<![CDATA[InterNACHI Message Board - Legislation, Licensing & Legal Issues]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum Use this forum to discuss current and proposed legislation on home inspector licensing, and other legal issues affecting home inspectors. Members of all associations welcome. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:38:54 GMT vBulletin 60 http://nachi.cachefly.net/forum/images/2006/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[InterNACHI Message Board - Legislation, Licensing & Legal Issues]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum News Media Catching on to Home Inspector Licensing Scams http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/news-media-catching-home-inspector-licensing-scams-45307/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:17:13 GMT I was interviewed for an investigative report being done in the midwest for a television news station and a newspaper.

An investigative reporter who writes for a major Missouri newspaper told me today that his story will be going to print next week.

This has aired in North Carolina. Thanks, Nick, for not being one of the "national associations" who supported the realtors with this scam in North Carolina.

As predicted, the momentum is now in favor of those who continue to believe that licensing is NOT inevitable.

Licensing solves nothing. ]]> jbushart http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/news-media-catching-home-inspector-licensing-scams-45307/ <![CDATA[OK Department of Agriculture approves InterNACHI's FREE, online WDO inspection course]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/ok-department-agriculture-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-45243/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:19:35 GMT http://www.nachi.org/oklahoma-dept-of-agriculture-approved-wdo-course.htm http://www.nachi.org/oklahoma-dept-o...wdo-course.htm ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/ok-department-agriculture-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-45243/ A safe way for home inspectors to give life expectancy guesstimates. http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/safe-way-home-inspectors-give-life-expectancy-guesstimates-45192/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:50:39 GMT Hand them this: http://www.nachi.org/life-expectancy Hand them this: http://www.nachi.org/life-expectancy ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/safe-way-home-inspectors-give-life-expectancy-guesstimates-45192/ New Federal Law gives home inspectors an additional income stream. http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/new-federal-law-gives-home-inspectors-additional-income-stream-45178/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:05:31 GMT http://www.nachi.tv/episode82 http://www.nachi.tv/episode82 ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/new-federal-law-gives-home-inspectors-additional-income-stream-45178/ Members need to call or email the Governor of Kansas. http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/members-need-call-email-governor-kansas-45165/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:10:33 GMT I continue to get emails similar to the following:

Quote:
A MAJOR duty problem with the KHIRB (Kansas Home Inspectors Registration Board), nobody seems to be talking about. If you have a problem or want to file a complaint / Who do you complain to. Everything is Jeff Barnes. There is NO autonomous State Board to write / Just 5 people that 1 man runs.

The Boards address is Jeff Barnes House. If someone has a complaint and calls the Secretary of State or AG's Office with questions or complaints they get referred to Jeff Barnes. The registration application and checks Jeff sent out to some people to PRE-REGISTER go to Jeffs house. ANY records or papers or PRIVATE INFO someone would send in (insurance papers, Bond Certificates, money, etc) goes to Jeffs house. The OFFICIAL site for the KHIRB (Kansas Home Inspector Registration Board) is ( ksinspectors.com ). If you do a whois.com search for ksinspectors.com you find that the owner of record is KAREI (Kansas Association of Real Estate Inspectors) and Jeff Barnes is the Administrative Contact for the ksinspectors.com web site.

If you do a whois.com search for KAREI, you discover Jeff Barnes is the Owner of record and Administrative Contact and everything would then go to Jeffs house. Several people have reported that on multiple occassions at KHIRB meetings OR other govermental hearings OR at Home Inspector seminars or meetings - Mr Jeff Barnes has tried to give the impression that KAREI is the OFFICIAL Kansas Home Inspectors Association for the state AND has tried to channel other inspectors into joining HIS Home Inspectors group though their BELIEF this is THE OFFICIAL INSPECTION ASSOCIATION working for them.

