NY State Continuing Education Available on Long Island, NY

Inspection Education Topics Inspection Education & Training
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NYS HOME INSPECTION CONTINUING EDUCATION
**Home Inspectors need 24 hours of Approved Continuing Education every 2 years in NYS The courses below are NYS Approved and meet your **
educational requirements for the 24 hours Home Inspection Continuing Education. Sign Up In Advance to meet your educational requirements. NYS does not permit on-line education. All courses must be taken in a classroom setting. Certificates are issued at conclusion of each class.

12/3,4,5,6 **ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM **3.5 DAYS 21 HRS CREDIT 8-5PM…… 475.00 This 35 hour course is approved for 21 hours of home inspector continuing education credit. It ill give you the knowledge to perform an Energy and Environmental Inspection on residential homes throughout the NYS region. We include over 100 in Manuals and Handouts as part of this program.

12/12 **THERMAL IMAGING FOR HOME INSPECTOR CERTIFICATE **7 HRS 8-3PM “Incl. Thermal Imaging Manual $ 150.00
A introductory course on understanding the use, the limitations and the applications of a Thermal Camera for Home Inspecting

12/14 **ELECTRICAL INSPECTING ILLUSTRATED CERTIFICATE COURSE **4 HRS 1-5PM Manual Included………… $ 95.00
A course in which we will explore basics, and advanced discussion of electrical components and proper, safe inspecting of electricity in a home

12/14 **INTERIOR ROOM FINISHING COMPONENTS CERTIFICATE COURSE **3 HRS 6-9PM Manual Included………. $ 75.00
A course in which we will explore different interior finishes, which a home inspector will identify and report as part of their assignment in NYS.

12/14/09 BOTH COURSES– Electrical (4 Hrs) & Interior Room Finish (3 Hrs) is Discounted to $ 140.00 for ALL 7 hours

MERRELL INSTITUTE/AEN SCHOOL
Bill C. Merrell- 631-563-7720
1461 - 16 Lakeland Avenue, Bohemia, NY 11716

NACHI/iNACHI Approved Education and NYS, Dept of State Approved
Certificates issued at the conclusion of each course

Free Brochure? Call us at 631-563-7720, and we will mail it out asap

**www.merrellinstitute.com **

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The above educational courses will exceed the requirements to prove to NYS your 24 hours of continuing education in NY State. (There are 4 different classes in December to select from)

Always ask for a NYS Approval code to guarantee credit for any course you are taking.

Unless you have written documentation from NYS that the class is NYS approved, or will receive credit prior to taking it, I suggest that it is not worth the risk of a fine or loss of your license over a mistake. Call 518-474-4429 to verify the regulations regarding home inspection continuing education compliance.

To verify a course approval or equivalency, call the NYS Education Unit at 1-518-486-3803.

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With upwards of 1,000 home inspectors renewing their licenses by the end of this year, I recommend that you attend APPROVED Continuing Education for Home Inspectors in NYS.

Unfortunately, I have been informed that 2 of my students attempted to have their online out of state NACHI class used for continuing educaton and they were not approved in New York State. They have therefore signed up for the class starting this Thursday- Call NYS to verify same at 518-474-4429. I assume that the loophole in the regs have been closed.

Want a free brochure, call us at 631-563-7720.

Want to sign up, call us at 631-563-7720. Want to see the entire list of all classes, go to our web site at

www.merrellinstitute.com

or www.merrelleducation.com

All the best. I hope everyone had a Great and Relaxing Thankgiving!

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Bill, have your students contact me. I’ll send them a copy of my letter from the state accepting my online continuing education. Once they accept ONE, they can’t deny others, UNLESS the education panel cam out with a new adopted regulation, which they haven’t. If it meets their criteria, they’re stuck with the way they wrote the legislation. I know several people that have received credits in this manner. I believe it may be rejected due to lack of proper documentation in support of the course and the state in which it is recognized.

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Jeffrey:
I do not wish to disagree with you, but I was informed, under no conditions will on-line education be approved using the equiv. form. They also told me if someone received approval, it was by mistake, and therefore it does not and will not require them to accept new applications from on-line education. The education burea has a direct telephone num ber. It is 1-518-486-3803- Albany, NY- Bureau of Educational Standards, and as per my conversation with them, on-line education is not approved, in state or out of state.

