Help me understand - Licensing is bad?

[Rick Maday]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

What good would be for you to know the reason that I am anti-licensing? I am not interested in providing a platform where licensing proponents can debate the so-called merits of licensing. I am not concerned in hearing what you have to say, today I limit my discussion to other like minded folks who are against licensing and see no need for the government socialization of our profession. Really, I don't give a dam what you think, my position is set in stone and nothing you can do or say will change anything, case closed.

Well, aren't we a bit edgy this morning. I'm not out to change anyone's mind, I would however like to understand the issue as a whole. I am not so much concerned with why YOU are anti-licensing, but what the argument is in general, hence the title of this post "Help me understand".

As a side note I find it interesting that you say
"I am not concerned in hearing what you have to say, today I limit my discussion to other like minded folks..." and then claim to be anti-socialist.
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[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Rick,

Here is a link to all the statements concerning home inspector licensing that I have made on this message board, should keep you busy for days, pack a friggin' lunch.

Joe.

[Rick Maday]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

Rick,

Here is a link to all the statements concerning home inspector licensing that I have made on this message board, should keep you busy for days, pack a friggin' lunch.

Joe.

Joe,
Thanks for the link. I will look through them. - I'll need more than a lunch of r "days"
I did find this in one of your posts

1. Get the public and consumer groups involved this will help to insure if & when licensing does come that it is applied equally to everyone. Consumer groups will be opposed to;

Preferential treatment for any association
Grandfather clauses that hand out licenses based on years in business
Unrealistic education requirements that promote schools over curriculum
Licensing laws that lack standards of practice and a code of ethics
Home Inspectors performing repairs on homes they have inspected"

Couldn't agree more with everything you've stated here!!


And this

"I can tell you this once the consumers get involved we should see an immediate slow down in the number of bills being pushed and enacted into law and those that do become will be much more equitable then the trash that is being pushed today." <emphasis is mine>
This confuses me. From this thread you seem to be against licensing no matter what.
In that statement you seem to be against "bad" licensing laws.
Again, I'm not trying to change your mind, just want to understand in my mind what the issues are.









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[Rick Maday]

One more I found that makes A LOT of sense:

While explaining how some dildo who markets his "years in the business" has sold his congressman on the need for this language, demonstrate how a guy who did one home inspection in 1952, one in 1969, and another last week can..by this law...mislead consumers with the claim he has "55 years of experience as a home inspector".

Perhaps The FL legislature is pushing some flawed (for lack of a better word) bills through committee. i can certainly understand you position against such poor bills.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by Rick Maday

My next question then is, how do the consumers know who is / is not qualified IN THE ABSENCE of licensing?

A consumer is forced to accept the standards established by the ASHI and ITA folks who assist in drafting the law and accept that all who have met the very minimum basic standard to obtain a license is, indeed, qualified. Thus far, in three months, one single school in New York has turned out 344 such persons.

Consumers in unlicensed states are fortunate enough to be free from accepting only the minimum basic standard.

Just as the Missouri consumer researches to select an unlicensed builder, an unlicensed electrician and an unlicensed home inspector....they have the ability to set their own standard and determine from a variety of resources which person meets that standard.

Do you actually feel that the congressman who writes the law is an expert in home inspecting...and has the ability to draft a magic formula that determines the good from the bad? If you do, you are numbered among the unfortunate citizens who have also had to learn the hard way that...licensing solves nothing.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Rick Maday

And mine -
Who has licensing hurt, and how?

Rick I'm starting to smell a rat.
There have been numerous discussions on this board with regard to licensing tha can be accessed by searching. However, here is a short list of questions to help answer you own question.

Is it right for the government to mandate E&O?

Is it right for the state to mandate business practice?

Why do only certain HI associations to promote licensing?

What benifit to the HI or consumer is gained by state regulation as opposed to HI membership in an HI organization?

[Doug Edwards, CMI]

I smelled a rat yesterday when I started reading this thread. Appears to be a "straw man" argument from the get go. Having been involved in fighting licensing for about a decade it isn't hard to spot a shill anymore.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by dedwards

I smelled a rat yesterday when I started reading this thread. Appears to be a "straw man" argument from the get go. Having been involved in fighting licensing for about a decade it isn't hard to spot a shill anymore.

I suspected but didn't mention it. I will no longer participate in this thread until Rick discloses who he is and his business information. I don't expect he will.

Rick's profile is a bit thin.

[Doug Edwards, CMI]

Yep. very thin

[Richard L. Bennett]

Rick

People think licensing = good inspector and that no licensing = bad inspector

Remember that after one gets a license that someone will be that inspector's FIRST client and that client will think that the inspector is good because he or she is licensed.

He or she might be good but it will not be because of the license. I will be because of the inspector's complete background and professional skills way outside the license narrow requirements.

Licensing is just puts false security in the client's mind just like so many other words such as certified, background check, master, experienced, trained, professional, contractor, engineer, union made, quality control, guaranteed, warranty etc.

Inspectors are good or bad based on their personal desire to get the right training. This training will come from, vendors, schools, military, mentors, NACHI, the school of hard knocks, mother and dad etc.

If one wants to keep bad inspectors out of the market place then EDUCATE the public as to what an inspection is and what it is not. Require that education before a person can buy a home.

Some where along the line the home owner must be educated about paying the mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, utilities etc.

A home uninspected goes neglected.

Home inspection is not just when one buys or sells. It should be on going.

Airplanes, ships, hospitals, resturants , cars, etc get inspected at other times than just when they are sold why not a home?

rlb

[ldapkus]

The state license website doesn't show a licensed HI by that name either.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by ldapkus

The state license website doesn't show a licensed HI by that name either.

That figures. I doubt we will be hearing from Rick again.

[Richard L. Bennett]

Rick

I too would like to know you better

Why not take some time and introduce your self? We are all good people here and as you can see we have tried to answer your question.

Have we??

rlb

[Dan Bowers, CMI]

I recently taught a CE class that was attended by a lot of real estate appraisers. There were over 75 of them there from 2 states. At lunch one of them said they'd heard that some of the real estate agents in Missouri and Kansas had been working to get home inspectors licensed.

They asked me what I thought of that. I told them what I thought of that and mentioned how we had a certain inspection group that seemed to have a vested interest in trying to control everyone else.

After lunch before the class started, I asked the room what they thought of licensing and what it had done to help them and their profession. A couple talked about how it had helped thenm by getting rid of a "Billy-Bob" in their area that used to take their business or that they didn't like.

The response from the rest of the crowd was overwhelmingly unanimous. The comments just kept rolling in on how bad licensing had been for them; how many hoops and new rules somebody else that didn't know squat about their business kept throwing at them; how licensing had cost them more and more business; about the new rules on the :drive-by" appraisals putting them out of business; about how their education and credentials now meant squat; how the big winners were the appraisal training schools that kept popping up everywhere; they kept bringing up that lenders or real estate agents were trying to dump more liability on them while controlling more of the appraisers business; most of them said they were getting less and less appraisal business than BEFORE licensing and making less money while spending more to get it.

Most of them that had been in business for any length of tim indicated that licensing was the worst thing that had ever happened to their profession, and kept emphasing that we should fight it as long as we can.

[dharris]

Originally Posted by dbowers

Rick -

Joe said it. We've seen nothing good out of licensing.

OK you guys convinced me, I agree, licensing sucks
There are too plusses by just being a nacho certified " inspector for 289.00 or if you have a few more $s, a "Certified Master Inspector "by a real estate salesman.