Home inspector licensing is on the horizon. The law, passed by the legislature last year, will kick-in in September of this year. Now that it is in close proximity, there is an escalating amount of interest in the law and how it will impact home inspection firms and real estate firms. As a result of that, I know that some of us with fairly high Online visibility, such as Michael O' Handley and I, are receiving periodic communications from those who want information. We try to be helpful, but there is a limit to what we, as board members, should or are allowed to say.
In some cases the answer to a question is pretty simple. You tell them -- "no, the law says you cannot get out a hammer and a saw and repair rot in the crawl space the day after you did the inspection." The learning curve has shown me that I have to be careful what I say. A simple answer, that seems logical enough and safe, can lead to a big "flap." The other problem is that many of the questions have to do with the wording in the original law as written by the legislature. The board has little to no input on that language. We have to read it and try to figure out what it means too. Sometimes the AG's office is enlisted to do that.
The board's role is defined as advisors to the state. We are not supposed to be, other than at the scheduled public meetings, trying to interface with the public and answer detailed questions or respond to complaints. As board members, we have to resist the temptation to consider ourselves city council persons or elected officials who get in the middle of scraps. Getting in between DOL and the public can lead to problems and, as board members, we are advised not to become the center of controversy. When you are of our age -- the age of those of us on the board -- and we inspectors are usually bold in our opinions anyway, it can be hard to keep the trap zipped. Probably the best advice, we can give in most cases, is to tell the public to solicit answers to questions from the Department of Licensing staff.
A great time for inspectors to participate in the process is at our scheduled board meetings. These are public and there is a time for the audience to speak. Also, at breaks, the board and state employees are usually accessible. It is, usually, a friendly atmosphere in which to speak.
The board would be pleased to hear comments from inspectors, realtors and other interested parties from around the state and all corners of the state -- from Bellingham to Spokane, to Vancouver to Pullman to Colville. If you would like to come to the next board meeting, details are below:
March 12th, 2009 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM or until business is completed
The Double Tree at SeaTac
Olympic Room 1
18740 International Blvd.
Seattle, WA 98188-4001
Steven L. Smith
Bellingham WA Home Inspections
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Hi Steve,
That's a great post; and you're right, it is hard to refrain from trying to be helpful and to answer someone's questions when we think we have the answer and they ask us directly. In the end, it's not those of us on the board who make the decisions on interpretations of the law but the Director of DOL with the advise and guidance of the AG's office. We just recommend a course of action to DOL and it's the Director's decision whether to accept it or completely disregard it and decide to do something else.
I also welcome folks at the meetings; however, I do get frustrated when those who attend can't observe the rules of order and constantly speak up when the board members are discussing a topic among themselves outside of the public comment or question and answer periods. It tends to distract members from the issue and often takes us back over ground that we'd covered weeks before in previous meetings. I'd ask that when folks come they prepare their comments ahead of time and then provide the board copies of the text of their comments and write their questions down and ask them at the breaks, the question/answer period, or send them to DOL so that staff can send them to us. That way we can be prepared to discuss them at the next meeting.
ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!
Mike O'Handley, Editor - The Inspector's Journal (TIJ).