out loud, NACHI is just an online home inspector supply store. I’ve been in business here in California since 1985 and know dozens of quality inspectors who are members of any number of trade associations. I, myself was not a member of anything other than ICBO/ICC for the first 21 years of my inspection business career. I gathered all my continuing education credits by attending ICBO classes, community college classes and or through various free online construction product companies. In my opinion, you’re either a good inspector with a good work ethic who is constantly trying to improve his service to his client, or your not… That will apply to ASHI, NAHI, CREIA, NACHI or whatever.
Will H: I agree to a point. An association doesn’t “make” an inspector, (although InterNACHI might be a slight exception with all its educational opportunities), however… one inspection trade association, and only one, “makes” an inspector’s business, and that association is InterNACHI. There has never been a trade association like us in any industry . We’re one of a kind when it comes to business success tools.
You are correct in that InterNACHI can’t take credit for “making” inspectors… but we sure have “made” many a fine, successful inspection company out of a competent inspector. Technical competence just isn’t enough.
Will H: I agree to a point. An association doesn’t “make” an inspector, (although InterNACHI might be a slight exception with all its educational opportunities)[
This also depends on the inspector, just because it’s offered, does not mean the individual taking the course is an immediate expert. Some folks brains are like sponges and absorb everything they experience, others fart and completely lose everything they just learned.
There is only one person that can make their own business successful, and that’s the owner themselves. It all rests on their shoulders, on what they want to learn and how to dispense that knowledge into running a successful business. The only person that can make my business succeed is me, it all depends on how hard I work towards the goal of being successful (in my eyes).
Some are led to believe that just being a member of an organization, it gives them more power over those that are not. That is so far from reality.
It would be nice if the associations didn’t perpetuate this myth by proclaiming to the general public that their certification assures a highly competent and ethical home inspector.
I agree with Brian. And there is one type of inspector that is even worse, and it isn’t the incompetent inspector…
It is the competent inspector who takes plenty of continuing education, but on an inspection suffers from complacency. Nearly all valid E&O insurance claims are the result of inspector complacency, not lack of competence.
We all have to keep our excitement up and our “edge” on each inspection, no matter how many we do.
The good inspectors, honest, thourough, good reports, technically qualified and knowledgable, are in all assocations and in no associations.
Sure, I know most of the iNACHI guys around here, and (most) of them are good inspectors. I also know some ASHI and NAHI members and (most) of them are ust as good.
But I do know some inspectord who aren’t so good. I call the “legecy” inspectors, old guys (not all the old guys) who just do the bare minimum and think they know it all and really seem to resent all us “new guys” with our new fangled tools and college educations and fancy reports and web sites and all. They resent us “taking away their business” and us “new guys” thinking that “we are all so muh better” then them.
If you do a better inspection and serve the client better and write a better report, I guess we are better. Maybe it’s just them who didn’t change with the times and resent that the times can actually change.
Most (though not all) of these are in the other associations. The good inspectors who are in those associations also think the same way and are embarased by them.
Anyway, that’s how it is around here. Your area is most probably different.