Jeff Barnes has on multiple times tried to get the Secretary of State or KHIRB members to hire Juanita Sanderson in Leavenworth, KS to be Director of the KHIRB (then to be a Civil Service employee of Kansas). Juanita Sanderson is the Office Manager for a Home Inspection Training School run by Tom Lauhon in Leavenworth Kansas called Midwest Inspectors Institute. Ms Sanderson we're told also handles many of Jeff Barnes email blasts AND handles the web site of the KAREI group.

KAREI was formed over 5 years ago by 4 ASHI home inspectors in Wichita, Kansas (Jeff Barnes, Kerry Parham, Tom Beard and Brent Voran). During this time they've had 3 +/- meetings (ALL to discuss getting licensed - NOTHING else). They've never had more than 24-28 inspectors at a meeting with usually about 20 being ASHI and the others belonging to NACHI, NAHI or unaffiliated. KAREI is ASHI for all practical purposes.

The BIG ASHI chapter in KC (Great Plains ASHI) has mostly been run by Midwest Inspectors Institute instructors / owners who have also been on ASHI's National Board of Directors, etc (Tom Lauhon, Miki Mertz, Ron Rusch). The Great Plains ASHI Chapter has PAID dues for its members to JOIN the KAREI group so KAREI could show a large amount of inspectors AND portray themselves as the DOMINATE state Association of Home Inspectors.

We were told by one of the KAREI Officers that when Tom Lauhon brought KAREI 20-30 applications from the Great Plains ASHI Chapter members he asked for a seat on the KAREI Board of Directors. They thought that might be too obvious so gave Tom's partner Miki Mertz a seat on KAREI's Board.
KAREI did NOT have elections of any kind for OVER 5 years - THEY had APPOINTMENTS of themselves to POSITIONS.

Bottom Line - KAREI, the KHIRB, the ASHI Chapters in are a 1-3 person Dog & Pony Show (Jeff Barnes, Tom Lauhon, Kerry Parham, Mikki Mertz, etc).

MANY Kansas home inspectors feel that if they complain, they'll ONLY cut their own throats and end up complaining to Mr Barnes or his Associates AND possibly have repurcussions that can put them out of business by the Home Inspection Cartel Members.

They're wondering how the Kansas Legislature let this get into play AND why the MAJOR media sources aren't having a field day with it
You Kansas inspectors really need to start contacting the Governor about this guy. Mr. Barnes has issued himself license #1 before anyone else can get a license. He advertises to the public that he got the first license in Kansas thus enriching himself personally by way of his public office. This despite his "B minus" Better Business Bureau rating. He continues to "misplace" all of InterNACHI's course approval applications.

Here is the phone number for the Governor of Kansas: (785) 296-3232
Here is where you can send an email for the Governor of Kansas: http://governor.ks.gov/comment






 ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/members-need-call-email-governor-kansas-45165/ Two More Missouri Deaths for Lack of Building Codes http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/two-more-missouri-deaths-lack-building-codes-45142/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:57:55 GMT I believe that there must be some national statistic that would reflect that most homes built with minimum basic standards by qualified contractors do not explode (http://newstribune.com/articles/2009/11/15/breaking_news/doc4affb633f18e5822111857.txt). I believe that there must be some national statistic that would reflect that most homes built with minimum basic standards by qualified contractors do not explode. ]]> jbushart http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/two-more-missouri-deaths-lack-building-codes-45142/ <![CDATA[Georgia Department of AG approves InterNACHI's FREE, online WDO Inspection course.]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/georgia-department-ag-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-45098/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:35:03 GMT http://www.nachi.org/georgia-approved-wdo-inspection-course.htm http://www.nachi.org/georgia-approve...ion-course.htm ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/georgia-department-ag-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-45098/ InterNACHI Addresses Kansas HI Board Abuses of Authority http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/international-association-certified-home-inspectors-addresses-kansas-hi-board-abuses-authority-45042/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:28:48 GMT The following letter was sent on Tuesday to the Governor of Kansas with copies to various Kansas newspapers.

Those of you who are dealing with local electronic media outlets in your areas are free to copy and send this to the reporters you are working with.

