Koning idea

As your legislative representative to HOME INSPECTORS here is what is being done behind your back, or even sadly enough in front of your face

The Div 1 contractors goal is not to prevent a license or paying a few hundred dollars, it is to be EXEMPT from any of the rules we must follow.

#1 NO SOP
#2 NO COE
#3 Can fix Home they inspect
#4 No minsurance requirments
#5 Can decide what a home inspection is, can just be a one page hand written piece of paper

It is not about the small stuff, if this goes through they will not be required to do ANYTHING your required to do. Does that seem fair to you?

Those with multiple licenses should be sure to lookout and make the decisions that will benefit you the most.

Make a business decision on what is best for your businesses.

If they can’t put themselves out as Home Inspectors, then why would anybody here care about this. I really don’t see the logic in paying for this license if only used a few times to survey a potential renovation job with a professional report. That is what this is about…not neccessarily for real estate transactions. Contractors have been doing this since the beginning.

I support it as a GC and dont support it as a HI. Im conflicted

I felt Richard Hyland’s response to this in the Inachi newsletter addressed the issue adequately with appropriate language and thoughtful consideration of the facts involved. The concern is real that regardless of the legitimacy of any arguement forwarded, political forces behind the scenes can, and if allowed will bastardize even the most cast in stone structures already in place with respect to the licensing law. It is a reality.

So where does it stop? Why not let them do AC, ROOFING, Radon, Termite…what is the purpose of licensing if it means nothing?

G.C’s should be able to inspect it all. As long as they have meet the requirements to do so. General contractors are part of the upper level of the construction process and therefore have a great base to qualify their inspections.

Customized continuing ed etc…

Experience is what makes one great and a License only makes everyone appear equal.

Those with only a Hi License do not have the same life experience of those who have earned a G.C. license and have not earned the same rights.

You said it “they can’t put themselves out as Home inspectors” and they can’t do Home inspections for real estate sales as we do with out the HI license.

If they get a positive response to this DEC. statement all that will change. Though they won’t be able to advertise as a “home inspector” they will be allowed to preform as a home inspector. Difference being since they won’t come under our license they will be able to also perform the repairs they site. Can you say conflict of interest? they also will not be held to the SOP when it comes out. Nor will they have to provide a PIA or show their license etc., etc. All because they will not be under the HI license.

“Inspecting” for a current or potential remodel or repair is not the same as a written home inspection though that is the argument being made. If a contractor wants to do plumbing, pools, roofing, electrical, HVAC etc. he needs a separate license for each it needs to be the same for Home Inspections. I’ve been involved in the same struggle with contractors wanting to do pools, roofing and plumbing, they lost with each of those and they need to loose this time too.

Note: Full disclosure, I hold a Certified Building Contractors (CBC) license, a Certified Commercial Pool/Spa Contractors (CPC) license, a Radon Messurement Tech license, have a Registered Roofing Contractors (RX) license on inactive statice and I’m a registered State Pratical Examiner for pool subcontractor licensing. (Wow, the extra cost is killing me - NOT)

I am currently a licensed general contractor and a Florida licensed home inspector. The two are very different and that is why there are separate licenses for each profession.

If you worked around TN you sure would not be able to say that here.:shock:

I know I’ll take some flak for this, but I don’t think a CGC should be restricted from performing any trade provided they take/pass the CILB test. A CGC is responsible for all trades and they are the one who is sued should something go awry with the electrical, plumbing, roof, etc. A CGC should always automatically qualify to sit for any state test without further qualifying, period. Again, I believe they should have to pass the trade testing. So, if a CGC feels like they want to do HI’s, they should be able to sit for the required test and go forth. Same with plumbing, septic, roofing, and any other trade license. There should be no further license fees to the GC. So if he wants to remodel houses and do his own roofing, so be it. Why not? He is responsible for the job regardless and if the roofer does a poor job, the GC has to fight the roofer to get it fixed or hire another roofer to do it correctly. So WTF should a GC have to hire a trade?

Many of us worry too much about what a GC can do. Personally, I would rather compete against a GC who decides to practice HI rather than the dumb asses who are currently entering the market and selling $99 HI’s. That’s right, $99.00 including Wind Mit and Roof Cert. Just lost a job to this yesterday.

Why defend the SOP? Most of it is BS and meaningless. The ones who defend it only do so because it is so lame even a hearing aid salesman can do it. Any competent builder would laugh at this SOP. Oven turns on. Drainage appears satisfactory. Crack in driveway. Give me a break.

What is a HI license? What does it mean? You can report on whether or not it is broken or “near the end of its expected lifecycle” based on a visual inspection. You can’t fix it. You can’t hire someone to fix it. You have never fixed it and have absolutely no clue how it should be fixed. You have a license to take a photo and paste it into a piece of software. You are making statements on electrical, roofing, structure and plumbing with almost no training or background, yet, you want to preclude the only licenseholder in the state that “supposedly” has the experience and knowledge to properly report on these components. You want a “dumbed down” license so lots of new Nachi members can be recruited who are happy to go make $200 day for doing nothing and knowing even less. HI’s are their own worst enemy.

Increase the qualifying criteria to become a HI or ultimately watch the profession disappear. $20/hr is perfectly acceptable to most of those entering the “profession” and you are supporting this with stupid SOP’s and easy entry into the field.

