The courses will be approved. That is not the issue here.
As in Kansas, our profession in Missouri will be dumbed-down, with basic, soft reports allowed by law. This what the agents want, so as not to alarm the home buyer, so they will purchase homes. The thing is that home sales have suffered everywhere, not only due to the economy, but people involved with home sales transactions, who are not honest. Home buyers are scared.
We, as professional home inspectors, are the only ones left involved in the transactions, who are honest. RE agents, sponsors and their cronies want to change that.
Pat - You and JB are right. Someone sent me the links as PDF’s AND it looks like on the Senate version they simply clipped the SUMMARY and sent it. Sonce that was all that opened I thought that was it.
Looks like really great Bills. Something we can all get behind and push with just a few alterations.
If your state is considering Licensing, I suggest you be in the same category as Engineers, Architects, etc, like we are in Arizona, if your state has licensing guidelines for those professions.
Realtors are NOT in the equation here, the way it should be, in my opinion.
I don’t have a single complaint about licensing here.
To start with most everything is left to the HI Board … With 3 Past National ASHI Presidents living in St Louis; with the 1st Pres of the old NHIE test living in St. Louis; with the President of the old ITA / Kaplan Training Schools living in St Louis; with the St Louis Realtors handing out a brochure recommending ASHI inspectors since 1982; and with the past XO of the St Louis Board of Realtors on the licensinng committee …
I’m betting that they will really take care of us and be association neutral.
Agents just want control, us out of their way, so they can sell sub-par properties to unsuspecting home buyers. If we do an inspection, and find defects, they want us to be liable, and to fix them. Quite a racket they will have going.
There is an old quote that seems to explain InterNACHI’s success at getting its courses approved (InterNACHI now has over 1,000 government approvals):“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes the laws.”
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), founder of the Rothschild family banking dynasty.
If you want to argue against licensing in general, I’m with you. But, you have to admit… this particular legislation is very InterNACHI friendly.
Ashi members push for legislation and in convincing the lawmakers that “protection of the public” is a good thing, gets on their good side so Ashi becomes a good guy and gets favorable language.
Nachi members who adamantly oppose legislation get the opposite reaction from the lawmakers and end up looking like spoiled kids that didn’t get their way.
The law is going to keep coming up and keep coming up, every year, every session until something gets passed. The quandary is, if legislation is going to be a given at some point, when it is best to throw in the towel and instead work for strong laws that truly protect the public and keep the used house sales people from getting a foothold on any committee or legislation language?
Because we represent members on both sides of the licensing issue, InterNACHI doesn’t push for legislation, but it doesn’t fight against it unless it is unfriendly to InterNACHI, and this Missouri legislation is very InterNACHI friendly.
You’re right, it’s stupid and juvenile to fight against something you believe is wrong. We should just keep quiet and let whatever happens just happen, that’s easier.
Why stand up for anything?
Or until they give up.
Why should we care what we “look like” as long as we give it a shot and say our peace, even if we lose?
Remember, licensing, especially low-bar licensing like this one being proposed, doesn’t weed out the incompetent… it gives them a license!.
Licensing weeds out the poor marketers. Once licensing is adopted and everyone is waving the same state-issued credential (and we’re all at square one with the 20 year veteran holding the same license as the newbie fresh out of school)… it becomes an ALL-OUT MARKETING RACE.
In licensed states, the best marketers win.
Of course I’m OK with that, but lets not kid ourselves about licensing is and does.
Licensing is NOT, never has BEEN, and NEVER will be about protecting the public. ESPECIALLY with the Realtors pushing it, writing the Bill, and backing it by slooshing the legislators to get it.
Once we have a licensing Bill, the real estate agents will do just like in Kansas …
Take an out of work dishwasher at McDonalds that has taken a 80 hour class, and passed a simplistic test like the NHIE, AND peddle that persons services to their clients as a STATE LICENSED HOME INSPECTOR. And since the state has deemed them ALL qualified by issuing a license, and since they all do the same thing, choose the cheapest one and lets get going.
I am not saying that it does protect the public. As I stated in my post, that is what those pro licensing people are telling the legislators in an attempt to get the law passed. Thus my statement about the quandary that you failed to respond to. Is there a point at which licensing becomes inevitable and you then work for proper language? And if you wait too long, do you end up getting stuck with watered down, used house salesperson language?
You fail to see the point. Let’s say there are enough members of both houses that sign on as co-sponsors. The law is going to pass. At what point do you start working for proper language to protect professional inspectors? Is it not better to control the Committee or Board and have strong language so used house salespeople don’t have a leg to stand on? Or do you think it is better to give up, sulk away and ***** about the language you end up with?
Anyone, what the difference between a potential license in a state and being a member of ASHI or NACHI in a current unlicensed state? If like most people state licensing simply gives eveyone a ID wouldn’t you agree NACHI or ASHI does the exact same thing? I guess what I’m trying to say is what’s the difference between our entry requirements and say the state of MO when and if they decide to simply enlist 80 hours of classroom plus a passing grade on the national test? In my opinion requiring 80 hours of classroom, taking a national test, then requiring to be a member in good standing of any association to maintain a log of CE credit is better than just being a member of a national association with no other training.
Don’t any of you that are complaining have anything to offer your clients that sets you apart from the newbie that just has a state license? It is all about Marketing, and the skills you have and can offer your clients, not about a license.
NAIVE?
I may have been at one time, several years ago. But since I’ve come to understand the nature of things like licensing, I’m far from naive.
No good can come of it - it’s not intended to protect anyone from anything. Licensing’s only purposes are to provide a revenue stream and to control what should be people’s private business.
As I’ve posted here before, Robert Higgs said “The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed, it is out to get you.”
It will do the same to MO’s HI business that it did to KS’s.
Naive…:roll:
I get your point - you think that if you should ever find yourself in a room full of rapists, you’ll come out ahead if you get to pick who goes first.
I’ve said nothing about giving up, although you’re right about one thing, it most likely won’t make any difference.
Also, for the record, I’m “b*******g” about the whole concept of Licensing. I couldn’t care less how it reads. It all means the same thing to me.
