Originally Posted By: Nick Gromicko
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
ASHI & NAHI each separately made the mistake of trying to introduce their own association-biased legislation. Silly. Nowadays it throws up a red flag and doesn't get anywhere. You just can't get the votes for such nonsense these days. Every legislature is on to it. So again, if you want some legislation passed, and you think you have good legislation... propose something that isn't association biased, or else it will die like a "purple ribbon sky diving" bill.
I don't fight licensing. ALL NACHI MEMBERS GET LICENSES ANYWAY. Better yet, most non-NACHI inspectors who get licensed later join NACHI anyway. Everywhere licensing goes thru, NACHI wins. Licensing turns the whole established free-market cart on upside down and diminishes what little equity ASHI has left in their brand by creating a new list... the list of licensed inspectors. This 30 year old brand equity, or what little is left of it, is totally destroyed by licensing. Age is the only and last small advantage ASHI has over NACHI. Licensing eliminates this last advantage by creating a new list (the list of licensed inspectors). NACHI is much stronger than ASHI on every other front (about a dozen major ones, and about 100 or more minor ones). We simply overpower ASHI everywhere else. Furthermore our weapons (marketing, internet, etc. for instance) are undiminished by governmental licensing. It's like we have immunity. Legislation or proposed legislation is like a surgical strike against established non-NACHI inspectors. Governments don't market licensees and never will.
Licensing is like "being up to code." it is such a bare minimum standard it's not
UP TO at all. It should be called
down to code. Licensing is similar in that it sets such a bare minimum standard (you can buy the answers to the NHIE on ebay for $15) that any idiot can get licensed... and when licensing goes thru... many idiots do get licensed. Many more than were in the industry before licensing (just look at states that adopted licensing). Licensing brings inspectors
into the industry, it doesn't keep them out like the dummies incorrectly predicted.
Even where licensing is tough (like Texas with their 300+ hours of continuing education)... it's tough on all inspectors, not just NACHI members. The good ones all join NACHI (see all the TREC#'s in NACHI's list of
featured inspectors. A Texas license, TREC#, and all that continuing education can't provide them what NACHI can.
A government license demonstrating that you've fulfilled some bare minimum standard is not going to make you any money or do what NACHI does for you. Never will. Goverments don't and can't do what NACHI does... actually no other organization can (and certainly not for $289). When you have a bunch of licensed inspectors... the NACHI members win.
A licensed inspector is a free inspector and of the whole population of all free, licensed inspectors... the subset that is dumb enough to pay to join an association that gives them nothing in return... is... well... made up of inspectors too dumb to be much competition to our members. Look at NAHI's (note I said NAHI's, not NACHI's) membership benefit list  .
So don't look too harshly on licensing... home inspection legislators (regardless of what association is buying their airplane fuel) are like NACHI's Bombardiers... destroying all existing market strongholds while our tanks (marketing power) lead the way for our massive infantry invasion.
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Nick Gromicko
Founder
dues=79cents/day.
I much prefer email to private messages.
