Home Inspector Licensing in British Columbia

[jkogel]

I'm afraid the only way NACHI could have met the BC criteria would have been thru stricter testing of new inspectors. The entire association has been judged by the online test, which apparantly some journalist took and passed.
I suspect any good inspector, NACHI or not, can still jump thru the hoops and buy a $100 licence without being forced into joining one of the blessed groups. There's some mention of mandatory insurance, which might thin the ranks of part-time inspectors a bit. Who will enforce the licencing law, the RCMP?
Bet it will all come down to consumer education in the end. Good luck, everybody!

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

[Joe Johnston]

Originally Posted by jkogel

I'm afraid the only way NACHI could have met the BC criteria would have been thru stricter testing of new inspectors. The entire association has been judged by the online test, which apparantly some journalist took and passed.
I suspect any good inspector, NACHI or not, can still jump thru the hoops and buy a $100 licence without being forced into joining one of the blessed groups. There's some mention of mandatory insurance, which might thin the ranks of part-time inspectors a bit. Who will enforce the licencing law, the RCMP?
Bet it will all come down to consumer education in the end. Good luck, everybody!

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca

It will be intersting to see how consumer confidence is affected. I hope whoever is responsible for marketing this thing gets it out.
I have been surprised how few people are aware of the big 2 associations.
Probably 1 in 100 ask about membership of CAHPI (BC) or ASTT.
It is the members of CAHPI at present who generally bring their potential clients attention to CAHPI as part of their sales pitch.
I agree realtors need to be taken out of loop but this legislation will not change that, I would like to think that realtors will get on board with the licensing and I am pretty sure they will be obliged to recommend Inspectors who are licensed.
As for market forces I am not sure it has done the Industry any favours, as it has kept prices unreasonably low, especially in these tough times.
The associations should take this as an opportunity to try an implement a minimum fee and consult members as to the fair rate for a job.
In my view the "average" charged for a single family home is not high enough when compared to the base line of condo fees, many Inspectors' fees only range around $100-$150 dollars from condo's- to-single family.

[Mike Howard]

Does anyone know the status of other provinces when it comes to implementing this type of licencing?

[Joe Johnston]

Originally Posted by Mike Howard

Does anyone know the status of other provinces when it comes to implementing this type of licencing?

I suspect they will wait and see how the BC model works, and follow suit by 2010.
The BC model was the only realistic way to go, and as CAHPI is nationwide they are well placed to take advantage of it.

I am suprised any CANACHI members expected NACHI to be in the running. As said, Nachi is a great resource and as a former member I found the forum a great place to learn. However I stopped getting involed as it solicited too much cold calling and the forum descended into a zoo with crazy bickering. Which incidently the general public had access to, ( if they googled an inspectors name.)

The professionalism of the Nachi members I met attending US meet-ups was second to none, and it is only the poor criteria for membership which is the achilles heel.

[wblakey]

Originally Posted by Mike Howard

Does anyone know the status of other provinces when it comes to implementing this type of licencing?

Alberta is likely to be next, in fact I am surprised they did not implement licensing before BC.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnston

I suspect they will wait and see how the BC model works, and follow suit by 2010.
The BC model was the only realistic way to go, and as CAHPI is nationwide they are well placed to take advantage of it.

I am suprised any CANACHI members expected NACHI to be in the running. As said, Nachi is a great resource and as a former member I found the forum a great place to learn. However I stopped getting involed as it solicited too much cold calling and the forum descended into a zoo with crazy bickering. Which incidently the general public had access to, ( if they googled an inspectors name.)

The professionalism of the Nachi members I met attending US meet-ups was second to none, and it is only the poor criteria for membership which is the achilles heel.

Nick needs to keep it low for his business model to work:

Everyone wants to be a home inspector after they watch HGTV for long enough so.........let everybody in with Cheap'n Easy "certification"...... they then spend money on the VENDORS stuff or now take paid training from INACHI-TV and......... then hope to stay in business........but most have to jump off the merry-go-round in a couple of years and get a real job.......BY then, the NICKY system has sucked in many more wannabee's to keep the ranks filled and the $$$ flowing to NICKY!!!!

[wblakey]

Originally Posted by Brian A. MacNeish

Nick needs to keep it low for his business model to work:

Everyone wants to be a home inspector after they watch HGTV for long enough so.........let everybody in with Cheap'n Easy "certification"...... they then spend money on the VENDORS stuff or now take paid training from INACHI-TV and......... then hope to stay in business........but most have to jump off the merry-go-round in a couple of years and get a real job.......BY then, the NICKY system has sucked in many more wannabee's to keep the ranks filled and the $$$ flowing to NICKY!!!!

The thing is, Mr. Gromiko has created a really good, educational web site for home inspectors. Value for money is high and the online TV sessions are great and have been improving all the time.

But as you say, the credibility has been lacking in terms of the "Certified" aspect.

Which is why I say that the best combination for Canadian home inspectors is National Certification + membership in NACHI. If iNACHI had also climbed on board with the NCA, then many of the education aspects that it offers would be accredited, and then home inspectors would be able to go to iNACHI events and have those classes and so on added to the continuing education credits that are necessary every year.