Anyone looking to use on-line education should get the applications in early, 3-4 months before your license expires. If audited, the state has the power to fine and has fined licensees from the Dept of Staste for not meeting continuing education requirements in licenses under their control. A recent fine to an appraiser was $ 2,500.00 for failing to take the required continuing education, and renewing without approved continuing education.

More important, many home inspectors have allowed their general liability insurance to lapse, and the state will be acting on this. I was informed that this will be reviewed this since the license law mandates this as well as classroom continuing education.

If the state legislature allows on-line education going forward, I am all for it. Allowing it would require a change in the regulations.

I would say that anyone who has received credit for on-line education as a home inspector in NYS should be happy, that their request slipped through the cracks.

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Bill,

There are no “Cracks.” If it is approved in another state you will receive credit if you supply them with the proper paperwork and the DOS form. They simply cannot pick and choose who gets what credit. If they apporve credit for ONE person, they MUST approve for all. There is no discretion involved. If you meet the criteria, you recive credit. Whether it is an online course or not is irrelevant.

If someone has applied for equivalency credit and has been denied, (after proper filing of ALL of the necessary paperwork,) then they need to contact their local state representative and have the matter looked into.

(b) Individuals who complete a course of study offered outside of the State of New York, which course has not been approved by the Department of State, may file a request to the Department to have such course count as credit toward their New York continuing education requirement. All applications for such consideration must be submitted with official documentation of satisfactory completion and the official descriptions of the course of study as prescribed by the Department of State. Upon receipt of such a request, the Department of State will review and evaluate the out-of state course to determine if all or a portion of the course may be credited toward the applicant’s New York continuing education requirement. Within 30 days of receipt of a request, the Department of State will approve or deny the request for New York continuing education credit. **
** © All applications for and evidence of equivalency credit must be submitted to the Department of State for consideration at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the license.
Section 197-3.7 Extension of time to complete courses.
** The Department of State may grant an extension to any licensee who evidences bona fide hardship precluding completion of the continuing education requirements prior to the time the renewal application is to be filed. A licensee seeking such an extension shall submit a written request, together with the evidence demonstrating such hardship. Within 30 days of receipt of a request, the Department of State will notify the licensee whether their request for an extension has been granted or denied.**

Nowhere in the legislation does it specifically prohibit online courses, nor does it leave room for interpretation. Additionally, there is a provision to receive an extension if Continuing Education requirements are not met, (See above.)

I honestly do not believe that contacting the Department of State, and alerting them to the fact some people are obtaining credit for online courses is beneficial to any licensed Home Inspector, especially InterNACHI members. The more people that receive approval for courses taken online, the more likely it will be that they will simply approve these courses, and not require the equivalency form.

There simply are not enough courses available to satisfy everyone’s scheduling. I personally have tried to take several courses only to have them cancelled with a weeks notice because there was only two people in the class. I’m located pretty much in the center of NY and refuse to travel over an hour for a class. I can’t imagine living in the northern parts of NY and having to drive several hours each way to take a class that you have no interest in taking, simply to satisfy the demands of the State.

If anyone would like information on what documentation will satisfy the State to receive equivalency credit, (If Bill hasn’t sabotaged it,) send me a message and I’ll be MORE than happy to help.

Fraternally,

Jeff Pilipczuk

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How so Jeff?

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By continually calling them and bringing it to their attention, that they have made provisions for online education to be accepted. It doesn’t help anyone except himself and his business. If they are accepting online education via equivalency credit, then let it be. If one questions it enough, they may wonder why.

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No…he doesn’t do that, does he?—:twisted:

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Jeff,

This is primarily the reason you have refused to seek genuinely approved sources of continuing education, and quite frankly, as a license holder you have no say in the matter. The alternative is to surrender your license. You got away with it once, but will likely not get away with it again. Good for you, but your advice is wrong-headed.

With regard to the rest of your posts, and with all due respect, you are WRONG and I must advise you that you are providing NY licensed inspectors erroneous information that may ultimately cost them their licenses.

For whatever reason, NY State’s Dept of State Division of Licenseing does NOT accept on-line education for home inspectors. Period. End of Report.

While it DOES accept equivalency credits from courses approved by other states, it was done so on the assumption that said courses were taken in a classroom environment. If they weren’t, then the State will not recognize the training.