As I have stated once before on this message board. In the year 2000 the FHBA and its Div 1 members were getting upset having “home inspectors” coming on to their construction sites and “inspecting” the project without any kind of training or experience in their opinion and in my humble opinion, rightly so . That is when all this started and its been on going now for 12 years.

There is a fundamental difference between an “in progress construction inspection ( including a final new construction inspection)” and a re-sale or real estate sale inspection. From what I have read it appears no one has addressed this issue and it certainly should be .

I don’t think a person that is not a Div1 contractor should be able to inspect an “in progress construction inspection ( including a final new construction inspection)” and I don’t think a Div 1 contractor should be able to inspect a re-sale or any (commercial or residential) real estate transaction inspection without the proper training or the 120 hours of education.

If you are a Div 1 contractor and a licensed home inspector and carry the GL Insurance for the contracting portion then that policy should be an umbrella to cover both trades.

As far as the “employee” portion of all this I don’t think any profession should be able to have an employee without proper training and licensure be able to perform any kind of inspection.

For the record: Licensed Div 1 contractor, SBCCI certified Building Inspector, Licensed HI, mold assessor and mold remediator. I have been in the inspection business for 18 years and a Div contractor for 29 years. I have learned far more about building science and building performance as an inspector than I have as a contractor.

" Just because you have a drivers license does mean you know how to drive"!

That was very well put Sir!

HI has become the new solutuion to the out of work…

LMAO so now to be a home inspector you should be a GC? How many professions do you need to ***** up? Yours is in the tank, we need permits to babysit contractors, we need inspectors to baby sit contractors there are entire goverment agencies to watch pver you and people hire private inspectors to inspect their BRAND NEW HOMES.

I mean enough already. For people who are all knowing you need a ton of people watching over your shoulder to perform a job to the states required minimum standard…

Here is concept…if you want to be a contractor be one…go build until your hearts desire is filled. If you want to inspect, do so.

Our entire profession was build on the poor quality contractors have given the public. Don’t believe me look at the threads here talking about major defects on new homes.

So now that your profession is in the crappy you want to take over another. Amazing…

FYI, Russell, I’ve been inspecting homes since the mid 80’s and building since 1977. Sorry if I offended you, but I thought you asked for input as my new representative for legislative affairs. It appears you do not read very well otherwise you would have discerned (sorry if the word is too big) I advocate (sorry, another big word) a GC should sit for and pass the same test requirement to be an HI.

What I want you to do is:

Increase the qualifying criteria to be a HI

Mandate OJT for 3 yrs under direction of HI

Scrap the BS SOP which allows the unqualified to do $99 home inspections

and, DO NOT presume you know anything about my crappy business.

Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath that you will actually do any of them.

Thank you, Mr. Murray. Glad to know someone gets it.

More like built on a bunch of fluff that takes 20+ pages inventorying a home with logos and phone numbers taking up 1/4 of every page. That is what built the Home Inspector profession. The vast majority of defects found are due to Home Owners trying to save a buck and doing the job themselves or hiring some hack from craigslist.

Sure there are defects in new home construction. It happens even when built to exact specs. At least the majority of reputable builders stand behind their work.

It must be really tough just to go around picking apart others work and then start getting all the work that the original Home Professionals were doing. Hell take a 3 hr course and poof you are a pro.

Sounds like how home most home inspectors got started to me.

Click their heals 3 times and proclaim loudly:

I AM A HOME INSPECTOR
I AM A HOME INSPECTOR
I AM A HOME INSPECTOR.

Now poof were are all pros because we have a license. What a joke.

Just keep telling us how great you all are and how much your deserve the same rights as Contractors and I guess maybe some fools will believe.
What other choice do you have? I guess if I did not have a hard earned license built on a lifetime of experiences I would want the instant pro status also :roll:

I came through the ranks as a contractor and earned the right to inspect homes. I’m not a modern day inspector who needed a job that jump into the circus ring of Florida. I started my business in 1978 as a General Contractor and A Remodeling Contractor with many years of experience before the actual start of my profession. My experience as a contractor is why I’m inspecting homes today. Do not blame the contractors on this board for all you think they are not worthy of their title. The blame goes to the state licensing and schools that give you the answers to the exam before you take the course. Many contractors sell their licenses to people who cannot perform jobs of a contractor. Florida is full of scam artist in every profession.

I’m a Home Inspector and proud of it!

Nick-------I know its been warm in CO. this year but it is spring break in Florida. Why don’t you fly to Orlando tomorrow and as a licensed DIV 1 Contractor and a licensed HI stand up there and tell the CILB the difference and squash Koning’s idea. Then, head to the beach and work on your tan! —just and idea :wink:

I came up through the ranks as a Home Inspector…O MY…What am I now? A home Inspector…and I inspect Homes…thats the profession.

The two are very different, its very easy to hire someone to do something. So then every person who ever hired a General Contractor should be a general contractor with your mentaility. I mean they pay a guy to pay a guy. Hell people who are GC’s down here I never see, its usually one of the “supervisors”. They are nothing more than a glorified babysitter and that can’t even be done right…hence the 100,000’s of civilian employees across the US paid just to make sure you meet the minimum standard…and of course their presence does deter shady stuff from happening. Wow, a profession that needs many people to look over your shoulder to make sure you meet the minimum standard…and now you want this profession. Gets your profession straight first…then come talk to us.

Go build all you want…no one is stopping you!