Referral Fee from other inspectors

General Inspection Topics General Inspection Discussion
21

I live and work in a state that does not license electricians…or other contractors or builders. Interestingly enough, this is okay with the Missouri Association of Realtors.

I live and work in a state that does not have or enforce building codes in more than half of its counties. This, too, seems to escape the interest of the Missouri Association of Realtors.

No…their priorities can be found in their commissions derived from the sale of the house. This is something that must fall under their control, according to them and their lobbiests, since it is their income at stake with every transaction.

There is nothing about protecting the “consumer” that motivates their desire to control home inspectors through legislation…much as the realtors do in your state, John.

Our Attorney General handles consumer complaints. In the last five years, there have been (are you ready for this?) zero complaints filed against home inspectors. Would you like to know how many thousands have been filed against real estate salesmen, builders and contractors during that same period?

According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, in 1991 - of all of the licensed professions in the state - real estate agents outnumbered all of the others with criminal records. As a result, today they get background checks before licensing…but they are still licensed in spite of their record. They just serve a “probationary” like status for a while, first. These people think they should govern US!

As for the other political force behind these attempts at turning marketing plans into law, you will find ITA/Kaplan (with their promises to certain ASHI members to be hired to teach when they fill their classrooms with state mandated licensing students) as the other player.

No where in all of this will you find the consumer.

In fact, at the same time they were attempting to indenture us under HB 978, the Missouri Association of Realtors proposed another bill (HB 324) that would have given them immunity from prosecution for lying to a potential buyer about the proximity of a known sex offender to the house they were trying to sell him. These are the priorities of the Missouri Association of Realtors.

All real estate salesmen are not as greedy and as crooked as the association they have lobbying for them, but apparently enough are to empower this group.

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The govt is too scary, and claim to know what is best. I do not trust them. Jim AAA Home Inspection

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Not at all Mr. Conflict. I am always for it. I obtained my SC license and had to jump through their hoops to get licensed but was willing to do so to show my conviction to the industry and the profession. But if you wish to cast your unfounded judgements on me, as you do with all the others, feel free to do so as I have come to see on these boards that there is none mightier than you. :smiley: :smiley: (does the addition of the smilies mean that this was supposed to be funny?)

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Do I want bad legislation and oversight -NO. Does the general public need a form of verification their inspector is of sound moral character and not a prior criminal, has minimum educational requirements and meets an established continuing education protocol, well yeah why not? Elevates our position as a recognized profession.

25

Great post Brian. Thank you

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A finders fee for a home inspection? :o
I can’t believe it.:shock: Personally I would have told him to go Fcuk himself and keep his inspection but that’s just me.
It’s not like we charge thousands for a home inspection and can give $100-200 as a referral fee.
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27

We don’t get that many complaints about home inspectors in
Texas. But I kind of like it that Johnny-fixit can’t go out
and become a home inspector tomorrow.

BTW… it’s hard to file a complaint in states when there is
no law broken and no license or standard to go by.

Here is an interesting article abou the MO inspector law
http://www.krcg.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=33382

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The problem here is not with the licensing, it is with who control the license. In most states it is the government, by the people, for the people. In Your state it is the Realtors Association, that is the problem.
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You might want to see if the Missouri AG office would change the wording of their 2006 “Top 10 Consumer Complaints” as the way it reads now a consumer could get the wrong impression of us legitimate “Home Inspectors”. You know…guilt by name association.
See: http://www.ago.mo.gov/publications/homerepair2.htm

30

Sorry. I haven’t been back to this thread for a day or two, I guess.

Didn’t know a question had been put to me.

Jim, I read daily and with great interest the debate here and on other HI discussion sites regarding HI licensing.

Personally, I would prefer not to be regulated in the slightest. Having worked in the private sector as a kind of liaison between my executive management and the FDA (big honkin’ regulators with real live kill your company enforcement power), Ihad a revulsion to gvernment engendered within me.

I can also see the point of licensing and a set of minimum standards. Some companies that that enforcement agency rode hard and put up wet really deserved the workout. We who were following the rules as best as we could appreciated their efforts at those times (just as the misdiagnosed and maltreated public did.)

Until I am finished with my internal debate, that is all I have to say on this external one.