OAHI /CAHPI Grow House

Just some info to try and clear up some confusion.

This is an old storey. It was a rerun from a year ago.

The person in BC has since got out of the business long ago.

Yes ASTTBC has a trademark on CHI, Certified House Inspector and Certified Home Inspector in all of Canada. They regularly contact inspectors who are not certified by ASTTBC and tell them to stop use (all comply). A person cannot claim to be a CHI unless they are a current member of ASTTBC. The certification is not yours for life.

NACHI members regularly run afoul of this because there name stands for National Association of Certified Home Inspectors. This has been a long standing problem ever since NACHI moved into Canada as ASTTBC already had the trademark in place. What was NACHI BC cooperated by telling there members to not use the term CHI.

RHI is the common certification name for CAHPI inspectors across Canada, not just in Ontario.

The original inspector that the buyer used was/is a OAHI inspector.

Of the 4 additional inspectors that were brought in; 1 was CAHPI, 2 were NACHI and one was an unaffiliated who was calling himself an engineer.

I am not sure what org the BC inspector was part of. He was not ASTTBC.

An old storey but CBC will get even more milage out of it since it’s a hit with the public…especially since Mikey becomes GOD in it!!

Nope, never registered. Status is “advertised” not “registered.” ASTTBC only has an application number, not a registration number.

Registered Trademarks in Canada start with the letters “TM” like this one: http://www.certifiedmasterinspector.org/cmi/cantrademark.html

Semantics - Point is - no one is allowed to use those terms in Canada unless they prove they were using them before the date that ASTTBC filed. There are only a couple of inspection companies that can do that.

Well I am glad you have made it past your third year as a Home Inspector .
Now you seem to be making a living how about trying to improve our industry across Canada .
WE unfortunatly have to many self serving associations that seem to be only interested in them selves.
They only association that seems to be open to all inspectors and tends to try and help ALL inspectors is NACHI.
The closed door secret attitude has not worked for over 20 years .

What the &*%% are you talking about. I see in 3 years your MO has not changed one bit.

Yes there needs to be one set of standards across the country. Yes the standards need to be higher than they now are with ANY certifying organization including CanNACHI. No, none of the existing players in the certification field deserve to be put in charge of the program in my opinion (this includes ASTTBC/CAHPI/CanNachi/or the Alliance of Canadian Home Inspectors)

Yes, I AM helping the industry improve - have been the entire time I have been in it. For starters check out www.thebcinspector.ca

What have you done?

Further to my last reply her is the facts re trademarks from a trademark lawyer. Sorry Nick - your comments are only half true.

Both CHI and CPI are official marks and registered trade marks. The official marks are shown as advertised, but in fact an advertisement of an Official Mark is equivalent to registration.

There are two ways to obtain “registration” under the Trade Marks Act. The first is for trade marks. The process requires advertisement and then registration when the mark has been used in Canada. The registration is for the goods and/or services included in the registration and must be renewed every 15 years.

The second type of marks are official marks. Official marks only require advertisement before they receive a certificate equivalent to a certificate of registration. Official marks are not limited in the goods and services with which they are associated, and never have to be renewed. A good example of official marks are the Olympic marks.

Sounds like Good, Better, BEST… Certified Home Inspector, Certified Professional Inspector, or the very best… CERTIFIED MASTER INSPECTOR.

Yes, I AM helping the industry improve - have been the entire time I have been in it. For starters check out www.thebcinspector.ca

What have you done?


Far more then most others like you will ever be able to do .
So sad you are the one who has not changed your attitude in the 3 learning years you have put in .
You come to our forum and say things not nice and we except you and hope we have helped you on your endeavors.
It is unfortunate those who you think so high of have not been more open to help all inspectors.
I still feel Many of the leaders of some of the Canadian associations treat their members cult like and expect all to follow their dicticatorial methods .
This is not the NACHI way and in seven years I have been a NACHI member Ontario has grown to just under 1,000 NACHI members .
I am sure this is more then CAHPI has in all of Canada .
If you need assistance please ask I will try to help .

10/28/06, 2:25 PM
[size=5]senwiinspection](https://www.nachi.org/forum/users/senwiinspection/)

New User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North Vancouver, BC
Posts: 48

**Please Note: **senwiinspection is a non-member guest and is in no way affiliated with InterNACHI or its members.

Re: What a BCIPI inspector has to say about NACHI :frowning:
I am studying to become a home inspector. I am planning on becoming a BCIPI and possibly a CAHPI certified home inspector because I feel these are both quality organizations that offer actual in person training and supervision.
I have taken the NACHI test and yes I did pass it. That does not make me a qualified inspector. Your founder states that you have a rigorous qualification process. Please educate me. Is any of this in a classroom person to person situation? Is any of it through an independent body? I have to take a series of college level courses (5 courses - each 13 weeks) and then have actual supervised inspections to become a BCIPI member, Does your organization demand this? The point is not that all NACHI inspectors are garbage. The point is that there does not seem to be any requirements to weed out the garbage. . I had one of those “3 hour” inspections done on my house when I bought and can say it was not worth the paper the report was typed on. organization. After reading these posting and others on your message board I know I do not want to become part of your “happy family” once I become certified.
Sean

Part of Seans Post above From four years ago!

