The Ohio Realtor newspaper published by the Ohio Association of Realtors reports that the first step toward requiring home inspectors to be licensed in order to practice has passed in the Ohio House.  This question has been a topic of conversation in the housing industry for a number of years and has been supported by the Ohio Association of Realtors for over a decade.

The inspectors working pursuant to transactions I've had have been very competent - in fact, these same inspectors have said themselves that they wished Ohio did require licensing.  Many of them voluntarily join ASHI in order to show that they are professionals willing to prove it.  I believe that licensing is a positive step forward and will go far toward allowing both buyers and sellers to make more confident decisions about the physical health of their biggest investment - the home in question. 

Speaking of questions, the article I read was worded such that for a moment, I feared that inspections were intended to be allowed only if there were a contract on the property, which would have ruled out sellers' own inspections being done before buyers started making offers - I recommend that sellers take the initiative and get one for themselves in order that they know what the situation is before anyone else starts pointing out flaws, so that they can fix them or at least be prepared.  When I looked at the measure more closely - you can get more information at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_257 - I saw that the proposal requires inspections to take place only with written contracts between the client and the *inspector*.  That made a lot more sense.

The Ohio Senate will not be considering passage until after reconvening November 4, so stay tuned.  I think we are headed in the direction of inspector licensing.