Please join me and thanking Nick for his support and Mark for his expertise.

Quote:
THE COHEN LAW GROUP
A Professional Corporation

_________________________________
Quote:
Mark Cohen Of Counsel
Jeffrey D. Cohen, J.D., LL.M., C.P.A.
Also at The Cohen Law Firm, P.C.
Alison L. Choy Kilmer, J.D., M.B.A.
Sierra K. Swearingen, J.D.
November 10, 2009

Hon. Mark Parkinson
Governor of Kansas
300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 212S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590

RE: Kansas Home Inspector Registration Board

Dear Governor Parkinson:

We represent the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors – InterNACHI.

InterNACHI is the largest trade association representing the interests of home inspectors in North America, with more than 8,000 members. The IRS has granted InterNACHI tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. The two other major trade associations in the industry are ASHI and NAHI (smaller organizations).

I wrote your predecessor several times to express concern about the possible appointment of Jeff Barnes to the Kansas Home Inspector Registration Board – the Board tasked to implement your state’s relatively new legislation governing home inspectors. Unfortunately, Governor Sebelius appointed Mr. Barnes, and since then many of the concerns InterNACHI had expressed about Mr. Barnes have proven to have been prophetic.

Mr. Barnes has used his position to implement and interpret the legislation to the advantage of members of his organization – ASHI:

o Since his appointment Mr. Barnes has demonstrated his bias by ruling that those who passed the ASHI test (not psychometrically evaluated) need not incur the expense of retesting, but those who have passed the InterNACHI test (which is psychometrically evaluated) must pay to take another test.

o Mr. Barnes recently claimed he cannot approve InterNACHI’s courses because he “lost them.”

o Mr. Barnes issued himself Kansas Home Inspector License number 1, and now advertises that he is “Number 1” in Kansas and is “Kansas’s 1st Registered Inspector.” You can see this for yourself at
http://www.benchmarkpropertyinspections.com. He did this even though the law does not allow for registration of inspectors until 2010. Our members believe he did this without any written policies or procedures for registration in place. I am told at least eight other inspectors attempted to register and were unable to do so.

If this constitutes misuse of public office and misleading advertising, it may be criminal.

o It is unknown whether Mr. Barnes paid a registration fee or what accounting procedures are in place for any monies paid by others who applied.

o Mr. Barnes enjoys a B-minus rating from the Kansas Better Business Bureau.

Mr. Barnes is not the only member of the the Kansas Home Inspection Registration Board using his position to further his own interests. An attorney member of the Board, Ed Robinson, is now advertising that his position allows him to help homebuyers navigate the complexities of the new law. He even did it in a story about his law practice it in the Wichita Eagle. See, http://www.kansas.com/657/story/1031963.html.

Since Governor Sebelius signed the home inspection bill into law, much has changed. Kansans are facing hard times and Kansas has severe fiscal problems. The law is not protecting taxpayers. The legislation was a gift to special interests, people such as Mr. Barnes.

Although they failed to demonstrate a need for such legislation, it imposes additional burdens and costs on all home inspectors, and particularly those who do not belong to ASHI. Home inspectors
necessarily pass these costs on to their customers at a time when they can least afford them and when nothing should be done to interfere with the sale of homes.

Moreover, the insurance burdens and educational provisions contained in the law are exceedingly burdensome on the rural inspectors who mostly shun ASHI and prefer the online educational opportunities offered by InterNACHI. The result is to open the rural portions of Kansas for the big city inspectors who charge much higher fees.

Mr. Barnes continues to push forth his agenda and has initiated steps that would favor ASHI and its members over other hard-working and highly qualified Kansas inspectors.

InterNACHI strongly encourages you to take a hard look at the home inspection regulatory scheme in Kansas and the makeup of the Board. Kansans deserve men and woman on the Board who are unbiased and who have not demonstrated bias against inspectors in rural areas.