Sean, Please keep visiting I am sure you do learn much here.
It seems strange to me how some who complain about NACHI come her to get information .
I do see you voice your thoughts about the selfish attitude of other Canadian associations.
I agree some Inspectors do not do a proper inspection ,
I have two reports from NCA approved Inspectors that far from perfect.
I have seen how bad the discipline of the other associations, and it is a farce and a disgrace .
Do I think NACHI is perfect NO way but NACHI still does much for this industry.
[/size]

  1. NACHI is not an association in any normal sense of the word. It’s a sales force in disguise!!

  2. This is the biggest diploma mill going. You were complaining about the newbies dropping prices. IMHO, this place is producing more newbies than all other groups in Canada combined!! Make it easy “to be” an HI and all will rush to it. If one liqour store were to cut the cost of it’s goods by 90%, where do you think everyone will be buying their libations?? Pretty simple to see what’s going on!!

  3. you think prices are being dropped now, just wait until the market tanks a bit here in Canada and the recent hordes of newbies start to hit the street at the same time…it’s a long way down yet!!

Same swan song you have been singing for years and tell me what has the Cult associations done for our industry .
Tell me how great they are.

Here is a prime example of a member of that secret self appointed canadian association .

[FONT=Verdana]www.scharlak.com[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana][FONT=Tahoma]A PHPIC member doing [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]$250 inspections in Niagara.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]you think prices are being dropped now, just wait until the market tanks a bit here in Canada and the recent hordes of newbies start to hit the street at the same time…it’s a long way down yet!! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Same old game they come and they go .[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] Eleven years I have watched and listened to this.[/FONT]

Roy - I stand by my comments of 4 years ago. I firmly believe in peer review and always will. I am thrilled that CanNACHI now requires field training as part of the application process. Now all the organizations in Canada are pretty much the same re standards and entrance requirements. But they need to all get much better. I am affiliated with one of the groups through convenience only now (cheap insurance and the opportunity to work with a really good group http://www.saferhomesociety.com. I did benefit by peer review and training - AND AM GREATFUL FOR IT - but like most inspection orgs in Canada, the politics is too much to stay involved on a personal level) I consider myself independent.

I do visit the Nachi.org site from time to time. I have always stated it is a great resource to inspectors and I regularly highlight courses offered on the site in my newsletter.

Your estimation of CAHPI membership across Canada is I believe askew. By my calculations they have at least 4000, not that I care.

Now can we get back to the purpose of this thread. I was only pointing out who the players were and answering questions re designations.

Roy:

Can you comment on this statement of mine?

“IMHO, this place is producing more newbies than all other groups in Canada combined!!”

That is just a guess on your part and I do not think it is true.
Why do you only complain about NACHI and ignore all the others .
You seem to me to be biased .
I feel that NACHI does more for the Canadian Home Inspector then all the other associations Combined .

I do not like and have voiced my thoughts on those who are the leaders of our Canadian associations continuing to entice the uneducated to take their Courses .
If they wish to entice,teach,Newbie’s then they should be at arms length of being a director .
For you to be one sided is no different then the Associations Cult Like Directors.

Brian writes:

Thanks! You made my day! :smiley:

All kidding aside, in lieu our 500 government approvals and our many education and training offerings, we’re actually a school: www.nachi.org/education.htm

We’re the ultimate inspection school.

Roy, et al - the reality many dynamics feed into pricing.

I recently came across a $199 iNACHI inspector. The point being that in a competitive market particularly over saturated with home inspectors - some are “free” to drop their price - if they feel they are backed against the wall, possibly for survival. That is a business decision.

I do agree it under estimates the value and risk of providing the service.

It does not necessarily mean that the inspection is inferior nor the best! Than again, some will feel that it provides a reason to “automatically” infer the old hype - that you get what you pay for.

Members net more profit than non-members, even when their fee schedules are identical. This is because non-members have to expend some of their net profit on business success, and education, and member benefits that members get, and are accustom to getting, for free.

I also came across a $199;00 advertising and was dumfounded to see it was Bill Mullen .
Now if an experienced company with 4 inspectors does this I have no idea why any one would need to do that .
My accountant shows where I spend about $125;00 in expensis per inspection .
Glad I Charge $400;00 + tax so my profit averages $275;00 for 3 hours work and 2.hours travel .
I like to work smart not long .

Working smart also involves studying your market, and understanding when to continue or cut bait!

Some have the luxury of building up a good client base, on referrals; wheras some of the common temptations of the new inspectors is to offer discounts, incentives or significantly lower inspection fees.

The point being that is a business decision, of the individual. It is also a decision that has little to do with association membership.