If one or two inspectors received their credit in this out-of-state on-line manner, the State may not strip them of their credit. However, the State may also not grant anyone else further credit under the same rule. You apparently slipped into something, but others will not. In fact, this move may ultimately damage this organization with regard to future efforts in getting courses approved.

I remind you of your duty as a NACHI member via the COE, and encourage you to verify your facts prior to posting. Your interpretation of the law may have served you this one time, but does not trump the opnions of the members of the HI Advisory Board, nor the Division of Licensing.

To do so, you would need written verification of your opinion as fact, and there is simply no way for you to do that. I know this as a fact, and I may add that I have no dog in this hunt. However, I also cannot sit idly while watching you provide potentially damaging and misleading information to NACHI members in my home state.

I do so as the Chair of the Ethics Committee and as Director of Professional Development for this organization.

Kindly contact the State and either validate your claims or remove them.

Although the future may result in a change to the State’s policy, we are dealing with inspectors in need of continuing education in order to keep their licenses. We are dealing with the here and now…

As to any notion of Bill Merrell’s comments being self-serving, I may also remind you that it would be just as easy for him to close his school’s physical location for inspectors and host classes on-line from a server in his basement. He would save on rent and the cost of instructors. Seems to me that he’d be for this, and not against it.

But, like I said, we deal with the realities of TODAY, and that reality is that no on-line education for home inspectors is currently accepted, whether out of state or not. If you were the exception, then good for you. You still need to qualify your posts.

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Greetings All:

I was pleased when I originally heard that New York State approved on-line continuing education courses. I then found out that this information was FALSE. I, maybe 2 people, as per the NYS, Dept. of State, Division of Licensing Services were awarded credit in error for on-line courses.

Those who know me and know my school operations also know that I offer over 40 different on-line education courses in NYS and on-line education would be simple to create and offer…IF IT WERE APPROVED. UNFORTUNATELY, IN NYS IT IS NOT!

I have a letter from the NYS, Dept. of State which states that NO ON-LINE courses are approved in NYS for Home Inspection Continuing Education. I have supplied this letter to any potential student who has requested it, and I further ask them to verify iit for themselves. Don’t take my word for it, and don’t take a letter from the State of NY, Call yourself and ask. Their General # is 518-474-4429 and their Direct Education Dept. Number is 518-486-3803.

I don’t plan on taking anything said in this thread personally. If you or anyone thinks that I am supplying misinformation, asking a student will attend my school, you are very mistaken. The fact that I offer many approved on-line courses in multiple states would negate such a statement.

NYS does not accept On-Line Education for Home Inspectors, take in NYS or taken out-of-state. This is a FACT ! (Call NYS to verify same at 518-486-3803)

This may change down the road, and if it does, I have multiple courses I will be submitted to NYS for approval. Until then, I don’t want any comments here to be treated as a personal attack against anyone. I am simply stating facts.

Everyone who has called NYS has confirmed my information is correct.
Feel free to call and ask the same question. I have not sabotaged anything. That was not a very fraternal thing to suggest. Excuse me for not blindly taking your word for the fact that the state has changed their regulations, and forget to tell every school in the state, every other association in the state and no one else has come forward to let us know that their on-line classes were also approved.

I belive that giving NACHI members misinformation would be more dmaging than to verifying it, as Joe Farsetta did. When he verified these facts, he learned the same thing I did. On-Line Education- even via an equiv. form is not accepted in NYS for NYS Home Inspectors for Licensing courses, nor accepted for continuing education classes.

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Unlike schools that continue to cancel classes, as my students know, we run and host our classes. That will benefit those who enroll in our programs.

For my students who are NACHI members. I would be eager to e-mail or fax you the letter I received from NYS in which they clearly state that on-line education is not accepted, even via the equiv. education form.

Hope this ends a very long confusing saga…

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THANKS!!!

I want to thank the several NACHI members who called me at 631-563-7720 and told me that they received the same information when they called New York State.

I believe that this chapter has run it’s course, and in the absence of the state doing an about face, on-line classes are not accepted in NYS. I, again have multiple classes ready for submission when and if they ever allow them, so my interest is that students do not receive misinformation, and yes I have a letter from the state which states that On-Line classes are not accepted. I am happy to share this letter with any of my students, who wish to call the state, going forward.

All the best to fellow NACHI Members.

