Help me understand - Licensing is bad?

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by rstufflebeem

My feeling on licensing?
I have yet to see the reason to have them other than to create revenue for the State of Illinois as I feel the same way about my Radon license. I guess I would feel better about it if I was convinced it was an even playing field. Meaning, around here I know of two folks that do inspections and are not licensed one for which has been reported. The issue I have is I pay for continuing education yearly, pay my fees, pay a ridiculous price for E&O just like the unlicensed inspector should have to do or he should be put out of business by the very persons that happily collect my money every year..right! Hell, one even advertises Radon testing in the yellow pages? However, this is not the case as they are still in practice. This state does not appear to be for the honest businessman for one and I won't go into anything else I feel about how it is ran just to avoid the political discussion. Now you have the biggest reason (but only one) I feel it is a joke!
Dan will you please think of another word for NACHI other than Nacho. I happen to like Nachos for that matter I happen to like NACHI! Something new Dan.......Something new!
Randy

Good point!

It is not about licensing. It is about the State enforcing licensing.

If the State passed a law, and does not enforce the law, the law is meaningless.

Just look at the illegal aliens.

Just look at all the people who have their driver's licenses revocked and drive out of the courthouse parking lot.

They can't (better, they choosee not to) enforce laws already on the books.

Yet, the public trusts them to enforce the HI law.

Nuff Said/

[James H. Bushart]

For those who seem to have difficulty in grasping why it is inadvisable to relenquish control over our profession to the state, I give you the latest casualties - New York and Texas.

Here are two states where home inspectors actually felt comfortable with the idea of legislation and felt that it enhanced them. Then, as they bent over to pick up the soap....aaarrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

Once you have given it up...you don't get it back. You just live from legislative session to legislative session, like living on the first floor of a two story outhouse, waiting to see what comes through the hole.

Licensing solves nothing.

[Dale Rowe]

I think the perception each of us have regarding licensing is related to our general political perspective. (More or less government control and oversight). I have no problem with inspectors being able to prove their expertise via affiliation with a group, continuing education, and periodic testing. People who take the business seriously crave information, education, and feedback from others.
BUT:
Government regulation would not improve the quality or efficiency of any of those items, and has a 200 year history to prove it. I plan to testify at the hearing in Washington in June. I'd be glad to get feedback about other ideas that could set NACHI members apart from the rest, sans government regulation.

[Michael Larson]

Well said Dale

[rstrahan]

Originally Posted by jbushart

Licensing solves nothing.

Someday I will drink Russel Ray's tequila and tattoo that somewhere


OK let me try to quantify this for you left-brainers.

Take the number of real estate agents and brokers in your state and divide that by the number of inspectors in the same jurisdiction. The result is an index of how just screwed you will be trying to control your own regulations.

In Texas that number is 42.

Nationally, it is about 40.


Do another calculation. Divide the percentage realtors accrue from an average real estate transaction by the percentage inspection typically gets.

That number runs around 50.


The arithmetic should be compelling. Inspectors have no numbers and no money. Our trade groups are pitifully small and fight constantly -- We are politically invisible, if not downright laughable.

You trust your livelihood to a legislature that has no reason whatsoever to care.

Russell in Texas

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by rstrahan

You trust your livelihood to a legislature that has no reason whatsoever to care.

Every year...in many licensed states...this message becomes louder and louder.

The bill that you personally write can, someday, become the amended law that puts you out of business.

Once you give it up...it's lost forever.

[Doug Edwards]

That is exactly right. After they discover all the problems it created, instead of repealing a law the legislature tries to "fix it" and it gets worse with each attempt. One only has to look at the Tax codes. With every attempt to correct the errors it gets more unwieldy and confusing. There are always plenty of willing accomplices with ulterior motives standing in the wings to "help" correct it as well.