Home : Blogs : Lenn Harley, Broker, Maryland and Virginia : Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com in Maryland and Virginia

THE MARYLAND COMMISSION FOR REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS AND HOME INSPECTORS IS FLEXING NEW FOUND MUSCLE

GET READY AGENTS. By January 1, 2008, all Maryland home inspectors will have to be LICENSED.
What has been sea change in the function and functionality of the state of licensing home inspectors is little known to consumers, but these changes are going to dramatically change the practices of real estate licensees in real estate brokerage and, in particular, home inspectors and home inspections.

WE HAD THE LAW, JUST NO MONEY TO ENFORCE IT
Meet the Maryland Real Estate Appraiser and Home Inspector Commission. By January, 2008, all home inspectors in Maryland will have to be licensed. While the new Maryland licensing requirements for home inspectors in were enacted in 2002, the law was never implemented because, while home inspectors are licensed through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, with no money for staff, the law had no meaning.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GRANDFATHERING
Although, some smart home inspectors did, in fact, make application prior to July 2002 giving the status to apply to be Grandfathered without meeting all the new minimum requirements. There is a widespread misconception in the area that folks who have XXX amount of years experience can be Grandfathered. Not so. Only persons who made application PRIOR TO JULY 2002 may be Grandfathered.

"JUST GIVE US THE MONEY TO DO THE JOB", says the Commission for Real Estate Appraisers and Home Inspectors. As of July 2006, the Maryland Real Estate Commission will be funded by fees collected from licensing. The budget for the Real Estate Commission for 2006 was $827,000. In 2007, the budget will be $1.3 Million. That's about a 40% increase and the Commission responded by hiring staff to implement Licensure of Home Inspectors. Real estate license fees contributed about $1,700,000 to the Maryland general fund in 2006.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE LICENSED TO DO HOME INSPECTIONS IN MARYLAND
Applicants will have to complete at least 48 hours of an approved education program, have a high school diploma or equivalent and carry a minimum of $50,000 liability insurance.

There is no written examination required or provided by the Commission for licensure, but that could be a future component of the licensing process. It can be predicted that some present home inspectors will NOT get licensed. I just spoke with a Homefinders referral broker and she said that the inspector that she recommends is licensed. In checking the Commission web site, the inspector is not yet licensed. The real estate broker took the word of the inspector. That isn't a safe verification. Protect yourself, your licnese and your home buyers. Make sure that the home inspector you use is licensed. Now that the licenses are available, it will reflect poorly on a real estate agent or broker if they recommend home inspectors not yet licensed. Be careful, be safe and don't risk your license by recommending a home inspector who is not licensed.

WARNING TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND BROKERS
Since we are in a position to recommend home inspectors to our home buyer clients, seems to me that an agent or broker should make sure that the home inspector(s) that they are recommending are, in fact, licensed. Don't fall for the statement, "Oh, I was Grandfathered". These home inspectors will still need a license come January 1, 2008. At this time, there is no testing for home inspection license. However, the Commission does maintain a list of licensed individuals available on the web site. Make sure the home inspector you recommend is licensed. The Home Inspector I recommend is licensed.

Name	Address	City	State	Zip	Expiration	Category	Reg. #
VIMAL KAPOOR	22252 TRENTWORTH WAY	CLARKSBURG	MD	20871	2009-03-14	HOME INSPECTOR	29403

Courtesy: Homefinders.com

Posted by Lenn Harley, Broker, Maryland and Virginia on 06/24/2007 12:21 PM

Comments (9)

maryland home inspectors

This post has been included in Maryland Information

9 Comments on THE MARYLAND COMMISSION FOR REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS AND HOME INSPECTORS IS FLEXING NEW FOUND MUSCLE

JUN

2007

Lenn,

Our inspectors have been licensed by the state now for over three years. And, I only recommend those inspectors who have done inspections in the area for the past 5 years or more.

In fact, several of these companies have been doing business in our area for over 10 years. And, they do a good job.

I recommend that inspections be done on all properties, including new construction. You'd be amazed at the things that show up! Nah, then again, maybe you wouldn't.

Eileen. Nothing surprises me. When I had my guy inspect my new home, it took the builder 3 weeks to complete the list. I like to do new home inspections after settlement and after the owner has lived in the house. They find all kinds of little dings and glitches.

Or, if the property is large enough, we also have an inspection on the foundation and pre-drywall.

I love to go to inspections.

Lenn

We have had inspector licensing for about 3 years here in Arizona also. Like Eileen, I try not to use the new ones until I have had experience with them.

I think inspector licensing is a good thing, now if they would only require computer generated reports that we could actually read.

It's about 3 years that we've had inspector's licensed in Nevada also...the guy I use most of the time, does the computer generated report. Prints it right at the site at the time of the inspection...hands 1 to me, 1 to the buyer and provides an extra copy for the seller and/or seller's agent if requested. I give my buyers a list of 3 inspectors that I have seen their work and know they are competent. Most buyers ask me which I would choose or they pick the first one on the list.

Hi, Lenn. Thanks for the head's up on this topic. I recommend licensed appraisers, too - it only makes sense. Walter Clews owns the Amerispec franchise in my area, and he has always been very active in training and even participating in the development of the licensing process in MD. One of the things I like about them is their slogan - "If they miss it, they fix it". From time to time, some things will get missed (or maybe fall into a gray area), and I have had them deliver on their slogan. Not many inspectors would do that.