I understand that Maryland will require HI licensing effective Oct. 2007.
John Evans
Do you have a copy of the law that you can post?
Looks like a two year old wrote it…
You’re close. The E&O mandate along with its incorporation into an appraiser’s bill just about assures it being pushed by the real estate salsemen’s lobby.
I wouldn’t doubt that Jim.
Where are you reading this info? Everything about HIs on the site is from 2002 and 2003 and indicates no action on the HI licenses???.
See Link but it only cover appraisers
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/real_est_app/reareq.htm
Not funded yet:
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/real_est_app/reafees.htm
Maryland has now funded the Home Inspectors Licensing Program and expects to start the licensing procedure over the next several months,starting with the applications from over 5 years ago.
I received the below email reply on 10/16/2006 from Mark Feinroth who worked on Maryland Home Inspector Commission :
[FONT=Times New Roman]Dear Eric:
These two links should provide you with much, if not all, of the information you are looking for regarding the Home Inspectors Licensing Program. The first link is from the minutes of the last Real Estate Appraiser and Home Inspector Commission meeting. On the second page you will see the staff report as to what to expect in the coming months as they prepare to start issuing licenses. The second link is to the statute. If you look at Sections 16-3A-01, 02 and 03, you will the requirements for licensure in the Home Inspector program.
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/min/reapp-aug2006.doc
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/law/reapprlaw.htm
I had a nice time visiting Garrett County and look forward to returning with my family soon. Give me a call if you have any further questions.
Mark Feinroth
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Maryland Association of Realtors®
2594 Riva Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
[/FONT]
The sleeping bear finally awakens.
I guess since the commission is made up of more realtors/appraisers than home inspectors would explain why our annual fee to renew will be $400 versus their $200 for appraisers. Right away I expect to be treated as an equal!! Realtors deciding the fate of home inspectors, oh boy I can’t wait.
When the legislation was originally written and set aside, NACHI didn’t exist, so that would explain why a current requirement will be to be a member of a National home inspection association like ASHI or NAHI that are mentioned.
Nick, time to roll out the NACHI legislative lobby and start making those phone calls, better put Joe on this one.
I navigated to the definitions page to see if I could get some clarity on what exactly 48 hours of “off-site” education really means. Unfortunately that’s not one of the terms that they felt needed defined, I guess.
If I’m reading right, I believe they took out the ASHI/NAHI requirement for licenses after July 1, 2002, and the fee is $50. http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe?gbo&16-3A-03.
And in the minutes of the Aug. 2006 meeting, the off-site training requirement is proposed to be changed to on-site, which I’m guessing means that it has to be taken at a physical location and not via internet, just my guess. http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/min/reapp-aug2006.doc. All in all, it’s not such bad legislation, at least when compared to the one that was recently proposed for PA.
Ironic huh…See i find that more of a conflict of interest that if i fix an electrical poblem I might find…which I DON’T…but point made.
FINALLY!!! I submitted an application almost 6 years ago, and…nothing. I did recieve a phone call last thursday, and it seems that my long lost application was found. In the interim, WV passed a law last year, required certification by August 1 of this year, and we’re licensed. Do you think there’s a connection between three of the neighboring states to MD passing HI laws and MD finally funding the cert process?
Dave, I think any connection between the three states on licensing activity is co-incidence. Years ago MD saw an opportunity to regulate yet another profession, for which they could charge fees, while protecting the public from the bad guys out there. We finally had a state budget surplus, and bingo, folks have been hired and the paperwork is churning now. Part of that budget surplus came from raising fees across the board in all sorts of license categories. Last year one of my MD license fees went from $375 to $750, gulp! I’m not saying its a bad thing, I just think the fees are out of control (our control).
Current status on the “hurry up and wait” approach is found here …
http://www.maryland-home-inspector.vachi.info/blog/ I imagine they need some time to get together in the back chambers to decide who will be approved to provide the 48 hour education requirements. Goggle the commission members names and two other inspector organizations seem to pop up a few times, and it ain’t nachi.
John, you are mistaken. The requirement to join an association ended in 2002.
Nick,
I understand that the association membership requirement only applied to those grandfathered applications prior to 2002. Further, that association membership is no longer a requirement for the current applicants that are “on hold”, as the state sorts out the timeline for this process.
My crack about the current commission members having long standing associations with “other” HI organizations, is my way of being skeptical that the upcoming approval of educational sources will be impartial and all inclusive, including Nachi courses. I may end up being way off base, and I hope I am wrong on this point, but we certainly won’t know until they announce their approvals. I guess I wouldn’t be concerned at all if I saw a thread here along the lines of “Maryland approves yet another Nachi course” …