ICC Boot Camp

[Richard L. Bennett]

Carl

Are you seeing something that the rest of us don't

BTW what insurance companies are looking for ICC certification and in what areas???

All the insurances companies that I have worked with (very small number) do not care

I realy do not think that they care and how good can the inspection be if it is paid for by the home owner and not the insurance company

What am I not seeing here???

rlb

[Carl Pennick]

Hello Richard,

What am trying say home inspectors who have a good idea they have a right to make money from it.

[Brian E. Kelly]

I believe what you are failing to see Richard, is that in earlier posts Joe B was telling anyone who would listen that after years of OTJ experience and months of study he was able to pass the ICC open book tests. Now in just 5 hours of his intense tutelage (highlight/tab the code book) you can pass the test too.

[Brian E. Kelly]

Originally Posted by cpennick

Hello Richard,

What am trying say home inspectors who have a good idea they have a right to make money from it.

Is English your native tongue Carl? Or is that Gaelic?

[Richard L. Bennett]

Brian

And I bet that someone right out off a weekend on the Internet with Gerry or some of the other good instructors one could do the same. Remember it is open book and two hours for 60 questions for some of the modules that I have checked it to.

Major problem --- what the Heck does ICC have to do with home inspection. Is it really making us better inspectors???

Hay I am open on this subject --- someone show me the light. I have just come home from inspecting a 1950 Florida pillar wood home with add on vinyl siding with a 8' X 12 ' pool that you could eat the algae out of for $180,000.00 The summary was 3 pages long. I can't even be a deal breaker in this area. Real estate is still selling regardless of what I say.

We must be very under valued in this area

rlb

[jeffghooper]

Major problem --- what the Heck does ICC have to do with home inspection. Is it really making us better inspectors???

EVERYTHING in your State Richard and it does make home inspectors better inspectors to have knowledge of codes, all codes. There is an Existing Building Code and a Maintenance and Repair Code in Florida that must be followed that directly corresponds to any items you may note as needing repair in a report! This varies by state.

All the insurances companies that I have worked with (very small number) do not care

All insurance underwriters for Florida REQUIRE that the reports be signed by; Architect, Building Inspector, Building Official, Contractor or ICC Certificate holders to be valid for the insurance reduction program. The report must be on their form. If no Certificates are found for the signers, the customer does not get the insurance break, up to 40% off of windstorm.

What really makes us better inspectors is knowing what is, and what is not, required and relaying this information to our clients. You know, knowledge, as much as you can obtain. What makes us poor inspectors is not knowing what is important, or charging for things that have no value, like filling out the insurance reports WITHOUT the proper certifications.

[James H. Bushart]

Richard,

I agree with you that knowing and citing code is the job of a building inspector like Hoopy, former president of the Florida Association of Building Inspectors. Not a home inspector.

Is it bad for a home inspector to know these codes? I think not and if a home inspector would like to add such electives to a solid curriculum, why not? It couldn't hurt.

Just beware of those in Florida who, under the disguise of "raising the bar" for what they profess to be "in the best interest of the consumer" to argue the need for such studies as a minimum basic requirement for home inspectors. You still have the same guys arguing the need for legislation to thin out their competition in order to raise their prices. This is one of their tools...

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jeffghooper

What really makes us better inspectors is knowing what is, and what is not, required and relaying this information to our clients.

I disagree. I think most would agree that a good home inspector (as opposed to a building inspector) will mention the need and benefit for a GFCI, smoke alarm, etc. whether it is required by code or not.

[Richard L. Bennett]

Just for the record --- most towns in this area also have min. housing standards. I do not have a collection of all of them, but when I have clients that are buying rental property I try to include some of the information that might effect them. In some cases the homes do not meet said standards.

Yes this is a local "code" issue that is somewhat like the building codes but can become a larger issue if the lawyers gets involved.

Personal opinion -- min housing standards are not my responsibility, like building codes. If a person wants a code inspection they can get it for free from the city or county. Same with the insurance inspection so how do we make money when the client can get it for free???? (Building Inspector, Building Official)

rlb

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by bkelly2

I believe what you are failing to see Richard, is that in earlier posts Joe B was telling anyone who would listen that after years of OJT experience and months of study he was able to pass the ICC open book tests. Now in just 5 hours of his intense tutelage (highlight/tab the code book) you can pass the test too.

Well sorta kinda... Like all things it, is easier said then done. When I began my quest last fall to become ICC Certified I did what most folks will do, I purchased a code book, well once you have the code book in your hands whats next?

That is what our course is about, its the whats next after you make the decision to become certified. Not knowing what was to be expected, I invested about 80 hours of study time to achieve my goal, after that I passed all four tests within 30 days on the first try.

A reasonable expectation for a student attending our course would be to reduce the study time by a factor of about 20% without any reduction in score. No one should expect that they will be able to pass the E1 & B1 tests simply by attending our 8-hour course, what our course provides is a game plan for winning ICC Certification. You will still need to know your way around the code book so that you can successfully find the answers to the open-book exam and the only way I know to do this is to read & practice looking up information in the code book, no boot camp can provide a short cut to this requirement. All we can help you do in 8-hours is show you how not to waste time and to focus on what really matters.

