New, flat-rate, no-haggle, vendor affiliate program.

A recent false rumor on this message board implied that InterNACHI was offering to take on all the costs and risks of bringing inspection-industry vendors additional business in return for 25% of that new business. Unfortunately such a deal is financially impossible for InterNACHI. The sales commissions alone that we’d have to pay to move low-ticket-price products and services (typically used by inspectors), simply would not cover our costs.

Anyway, this rumor spread and inspection-industry vendors, thinking we could double their business in return for only 12.5% of their gross (25% of the new business we could bring them) began contacting InterNACHI, wanting “in on the deal.”

This response caused us to see if there were some things we could do to help vendors out in these difficult economic times, which are particularly tough on inspection-industry vendors, and if InterNACHI, the industry’s largest trade association, could provide promotional opportunities that have, until now, been unavailable.

Staff and members suggested the following general guidelines for an affiliate program:

  • be no-haggle, flat-rate, so that negotiations are kept to a minimum.
  • not deteriorate member’s existing access to vendors on the message board or mall.
  • be published publicly for all to see.

We have developed a proposed affiliate program that we think abides by these guidlines. Here it is: www.nachi.org/target.htm

Although you have lied about the motivating factor…it is refreshing to see you come clean and produce a program that does not shame the profession.

Congratulations.

Bring out the truth!!

There you go, Nick! Thats the way to do it.

Well done.

Bushy, thanks for the compliment, I think.

Yes, the reasoning behind it leaves something to be desired (like one of my bait-cast backlashes…spun around so many times it looks like a bird’s nest :mrgreen:) but the program looks equitable & promising, at least at first glance.

When Nick’s representative threatened John Onofry in order to get him to provide InterNACHI with money, John offered 25% of his gross on new business. He was told that this was not enough and would have to come up with more, or he would be forced out of business.

In the second thread entitled “NACHI’s New Relationship With Its Vendors”, which Nick ultimately ended up deleting (as he did the first thread by that name) after he was overwhelmed by angry posts from members, he unsuccessfully tried to make it appear as if John had actually asked for InterNACHI assistance and had offered 25% of his gross in order to get it.

None of that was true. Nick could not convince anyone that it was true. As a result, he deleted the thread and started this one…misquoting the nonsense he tried to start before.

The bottom line is, he has agreed to stop dealing in the dark. One fee for all vendors…passed on to members who buy the product. It is nothing more than any other association is doing, but for Nick…it’s a big step and I congratulate him.

Now…can you get him to stop lying to the public about “certification” , stop selling/giving away “certification”, make mentoring mandatory for newbies, stop lying about other organizations, etc., etc…you know the spiel…

Mandatory mentoring is nothing more than a scheme used by home inspectors who want to profit from licensing laws.

Nick’s decision to sell “Certified Home Inspector” designations to realtors for $289 is between he and his members. Theirs are the reputations at risk…let him convince them that it is a good idea. I don’t think he can.

As for the rest…you and I will have to agree to disagree.

Agreed. This was the whole purpose of bringing things to this open board.
Lets move on, and if any vendor still feels that he has been miss treated I am sure Nick will listen and make it right. He has shown over the years a steady track record of doing this. NACHI appears to have hit one out of the park on this deal. No other organization has such full disclosure on their relationships with their vendors than NACHI does now. This is a proud day for NACHI.

Right on.

So you are still drinking a watered down Kool-aid!!

After these last episodes that have shown members (if they were truly concerned) some of the behind the scenes working of this organization, someone has decipher the spinning to the public…our paychecks… the folks we claim we try to protect in their house purchases. But with the administration here, the spin is to actually hide the truth from the public!!! WEB FICTION

Where can the public see that all an HI claims on his website is true?
Online overnight certification is never mentioned to the public!!! (remember them??)

SPIN!!! SPIN!!! SPIN!!! but never mention all the FACTS!!!

