NBC news story about InterNACHI's fight against preferred vendor lists.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/Whats-In-a-Recommendation-98605259.html

Fight the good fight Nick!

Good for you Nick.

I’ll go a step further & say the REA should be completely disconnected from the process of choosing of an inspector due to the obvious conflict of interest.

The writer of the article needs an editor. Furthermore, the Texas regulatory scheme against home inspectors is a disservice to the Texas Home buyer consumer. How can a “real estate” commission that is controlled by realtors and realtor associations by in charge of regulating home inspectors? I feel bad for my Texas inspector colleagues and the unsuspecting Texas home buying consumer that they serve.

Old article that only this MB will see.

My bad! This is in a public section of the MB, so many will see your opinions on this subject. Just another nail in your coffin!

Any home inspector who has to pay a Realtor for referrals has announced to the world their severe lack of ethical standards. Furthermore, I’m not surprised that Nathan Thornberry is willing to tempt Realtors with unearned lucre while undermining NACHI’s Code of Ethics which expressly forbids their membership from directly paying for referrals. Thornberry’s endorsement of this fractured ethical standard is right in line with inspectors who sell their clients personal information to lead brokers.

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Good post Joe.
90% of this organization does not pay to be placed on a preferred vendor list.

Kevin, I can see your side of this. But, in fact most REA’s want a good thorough inspection by the better inspectors out there. I have REA’s that refer me regularly not because they want a report with no defects BECAUSE ITS PART OF THEIR DUTY TO DO WHATS BESST FOR THE BUYER THEY REPRESENT. They should be giving out names of the best inspectors out there. I’d not like them to be completely removed from the process for this reason.

I agree with what you say Mike. The article that Nick posted and what is the crux of the issue here is not agent referrals but paying to be on their preferred referral list. The practice is rotten and needs to be stopped. This does not mean that agents will no longer be able to refer HI’s that they feel would do the right thing by their clients. It would simply stop the pay for play nonsense and eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest. A win/win for all involved.

Kudos to Nick for taking the bull by the horns and showing some real leadership. I hope that others follow his lead.

Home inspectors that are on a preferred vendor list may be biased in their assessment of the home.
This article by a world renowned home inspector may enlighten potential clients.

The article speaks for itself.

http://www.softwareindustryinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/nail-in-the-coffin1.jpg

I understand where you’re coming from Mike and I also receive referrals from REAs as well. Although if they stopped referring me tomorrow, it wouldn’t phase my business one bit. I stopped going after agent referrals more than 2 years ago.

Times right now are good, but when times get tough, and they will get tough again as our economy is cyclical, some Realtor’s, not all, but some, don’t want a home inspector who might “rock the boat”, but one that will allow their deal to go smoothly - and we all know these inspectors are out there and many of us know who they are.

As far as a conflict of interest goes. Every defect the inspector finds is potentially less money in the Realtor’s pocket.

And the most unfortunate thing, at least in my eyes, is that many Realtor’s blame the inspector, rather than the house, for sinking their deal.

Amen Kevin.
Remember 2009 when the market crashed?
All home inspectors that depended strictly on realtor referrals and visa versa found their true calling at McDonalds and Starbucks as potential managers.
It will happen again, not if, but when??