This boot camp is for those who toyed with the idea of becoming certified but when finding out the amount of work required shied away for fear that they would not be successful. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I was lucky enough to have had Gerry Beaumont, Greg Bell & Jeff Hooper helping & cheering me on during the time I was studying. Now that I have succeeded in finding my way through Greg & I designed this course to help streamline your path through if you choose to go.

Like I said before, this course is not for everyone, if the day you show up to our class is the first day that you ever laid eyes on a code book, you will most likely be disappointed. This class is for those who realize the work that is involved in becoming ICC Certified and still want to do it, but need a little help getting on track.

[jeffghooper]

Florida Association of Building Inspectors.

Is NOT in any way associated with the Licensed Building
Inspectors in Florida. It predates the Building Inspector Licensing for this State. That is why they are able to keep their name.

It IS, as everyone knows, a Home Inspector Association. One that many of your fellow NACHI members belong to.

One the Nick himself recognizes.

I see someone is still as ignorant as ever.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jeffghooper

I see someone is still as ignorant as ever.

Don't let it get you down, Hoopy. You'll catch on, sooner or later.

[Brian E. Kelly]

Originally Posted by jburkeson

Well sorta kinda... Like all things it, is easier said then done. When I began my quest last fall to become ICC Certified I did what most folks will do, I purchased a code book, well once you have the code book in your hands whats next?

That is what our course is about, its the whats next after you make the decision to become certified. Not knowing what was to be expected, I invested about 80 hours of study time to achieve my goal, after that I passed all four tests within 30 days on the first try.

A reasonable expectation for a student attending our course would be to reduce the study time by a factor of about 20% without any reduction in score. No one should expect that they will be able to pass the E1 & B1 tests simply by attending our 8-hour course, what our course provides is a game plan for winning ICC Certification. You will still need to know your way around the code book so that you can successfully find the answers to the open-book exam and the only way I know to do this is to read & practice looking up information in the code book, no boot camp can provide a short cut to this requirement. All we can help you do in 8-hours is show you how not to waste time and to focus on what really matters.

This boot camp is for those who toyed with the idea of becoming certified but when finding out the amount of work required shied away for fear that they would not be successful. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I was lucky enough to have had Gerry Beaumont, Greg Bell & Jeff Hooper helping & cheering me on during the time I was studying. Now that I have succeeded in finding my way through Greg & I designed this course to help streamline your path through if you choose to go.

Like I said before, this course is not for everyone, if the day you show up to our class is the first day that you ever laid eyes on a code book, you will most likely be disappointed. This class is for those who realize the work that is involved in becoming ICC Certified and still want to do it, but need a little help getting on track.

This class will prepare the student to pass the Residential Building and Electrical exams for ICC Certification.

Objectives: The participant will gain the knowledge and confidence for passing the exams on the first attempt.
Assurance Check guarantees that after this seminar you will be prepared to pass the exams. If you don't you may take a
future class at no charge.


I love vendors. So which is it, show up and hi light for 2 1/2 hours of each section, or spend untold hours toiling away and hi lighting the code book on your own?



That all being said, I would most defintely love to take your course Joe and Greg. Perhaps you will do a road trip.

[jeffghooper]

You will still need to know your way around the code book so that you can successfully find the answers to the open-book exam and the only way I know to do this is to read & practice looking up information

This is the single most important part of being successful with passing the exams. It is NOT what you know, but rather whether you can find it. Once you know your way around the codes, there is nothing you cannot find out. The test are not a measure of what you know, but rather a measure of your ability to educate yourself. Very similar to College and University education goals.

ANY class that teaches you how to find items in a code or how a code is organized is well worth the money. Certificate or not as the knowledge of today's code, (to be read as tomorrows resale requirements), is invaluable to successful home inspectors. Ask home inspectors that have been in business for more than 10 years whether code is important and you will find that most, if not all, will agree that it is very important.

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by jeffghooper

This is the single most important part of being successful with passing the exams. It is NOT what you know, but rather whether you can find it. Once you know your way around the codes, there is nothing you cannot find out. The test are not a measure of what you know, but rather a measure of your ability to educate yourself. Very similar to College and University education goals.

ANY class that teaches you how to find items in a code or how a code is organized is well worth the money. Certificate or not as the knowledge of today's code, (to be read as tomorrows resale requirements), is invaluable to successful home inspectors. Ask home inspectors that have been in business for more than 10 years whether code is important and you will find that most, if not all, will agree that it is very important.

I have to agree with Jeff, for some reason home inspectors are a very "Codeophobic" group, it is fair comment to say that we don't use codes in our reports but to say they are not relevent is crazy.

Inspectors who are doing or who are planning to expand there businesses into specialized areas such as new construction inspection need to be a lot better than just conversant with applicable building codes (and manufacturers installation instructions for that matter) simply to be able to do the job.

There are very many business areas open to well qualified home inspectors that are not as fickle as the residential resale markets that most frequent, these areas respect code certifications and expect them.

I applaude Greg and Joe for starting this up (it may even spur me to get of my butt and finaly sit the exams myself) and I guarantee that I will be seen at one of their classes in the very near future.

BTW, their classes will of course be acceptable for NACHI CE credit hours.

Regards

Gerry