When I joined NACHI in 2004, it was a home inspector association and a damned good one.

Since then…the bottom fell out of the market and there are fewer recruits for home inspector associations. Does that affect me? No. But it affects Nick and his business plan.

Thus…he has proclaimed a new direction for NACHI. He creates the illusion that a market actually exists for amateur chimney inspectors, writes an SOP and creates training for it…to attract new members (not to be “mere home inspectors”, but “inspectors”). He has created the illusion of the existence of other markets as well to attract people into this new…whatevertheheckitis association.

But the home inspectors who are here represent nothing more…and nothing less…than the full gamut. We have inspectors with 25+ years in business and we have members hoping for their first booking.

Should a consumer select a home inspector because of his membership with NACHI? Of course not…no more than a consumer should automatically think that an ASHI membership assures quality, or that a Porter-Cable chain saw won’t kickback.

Will a consumer find a better home inspector if they seek one who commits to an SOP, a COE and continuing education…than they will find from one who shuns any affilliation at all? Probably.

That is the closest we can ever come to any kind of assurance coming from membership with an association. After that, each man competes on his own merits and accomplishments.

Are your marketing skills deficient enough that you have to worry about the “qualifications” of all other inspectors?

I do litigation work. The last 3 calls I have had from homeowners disgruntled with their inspections have been against INACHI newbies! The first two were items that should have been caught by any inspector but were under $2,000; the last one we’re waiting for spring and the ground to thaw to look at some structural issues with buried (rotted) non-preserved wood in the sill area…not even a concern or referral mentioned in the report. The public deserves better than this.

The last time I was in court against an HI was for a simlar issue. The HI sold the company about 6 months after the court case! It now has its 4th owner since inception in the 1996-7 period.

As I said in a post on another thread today: IMHO, HI standards are below what they should be today but in the worst way, INACHI has lowered the overall standards (“true certification”) in the industry while Nick spins about all the training people get here. Someone the other night was pissed about not being able to write the test right away while it was fresh in his mind. You should be able to carry great training with you and at least pass a test after the training period.

On a regional radio network last fall, one older, successful local farmer/entrepreneur commenting on his industry said “Certification means nothing these days!!” We should be listening to our elders…standards are dropping!!

I guess you’ve never had disgruntled homeowners from other associations, or those with no affiliation at all.

Interesting.

Your story doesn’t quite add up. From what you are saying, you profit off of incompetent, overnight certified inspectors (mainly NACHI ones, the association you just happen to loathe).

I certainly wouldn’t be complaining about the diploma mill if I was getting steady, lucrative and interesting litigation work out of it …

Brian, our membership requirements www.nachi.org/rigorous2006.htm are *above and beyond *what each state/province requires. What does your province require?

Anyway, that didn’t take long! Platinum affiliate packages sold for software, insurance and laboratory categories already.

I have not yet been in court against an INACHI inspector yet. The last 3 calls from disgruntled homebuyers were against INACHI inspectors, all “certified” within the past 8-15 months (A professional realtor with extensive franchising experience set up locally to sell HI franchises and is using INACHI for the newbies due to its “Cheap 'n Easy full certification”. The master franchisor for this area claimed on the web, he sold more franchises in 9 months than he projected he would sell in 3 years. So you see what has happened here. Maybe a lot more calls will come in!!

The last HI I was in court against was a member of the association I belong to. But was only classified as an Applicant Home Inspector (AHI)with entry level course requirements/background experience **verified **by the association. It would have been another 1-2 years before he was FULLY CERTIFIED. He bought an existing business which of course already had exposure in the marktplace…making it much easier to drum up business, even with mere entry level qualifications. It took a retired fully certified good municipal inspector (30 years experience) about 1.5 years to be fully certified with our local chapter!!!

Is there a difference in the requirements? You bet!!

Should HI’s have at least 1-2 years experience before being foisted on the public? You bet!!

Are the SOP"s behind the times? You bet!!