Essay Assignment:
Upon completion of a home inspection report the real estate agent requested I leave out: the possible lead pipes that ran throughout the house and he would compensate me. I declined the offer, explained my responsibilities of being ethical and I would not be dishonest to my client.
Re: Research Exercise
Formaldehyde is a dangerous chemical (gas) pressed into wood materialsand added to household products. It was alsoused in insulating homes in the 1970’s (aka Urea-Formaldehyde Foam Insulation). In 1992 CARB announced that formaldehyde wasdangerous at all levels with a high risk of causing cancer and confirmed in 2004 that it was the cause for nasopharyngeal cancer. There aresome steps you can take to reduce your risk of exposure among this dangerousgas.
Sample essay for this course?
Rosany Espinal
I have just performed a home inspection for a realtor. The realtor and her client are in a time crunch to get the repairs taken care of and offer me money to get the work done within two weeks. This is a violation of the code of ethics, as it has not been more than 12 months since I have done the inspection on this home.
I am performing a home inspection and notice the bathroom sink’s trap is an S trap instead of a P trap, I write that down as a defect. A conflict of interest for me would be since I’m a licensed plumber, offering to to fix the sink the day after the inspection. I have been in construction field for over 10 years, but I cannot write down any defects on the house I’m inspecting and then offer my services to fix that particular defect. That causes a conflict interest because I could at that point note defects that aren’t even defects just for my benefit.
I read the article “Child-Proofing Your Home: 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children”, in the article the first sentence jumped out at me as an eye opener, stating that 2.5 million children are injured or killed a year in a home. One of the twelve steps to protecting your children was putting safety gates in front of stairways and even small steps, the safety gates will prevent a child from falling and seriously hurting themselves.
Essay - Conflict of interest or a violation of the Code of Ethics
Possible conflict of interest - Home inspection is completed with defects noted to flooring structure in crawlspace. Buyer ask the inspector if he can repair the defects and at what cost.
Answer - Inspectors are prohibited from preforming work on a home they inspected for a period of 12 months from the inspection date.
Advantages of Solar Energy:
There are many advantages of solar energy. Solar power is environmentally friendly (it’s low in emission), economical, and provides jobs. You can also receive tax credit from the government by using solar power. Solar power is not just a great source of energy for those who live off grid, it is a great source of energy for everyone on the planet.
A hypothetical situation where code of ethics would take place is when say for instance a home inspector is offered money or services to give a good report on a property that has unfavorable conditions by a real estate agent. This would compromise both business practices and the trust of the client, not to mention the reputation of both the inspector and the real estate agent.
Scenario:
Bob Smith, an old family friend and Real Estate Agent, called me late Friday night to do a home inspection the next morning (Saturday), for his client, Jim Planche.
Bob apologized for the short notice, and mentioned that the home inspector who his client, Jim, had booked earlier, just called in sick.
On requesting for Jim Planche’s contact information, so I could speak with him personally and send him my Contract to be signed. Bob said it was too late at night to bother Jim, “so don’t worry about the contract for now, we could just discuss it in the morning at the inspection site”.
The next morning, at the inspection site, Bob arrives early, thanks me for agreeing to do the inspection at such short notice, and in appreciation gives me a $150 Home Depot gift card. Bob also mentions that he really wanted this deal to go through smoothly “so don’t be too picky”, as it had already wasted too much of his time
On enquiring about my client Jim so I could have my contract signed before I start. Bob said that Jim has been his client for many years, and not to worry about the contract as he had discussed it with Jim last night, and was assured that I would get paid when I sent over my inspection report that evening.
Bob also mentioned that Jim might not show up, as he was recovering from a recent car accident which had severely affected his mobility, and judging from the conversation last night, “Jim did not sound too good”.
Jim had asked Bob to go ahead with the inspection if he did not show up on time.
Bob said, “Jim is currently on a wheelchair, so don’t be too thorough with the inspection, as he is not able to check on anything anyway. Let’s just finish the inspection and get it over with… and if everything goes smoothly with this deal, I will even send over a small gift for the family.”
Conflict of Interest & Code of Ethics violation:
In the above scenario, there is a clear violation of the InterNACHI Code of Ethics, i.e., “Duty to Public”
- Request to perform the inspection without a written contract that specifies the services to be performed, limitations of services, and fees.
- Offering a gift card at the inspection site, not to do a thorough inspection, and also offering to send over a gift if everything goes smoothly.
- Discriminating in business activities on the basis of a handicap.
Scenario Response:
In this situation it is best not to perform the inspection, as there is definitely a Code of Ethics violation.
An example of a violation to the code of ethics for a home inspector would be a scenario where the inspector is asked to inaccurately report a deck as up to code after being bribed with $100. If the home inspector accepted the bribe this would be a violation of the code of ethics.
I read “Ant Inspection” by Nick Gromicko. I learned that Ants basically have a caste system made up of queens, males, and workers. I also learned that moisture problems in a house can attract ants!
I read Nick’s article on Drone use for property inspections.
I’ve been utilizing drones for roof and site inspections for over a year with NO issues. It is a must to have proper certification and follow ALL FAA rules. Here in California tile roofs are the norm and ground level inspections are no longer an issue. I encourage all inspectors to invest in a quality quad copter.
I found an article on zoning ordinances to be very interesting. When planning a project that would violate local zoning ordinances, you must first request a variance.
Requesting this variance may require the home owner to address multiple areas of concern. Neighborhood safety and property values along with other financial or accessibility concerns.
Should a zoning violation come to light during a buyer inspection they need to be aware that upon close of sale they will become responsible for any future issues that arise from that violation. Including possible fines or cost of removal.
It would be in the best interest of the buyer to insure there is a clause in the sales agreement that all alterations made to the property meet local ordinances and that they (seller) will be responsible for any fines or other ramifications resulting from not meeting local ordinances
I am writing a sample essay for this course.
I had visited XYZ Realtors office and was asked by the owner of the office to see if I offered discounts for the elderly and/or veterans for home purchases.
I replied that is an conflict with our code of ethics.
When I first became a certified home inspector, a real estate agent I was working with, offered to pay me extra money for not doing a complete inspection of a property’s roof.
I immediately explained that it was a violation to the Code of ethics as an inspector to not perform a thorough inspection of the property’s roof.
When, during the course of a home inspection, you see what appears to be mold. An air sample is one tool that can be performed. It is also helpful in comparing a before and after, after mold remediation has been performed.
Ten minutes is an adequate amount of time to take air sample. Be sure there isn’t any excess air movement or excess dust. Take the air sample in the center of the room, 3 to 6 feet off the ground in a room that has suspected or confirmed mold growth
Assignment for Code of Ethics Violation:
As a new Home Inspector I know that I should not offer to perform any other repairs or associated services to the home or add any additional fees after writing up the report.
Adobe Home Inspection.
I have done research on New Home Construction techniques for Adobe home construction. My understanding is that there will be new building codes for this style of construction for the Southwest region of the United States due to increased seismic activity in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. This may also affect other states as well. With this in mind we will probably see new inspection techniques coming out in the future for this type of construction.
This post is for the requirements of the Code of Ethics Course.
During an inspection it is noticed that the weep holes are all below grade. The real estate agent asks that not be mentioned because every house in the area has the same deficiency. While it may not be unique it is still a finding and must be reported as found.