This is just an idea and of course another poll to get the sentiment of the members to see if something can be done.
My idea is #1, let stop playing the blame game and start playing the superior professional game. I don’t care right now who has the longer thingy, I want to promote our profession above all others.
Since we pay a lobbyist why not put them to proactive work and here is my idea, once again, not saying it is right, just an idea and the poll can guide us.
What I am proposing is that we sent for a proposal to ALL representatives that there be a required 16 hour MINIMUM requirement for educational needs to perform the wind mitigation at ANY level, be it Home Inspector, Engineer, Div 1 contractor etc…
All people who already taken the 16 hour requirement is grandfathered in.
The way I look at it, if it goes through we win, if not we win. We can then go to the people when this all blows up and say “We TRIED” to make it more professional, we tried to make it more accurate and senators A, B, C blew it off. I mean have the EXACT people it was presented to and the EXACT people it was rejected from.
Good or bad idea? I don’t see how we can lose, but maybe I am wrong. Let me know.
"What I am proposing is that we sent for a proposal to ALL representatives that there be a required 16 hour MINIMUM requirement for educational needs to perform the wind mitigation at ANY level, be it Home Inspector, Engineer, Div 1 contractor etc…
All people who already taken the 16 hour requirement is grandfathered in."
Honestly Russell, I’m against additional requirements. But I would support ANYTHING that would get all the interested parties on the same page.
The in-fighting between Wind Mitigation providers has to end.
While we WASTE our time and energy attacking the Contractors lobby. The WCE’s are literally taking over. The earlier poll about HI’s hiring employees to perform WM’s said it all. The vast majority of inspectors wanted everyone to be trained and licensed.
We should be organizing with the Contractors and other groups that will be protecting all of our ability to work and provide the consumer with CHOICE in their inspection needs.
We have more issues in common, than divide us. If I have to take classes to get my HI brothers support, sign me up.
Then, let’s all fight together for our mutual benefit against the malefactors that threaten ALL of us!
With all the media hype it is getting, I would just love to say to the media that the home inspection professionals of Florida presented a more comprehenive and unbiased method to the Florida Legislature and they shot it down. We then name the representatives it was presented to and specifically name them.
One it shows we are taking the high road in an effort to provide a more professional and unbiased method of performing wind mitigation inspections to ACCURATELY give the client any discount, if any.
I mean the lobbyists work for us, lets give them ideas to do. I am trying to be more proactive than reactive.
Just some more thoughts on the idea. To me it is win/win for the profession.
I was going to stay out of this topic of discussion since I am leaving / retiring from the residential inspection arena soon for greener fields but as someone who splashed around in the legislative kiddie pool for over ten years I thought I would input this one thing.
“What I am proposing is that we sent for a proposal to ALL representatives that there be a required 16 hour MINIMUM requirement for educational needs to perform the wind mitigation at ANY level, be it Home Inspector, Engineer, Div 1 contractor etc…***”
First let me explain how Tallahassee really works. It is who has the biggest, richest, more well heeled lobbyist that gets the worm. Representatives talk to all kinds of people all day long. Usually only those who have some real serious money in their coffers get in the door, let alone talk to a rep. Money talks and BS walks is not just a saying. Sad, but the truth. Look who and what you are going up against…how did they get all the rules bent to hell and back the last ten times to favor their positions? Does the home inspectors have a single representative in their corner…NO!
I remember one conversation we (northwest FL HI assoc.) had with a lobbyist. “Forty thousand dollars, and I can make this bill go away!” That was a lot of years and home inspector bills ago. You are not going to get anything done with hundreds of dollars in the tiller…and you are going to have to figure out how to organize the FL home inspectors into ONE cohesive body…Good frigging luck with that!!! Like herding cats. As long as something is free, they will be in but when you start asking for money to accomplish the job, the accusations of greed, corruption start to come out. I sincerely wish you guys all the success (not luck…no such thing) in your efforts. You are gonna need it.
Doug I agree, I totally understand what you are saying. But when facing this do you just lay down and die? It think we (home inspectors) are worth fighting for. It all may be a worthless fight, but one that must be attempted.
In this particular instance how can we lose? We are paying lobbyists (no cost there) if they shoot it down we can go public and say we fought for it! If we get it though that would be awesome as well.
I know you have seen more of this than I and one day I may wake up and see it differently. One thing I do know is that the people in this organization and profession are super smart, very kind, and can be very tenatious if need be.
I don’t see it as you do, because I don’t believe in failure. I believe that the side or morality, protecting the public, elevating the profession and helping others will always win one way or another.
We may only have “hundreds in the coffers” now, but didn’t you strart with just dollars in your bank account, then you worked hard and got it to $100 then $1000 and then $10000 and so on and so forth. What do you expect? I will take hundreds because hundreds add up to thousands, do people think all this stuff happens overnight? It will happen and I want to look back and smile…and see the profession that Inspectors built…
“I had a dream”…wait I think that one is already taken…
But Doug when you move on to greener pastures I hope we can count on your advice and guidance in the future. Your a smart guy who has seen alot and that money can’t buy.
I will most likely keep my license intact, just in a retired status…for a while anyway. Once the herd thins down through natural attrition I may reactivate it…who knows. I have a lifetime membership in iNachi so yeah, I will be around, just not as much. Who knows, maybe I can even be a little sweeter towards newbies…naw.
shoot, if we could get just $100/yr from the FL nachi members, that’s $100k a year. I read nachi has a little over 1,000 members in FL. $8.33 a mo each.
Russ,
I like the Idea but, the trouble is in the process. If this was to go into a bill of some kind the bill has to go through several committees before it ever gets presented on the floor. We (the public) never hear about the separate committees and who supports what. We only hear about them when a bill gets to the floor.
Perhaps we could get the builders to support only employees that have taken the course doing wind mits? (yea I know, long shot)
I prefer to dive in head first with eyes closed then open them slowly. That way we can see less that is offensive right off the bat and get discouraged more slowly. That way we will have a positive attitude longer.
Having a positive attitude longer might help. Russell’s managed to infect me with a small degree of his passion that he has shared with others. John and Michelle have helped the industry though their efforts, others are contributing $ and maybe it is time for a little positivity.
Can’t hurt, let’s try it. Plenty of time later to be negative.
I guess what I want to do is to PRESENT it to legislation members of Florida and let them turn it down or not sponsor it. Then you post that they would not sponsor it, then we post whenever something goes haywire with the wind mits, and it will, we can say we fought for the betterment and these people turned it down.
It not about getting it on the floor its about having the ammunition to say we tried. We can then ask did the Div 1 cvontractors try? Did the code officials try? Did ANYONE else try to make it better or more profitable?
The high ground makes things look so much better.
P.S. -If I can make Brian Hoagland optomistic I am a freakin Miracle worker!