Governor, we know you face many issues, and that home inspection regulation is but one of those. Your time is valuable, but I would like to ask for thirty minutes of your time so InterNACHI’s Founder and I can meet you in person and explain our thoughts on how to improve the legislation.

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

THE COHEN LAW GROUP
A Professional Corporation
Mark Cohen
MSC:tb MARK COHEN

Copy:
Kansas City Star
Wichita Eagle
Topeka Capital-Journal
]]> jbushart http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/international-association-certified-home-inspectors-addresses-kansas-hi-board-abuses-authority-45042/ Licensing fails to protect consumer again. http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/licensing-fails-protect-consumer-again-45036/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:05:18 GMT http://www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20091111_175237_11652 Next time hire an InterNACHI inspector... dummies. http://www.news1130.com/news/local/m...1_175237_11652

Next time hire an InterNACHI inspector... dummies. ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/licensing-fails-protect-consumer-again-45036/ Proving Negligence. http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/proving-negligence-44996/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:45:07 GMT http://www.nachi.org/proving-negligence.htm http://www.nachi.org/proving-negligence.htm ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/proving-negligence-44996/ <![CDATA[Nevada Dept. of Ag approves InterNACHI's FREE, online WDO Inspection course.]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/nevada-dept-ag-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-44989/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:08:46 GMT http://www.nachi.org/nv-dept-ag-approved-wdo-course.htm http://www.nachi.org/nv-dept-ag-approved-wdo-course.htm ]]> gromicko http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/nevada-dept-ag-approves-international-association-certified-home-inspectorss-free-online-wdo-inspection-course-44989/ Energy Audits for Missouri http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/energy-audits-missouri-44952/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:57:02 GMT Do you have to be certified in missouri ro perform energy audits? Do you have to be certified in missouri ro perform energy audits? ]]> ejones2 http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/energy-audits-missouri-44952/ <![CDATA[Kansas HI Board Chairman Given "B-" by BBB]]> http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/kansas-hi-board-chairman-given-b-bbb-44932/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:51:12 GMT Does anyone else consider it odd that the guy who is presently running the registration board for Kansas home inspectors, presumably to "protect consumers" from imperfect home inspectors, has a "B-" rating with the Better Business Bureau?

While it is already clear that the best home inspectors in the state opposed this bill and that there are not too many really competent inspectors to choose from among those who need the state to legislate their competition out of business......the Governor could not do better than to find a "B-"? ]]> jbushart http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/kansas-hi-board-chairman-given-b-bbb-44932/ Are These Fraudulent Registration Numbers Handed out by Kansas HI Board President? http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/these-fraudulent-registration-numbers-handed-out-kansas-hi-board-president-44931/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:28:55 GMT Two months before registration is scheduled to start in Kansas, Jeff Barnes, the HI Registration Board Chairman is advertising on his website that he is a registered Kansas home inspector and is publishing a registration number of 0110-0001.

Did he award this registration number to himself without paying any fees? Has the infrastructure for registration actually been established? Did he select this number to give himself advantage over other HI inspectors in Kansas with more experience and qualifications than he has?

Is this degree of false advertising okay for everyone, or only the Chairman?

Here is what his website looks like at this printing:

Quote:
PRE-INSPECTION NOTICE / AGREEMENT

BENCHMARK PROPERTY INSPECTIONS LTD.

610 Rivera — Mulvane, KS 67110 316-393-0735 FAX - 316-777-9209 E-MAIL - resinspect@aol.com

www.jeffinspects.com Registration number 0110-0001
Has his committee already proposed a penalty for falsely advertising a registration number?

Has he awarded any more of these fictitious registration numbers to anyone else, or just to himself?

]]> jbushart http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/these-fraudulent-registration-numbers-handed-out-kansas-hi-board-president-44931/ Missouri http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/missouri-44914/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:31:32 GMT Does Missouri have home inspector laws? Do you have to be certified in missouri and carry E&O ins? ]]> Erik Jonas http://www.nachi.org/forum/f14/missouri-44914/