It seems a no-brainer to me. If iNACHI is there to help home inspectors, then it should be helping Canadian home inspectors qualify for National Certification.

[Claude Lawrenson]

Good point Paul; lately the email is flooding in to the National Certification Program, particularly from BC with the announcement of licensing. There appears to be many home inspectors scrambling and looking into their options.

[Mike Howard]

So what steps do I have to take as a new home inspector with very few paid inspection jobs under my belt? I am a NACHI member, despite what it says above, and I'm still learning all the ins and outs of the business. My training program was very good although it was limited. Ant suggestions?

[Joe Johnston]

Originally Posted by Mike Howard

So what steps do I have to take as a new home inspector with very few paid inspection jobs under my belt? I am a NACHI member, despite what it says above, and I'm still learning all the ins and outs of the business. My training program was very good although it was limited. Ant suggestions?

I would be applying for the NAC accreditation if I were you, as I suspect that it may cut ice with any province following BC's list of prerequisites for licensing.
CAHPI have a pretty healthy presence in AB so I am pretty sure they will be lobbying government as much as CAHPI(BC) had been doing the last few years
I am sure waiting lists to complete the NAC will be huge in BC pretty soon.
Cheers

[mnicholet]

Originally Posted by wblakey

The thing is, Mr. Gromiko has created a really good, educational web site for home inspectors. Value for money is high and the online TV sessions are great and have been improving all the time.

But as you say, the credibility has been lacking in terms of the "Certified" aspect.

Which is why I say that the best combination for Canadian home inspectors is National Certification + membership in NACHI.

I agree, that National Certification + InterNACHI membership is a great combination. Unfortunately, how can you be a member of both associations and agree to both SOP and COE when they are both different then each other?

InterNACHI is a great resource for all of us. I think most of the good inspectors use this option even if it is a supplement to your primary education and experience. I think if InterNACHI is your only source of academic training or credentials then you may be lacking in the knowledge department of the industry. It takes more then one or two courses and lots of experience to be a good inspector. I plan to be with InterNACHI in the future. Unfortunately, its going to cost me a lot to become CAHPI.

[Bill Mullen]

Mark:

You don't have to join CAHPI to become a National Certificate Holder. In fact if you practice to an SOP and COE of a recognized association, you do not have to adhere to those of the NCA. It's fairly flexible, but because NACHI refused to work with the NCA, the NACHI SOP and COE do not yet qualify. The reason is that the NCH is a CREDENTIAL, not an association
I know it's confusing, but nothing is impossible if peopel work together.

Bill Mullen

[wblakey]

Exactly Bill, I don't know how many times I've tried to get this across, but the whole idea of National Certification was to standardize training standards and to some extent by-pass the partisan interests of the various organizations. The standards of practice for NC holders is the same exactly as CAHPI, which are the same as ASHI. INACHI standards are also basically cut from the same cloth, so really there is nothing to argue about.

[jbettencourt]

Originally Posted by bmullen

Mark:

You don't have to join CAHPI to become a National Certificate Holder. In fact if you practice to an SOP and COE of a recognized association, you do not have to adhere to those of the NCA. It's fairly flexible, but because NACHI refused to work with the NCA, the NACHI SOP and COE do not yet qualify. The reason is that the NCH is a CREDENTIAL, not an association
I know it's confusing, but nothing is impossible if peopel work together.

Bill Mullen

Bill,

Just curious, as you say that the NACHI SOP and COE do not yet qualify. Does that mean that any fee paid inspections I performed under the NACHI SOP and COE would not be recognized or accepted for my NCA application if I applied? And also is it permissable for an inspector to use the NCA or CAHPI SOP and COE even though they are not yet members or certified? Thanks I am pretty sure that there are others wondering the same things.

[Bill Mullen]

Originally Posted by jbettencourt

Bill,

Just curious, as you say that the NACHI SOP and COE do not yet qualify. Does that mean that any fee paid inspections I performed under the NACHI SOP and COE would not be recognized or accepted for my NCA application if I applied? And also is it permissable for an inspector to use the NCA or CAHPI SOP and COE even though they are not yet members or certified? Thanks I am pretty sure that there are others wondering the same things.

The Certification Council that reviews applications is very fair and flexible. The inspectors on that council are all very experienced inspectors. They are 'unofficially' familiar with the NACHI SOP and COE, so they would likely not dismiss it automatically. Until the final step in the NCP implementation takes place at the end of 2009, they will exercise this flexibility. This was built in so that inspectors already practicing could be assimilated, so for a brief period the council can exercize some discretion. That's one reason Claude and I insisted on including one or two NACHI members on that council. While Nick refused to cooperate, your fellow members have stepped up to the plate. NACHI members make up about 1/4 of that council, so you folks are well represented.

The Council has the right (and they have done it) to spot check your inspection reports to verify that you have consistently followed the SOP closely. That's one of the reasons that members of unrecognized associations have to pay more. The administrative and review work is much heavier.

Bill Mullen