RE: Anyone ever considering having a home inspection (Charlotte, Raleigh: real estate, home builders)

[sacredgrooves]

The licensure board and politicians have now passed a new law regarding how we report safety items as Home Inspectors. They have made it a CRIMINAL OFFENSE for me to disclose a safety hazard on the report summary. Why? Who knows, but I certainly feel imforming my clients about a serious fire hazard is just a tad more important than a rotted window sill. They will force us to be bury any safety issues in the body of the informational pages as opposed to the summary of problems page. Below is a letter written to the News and Observer by a very respected fellow inspector which lays out the details. If anyone else finds this ridiculous, please speak out.



October 7, 2007 Raleigh News and Observer Editors: I am deeply concerned that the change to the North Carolina Home Inspector Standard Report Format (11NCAC 8.119) that has been approved by the North Carolina Home Inspection Licensure Board will limit the critical safety information that I and other home inspectors have been providing for years on the summary page of our home inspection reports. Those changes, which will take place on 12/01/2007, can be viewed at: http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/Engineering/HILB/Documents/ProposedRuleChanges.pdfI (broken link) am also concerned that the media, including the News and Observer, with the exception of a Charlotte television station have failed to get involved with this issue and it has been unreported. With the final public comment to the board ending on October 15, 2007 it is possible that this will be forced upon an unsuspecting public without them having an opportunity to understand what is about to take place. It remains to be seen how many buyers will be injured, be killed, or adversely financially affected. The reality is that most buyers and agents do not read the entire report, but rather only the summary, and that is the section that is used for negotiated repairs. That means that numerous issues that are critical to the safety of the home will be buried in the body of the report and there will be no opportunity to negotiate these repairs. It also may prevent the issue from becoming a material fact that must be disclosed to the next potential buyer if the deal falls through. Thus, the lack of safety issues on the summary will have a negative exponential effect that will allow the unscrupulous to flourish and safety issues to persist. If approved, North Carolina will stand alone among states in allowing this deviation from a standard established by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) in 1976. Ironically, it was ASHI that provided significant instruction to the Board when licensing was established in 1996. At that time North Carolina was the second state to license home inspectors and appeared to be on the cutting edge when looking out for the public interest. How quickly things have changed. The stated purpose of licensure board as stated on their web site is,” The North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board is chartered to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare - protect the public from being harmed by unqualified persons by regulating the use of the title "Licensed Home Inspector" and by providing for the licensure and regulation of those who perform home inspections for compensation.”

It clearly would be in the public interest for the media to interview those on the board members that both approve and disapprove of this change and provide editorial comment on this important issue. I have come to the inescapable conclusion that there is a serious problem with the composition of this board. You would expect that, as with home inspectors, the board members would be unbiased in their approach to protecting the public, but that is not the case as the board is stacked with special interest and that is painfully obvious. The licensing board should be free of those that represent special interest and even the appearance of a conflict of interest. That means that home builders, or Realtors ®, or political appointees currently serving on the board with an agendas that are not in the public interest should not have the power to adversely affect public safety to insure easier profits. What other motive could there be for this action? It would more fruitful for the board to pursue improving licensing procedures by making it more difficult to be licensed and by addressing substandard reports, not by watering down the substance of all reports and breaking a well established tradition of including safety issues in home inspection reporting. It would also be in the best interest of the public to work to bring real estate contracts in line with the existing NCHILB Standards of Practice and to stop home inspectors from doing repairs on properties they inspect; a clear conflict of interest that is currently permitted. One inspector suggested to me that he would place large bold red letters above the summary page that reads, “PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE REPORT. AS A RESULT OF ACTIONS BY THE NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTION LICENSING BOARD CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUES THAT COULD AFFECT YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON THE SUMMARY PAGE AND WILL BE BURIED IN THE REPORT”. If this change is adopted, I hope that all inspectors will make this important statement in their reports. The state deserves the embarrassment that that statement would bring. Sincerely, William Delamar President Residential Consulting Home Inspection Services North Carolina Home Inspection License # 84 ASHI Certificate # 33611

[saturnfan]

Good way to stop the crazy rule in its tracks.