6088
There are several States with licensing requirements to operate as a home inspector. Michigan is not of them. Currently there is a bill proposed which will place requirements on Michigan Home Inspectors such as mandatory testing and minimum standards of practice, which names various items inspectors are required to inspect. The most recognized test in our organization is the NHIE which is a test coving the basic’s of what a home inspector should know. According to the bill other testing will be considered as long as it meets a certain requirement, which to me means this bill is in fact not controlled by organizational agendas.
One of the complaints I hear over and over about licensing is the way is creates a perception that all inspectors are the same as they all meet the same licensing requirements. While this is partially true it should be known that State mandated requirements are the minimum a home inspector must meet and do not necessarily make the inspector qualified to operate their business in the public’s best interest. In fact there is no test or organization that automatically qualifies a home inspector. That is something that’s completely up to the individual inspector to ensure. Having said that I don’t believe this bill will in fact put all of us in Michigan on the same playing field as those inspectors who choose continuing education and operate their business in an honest and ethical way are the salt of this profession.
For me the prospect of being state regulated is neither good nor bad. I can certainly see how it will, in some ways, benefit the public considering there will be at least a minimum requirement but I’m not keen on the idea of hands in my pocket under the guise of “protecting the public.” Having discussed this with others in our profession the general consensus seems to be licensing requirements hurt our profession but I’m fairly comfortable with the verbiage in 6088 and have seen at least one statement by an inspector who said he would trade his states licensing for our proposed licensing.
Lastly I just want to say I’ve never appreciated or involved myself in organizational bashing. I know there are opinions as to who is behind this bill and for what purpose. I’m not at all naïve to organizational agendas and self preservation; I just honestly don’t see how this proposed bill takes one side over the other. I’m curious as to what others opinions are relating to this but not so much so that I am interested in them when these opinions turn into name calling, back biting or childish banter. Many of us in the profession are passionate about what we do and sometimes that passion is communicated in a manner that hurts our profession, especially if we feel we are being challenged or questioned.
Vince Santos
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I have worked under a home inspection license since 2000 and I must say that in the two states that I hold a current home inspector license I have only seen an improvement in the quality of the inspectors. Yes, and for the first year or two also an increase in the number of inspectors. But, after the first renewal cycle goes around the number of inspectors tends to drop back down to what it was before licensing.
Does licensing make everyone equal? Well that all depends on what you consider to be "equal". Let's look at medical doctors or the legal profession. When a doctor becomes licensed, is that new doctor equal to a doctor who has numerous years of experience and additional training? Not in anyway shape or form, even though they are both licensed to practice. Same goes for an attorney. Is a newly licensed attorney as good as a an attorney who has been in practice for 5-10 years? Not a chance, again experience is the factor. The same is true with home inspectors.
Generally if you look at who is arguing against home inspector licensing, they will be fairly new to the profession, they might not have an established business, they are working only part-time as a home inspector or they are just following the the mantra that is being chanted by someone else.