Again, you can call the NYS, Secretary of State’s Education Dept at the Dept. of State at 518-486-3803, and they will verify all the in’s and out’s of approved education in NYS for Home Inspectors.

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I have read the regulations regarding Continuing Education for Home Inspectors in NY, yet I have been unable to find anything that specifically prohibits online education. If there is something that says that [FONT=Verdana]in writing, I’d like to see that. Word of mouth is great for rumors, but we’re talking about State Regulated licensing, for which there should be strict protocol. In absence of anything that prevents online education being accepted for equivalency credit, then it becomes a case by case approval. [/FONT]

If one was approved, and another denied for submitting the [FONT=Verdana]exact same paperwork it could be fought (and should be) and credit should be granted to all parties equally. [/FONT]

I respectfully chose to disagree with some portions of your posts. As a license holder, I [FONT=Verdana]do have a say in what should and what shouldn’t be approved for credit. Isn’t this a democracy ? We all, as NYS taxpayers have a say in any legislation. Whether they listen is another question. As far as compromising the possibility of NYS accepting NACHI’s online courses for continuing education, I believe that by accepting equivalency credit the door has been opened and will hopefully lead to further acceptance of NACHI’s online courses.[/FONT]

There was no intent on my part to provide inaccurate information to other NACHI members. I correctly read, interpreted, and applied for equivalency credit. After receiving approval, I posted my successful endeavor with hopes that others would follow suit and also receive credit. At that point I felt no need to contact the State and say “Are you sure you gave me the credit properly?” That would be akin to receiving your License, then calling the State and confirming with them that they received your list of inspections required for “grandfathering.” Obviously they did, so there would be no need to confirm that fact.

I still believe that the NACHI members of NYS would have been better served, if the discussion on how it’s possible to receive equivalency credit, would have been carried out here. A healthy discussion on this topic would have served us all well.

I have no stake in this either way. I actually thought of keeping the idea to myself for fear of it somehow becoming screwed up. I guess I was right. I thought that the best thing to do was to help other inspectors who, in these uncertain financial times, would find it beneficial to be able to take courses without fees and without having to leave their business and the possibility of missing out on a job.

Obviously there are differences in opinions on this topic, and I also think I’ve said enough and will lay it to rest.

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Jeffrey:

What you do not understand it that you are not the legislature. You vote for elected offficials who determine the regulations. Call the state. Please! You will find that they made an error with your approval. If they make an error, they do not allow the hours approved in error to apply to others. That is why your application slipped through the cracks. GOOD FOR YOU ! Consider it a win!

If you have an opinion, GREAT ! However, if your posting misinforms licensed inspeectors and they get fined as a result of your recommendations, then it is more than just an opinion.

Joe aaskeed you to provide proof that the on-line class will be approved by everyone following your steps. I have a letter from the state, to the contrary. If you wish a copy of the NYS leetter, send me your e-mail and I will send it to you.

If and when NYS decides to approve Home Inspection CE courses on-line, I would be pleased and my courses will be submitted for approval. Since NYS will not approve on-line ce classes for home inspectors, it is currently a moot point.

I agree that there is a differencee of opinion on this topic. You are quoting the initial license law, not all the meetings and voted the Home Inspection Board made over the past 3+ years in NYS. The initial law did not even state the exact number of hours of education, yet we all knoww you must take 24 hour classroom hours of education.
The initial law did not supply a Code of Ethics or Standard of Practice, now the state is adopting their COE and SOP.

I would hope that you would speak with a live person and ask them if they apprved your course in error, or will this be the norm. If it is the norm, I will notify each and every home inspector as to your findings. If it is not approved, (and your hours were approved in error) as I have in writing from the State of New York, I have a responsibility to inform Home Inspectors about this as well.

Congratulations on the approval you received in error. I maintain that the state will refuse to approve future on-line ce classes, since yours did slip through the cracks.

I have the letter from NYS, which I am permitted to individually sent to those who inquire. If and when you have a letter to the contrary, please provide me a written copy of same. I will then verify the facts with the State. Until then, on-line education is not accepted in NYS for Home Inspectors.

I think that this should end this thread which is supposed to be about the courses I am offering to benefit those who need Home Inspection Continuing Education in NYS.

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO VERIFY THIS FACT WITH NYS CAN CALL THE NYS, DEPT. OF STATE, DIVISION OF LICENSING SERVICES, EDUCATION DIVISION AT 518-486-3803