Anyone Done a Phase Inspection Under the New SOP?

[Chuck Evans]

I have a frame inspection scheduled tomorrow. The new SOP requires that inspectors use the REI 7A-1 report for ALL inspections performed on behalf of a prospective buyer.

There's going to be an awful lot of "Not Present" and "Not inspected - Work In Progress" in this report.

It's going to be underly ridiculous to document a pre-pour inspection with this form.

[Michael R. Boyett]

Chuck, the use of 7A-1 is not required for homes that are not substantially complete. TREC Rule 535.223 specifically exempts 7A-1 for "QC and phased inspections for builders" but it is silent on phase inspections for buyers. I'm sure you do not have to use the form for this purpose but I can't put my finger on the rule right now. I've admitted to a senior moment and have the question out to several veteran inspectors. One, the past chairman of the Inspectors Advisory Committee already reported back that he says No, 7A-1 is not required for phase inspections but that it was only his opinion. If I get anything else tonite I'll post it. You might also want to check back here before heading out tomorrow.

[Chuck Evans]

I contacted Larry Foster about this (via email) about the same time that I made the initial post.

In his reply, he stated "Apparently you have misunderstood the Rules of the Commission. Phases inspections have been exempted from the use of the form since we first adopted it and we strengthened that exemption recently. You can use any form for phase inspections unless you are doing a completed home for a buyer."

This would be good news and consistent with the way I interpreted the rules for the prior version REI 7A. However when I read the rules for REI 7A-1, I don't interpret it that way. I have sent Larry the following excerpts from section 535.223 of the rules http://www.trec.state.tx.us/pdf/rules/535.223.pdf and asked him to confirm, lest we get in trouble with TREC (emphasis added).

(1) Except as provided by this section, inspections performed for a prospective buyer or prospective seller of one-to-four family residential property shall be reported on Form REI 7A-1 adopted by the Commission ("the standard form").

(6) This section does not apply to the following:
(D) quality control construction inspections of new homes performed for builders, including phased construction inspections, inspections performed solely to determine compliance with building codes, warranty or underwriting requirements, or inspections required by a municipality and the builder or other entity requires use of a different report, and the first page of the report contains a notice either in bold or underlined reading substantially similar to the following: "This report was prepared for a builder or other entity in accordance with the builder's requirements. The report is not intended as a substitute for an inspection of the property by an inspector of the buyer's choice. Standard inspections performed by a Texas Real Estate Commission licensee and reported on Texas Real Estate Commission promulgated report forms may contain additional information a buyer should consider in making a decision to purchase." If a report form required for use by the builder or builder's employee does not contain the notice, the inspector may attach the notice to the first page of the report at the time the report is prepared by the inspector.

The first paragraph seems to set a default standard that all buyer/seller inspections are required to use the form. My interpretation of the exemption for phased construction inspections applies only if it is being performed for the builder or an entity other than a buyer/seller.

I hope that he's right and I have missed an exemption that will allow us to use a more concise reporting method for these inspections.

I'll post up what I hear back from him.

[Michael R. Boyett]

I seem to remember that "or buyer" was added to the wording of the phase inspection exemption during discussions last year on 535.223. If that is what Larry is referring to then I think it got left out of the final version of that chapter. I too had e-mailed him so let's see what he replies with.

[George E. Russell]

Get the forms for phased inspections, in Texas counties, here.
County Inspection Program
You may have to register with TRCC. And you may even be looking for something different.

[Michael R. Boyett]

George...you would use those forms when doing a phase inspection for a Builder under the County Inspection Program only. Chuck is looking to do a framing phase inspection for a Buyer and those forms are not applicable then. Lots of fun trying to keep track of all this isn't it?

[Chuck Evans]

Yes, The TRCC forms are for Fee Inspections (i.e., private code compliance certification inspections) for builders in unincorporated areas. I'm certified to do them, but I'm not about to (builder's wan't want to pay may rates and there's no immunity from liability for private inspectors as there is for municipal inspectors).

I haven't heard back on the confirmation from Larry yet and I have a report to produce tonight. I'm just going to go ahead and use an abbreviated version like I did before the new SOP came out. If I get grief (not very likely), I'll present Larry's email in my defense.

I'll post up whatever I do ultimately get back as a response.

[Michael R. Boyett]

I talked to another well seasoned, well qualified inspector that even teachs this very topic in one of his courses. He assures me that TREC has gone on record as stating 7A-1 is not required for phase inspections and they even cite the "not subtantially complete" clause that definitely is in the rules as their justification. I'm anxious to see if Larry can pinpoint something more precise.

[Chuck Evans]

I never did get a second reply from Larry Foster on this question. After rereading the TREC rules, I still feel that there is an inconsistency between what the rules state and what common sense and what we are being told regarding whether the form is required for Phase inspections.

Because of this, I am posting my dialog with Larry here for the record. I have elected NOT to use the TREC form for phase inspections. If I get grief from TREC, I'll refer to this dialog as justification (older messages are at the bottom).

Dear Larry,

That may well be possible (I hope it's the case). My perception that the rule applied to phase inspections for potential buyers was based on my first hand reading of the rules themselves. Specifically, it was these paragraphs of Section 535.223 that caused be to interpret it the way that I did (emphasis added).

(1) Except as provided by this section, inspections performed for a prospective buyer or prospective seller of one-to-four family residential property shall be reported on Form REI 7A-1 adopted by the Commission ("the standard form").

(6) This section does not apply to the following:
(D) quality control construction inspections of new homes performed for builders, including phased construction inspections, inspections performed solely to determine compliance with building codes, warranty or underwriting requirements, or inspections required by a municipality and the builder or other entity requires use of a different report, and the first page of the report contains a notice either in bold or underlined reading substantially similar to the following: "This report was prepared for a builder or other entity in accordance with the builder's requirements. The report is not intended as a substitute for an inspection of the property by an inspector of the buyer's choice. Standard inspections performed by a Texas Real Estate Commission licensee and reported on Texas Real Estate Commission promulgated report forms may contain additional information a buyer should consider in making a decision to purchase." If a report form required for use by the builder or builder's employee does not contain the notice, the inspector may attach the notice to the first page of the report at the time the report is prepared by the inspector.
The first paragraph seems to set a default standard that all buyer/seller inspections are required to use the form. My interpretation of the exemption for phased construction inspections applies only if it is being performed for the builder or an entity other than a buyer/seller.

As I said, I hope your initial guidance is correct, but it's not the way I'm interpreting the rule and I don't want to run afoul of the commission.

I will be performing/documenting a frame inspection tomorrow and would very much like to use a more concise report form. If you would please confirm for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Best regards,

Chuck Evans
Ph: (936) 522-8633

-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Foster [mailto:Larry@fosterinspections.com]
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:47 PM
To: Chuck@homecert.com
Subject: RE: TREC REI 7A-1 Form Policy Request
Dear Sir:

Apparently you have misunderstood the Rules of the Commission. Phases inspections have been exempted from the use of the form since we first adopted it and we strengthened that exemption recently. You can use any form for phase inspections unless you are doing a completed home for a buyer. The commission actually exempts buyer orientation performed for a builder and buyer from using the form as long as the orientation form contains a statement that the orientation is not an inspection for the purposes of the Texas Rules.

Please visit the TREC web site for the rules. www.trec.state.tx.us

If you received this information from an educator or school, I would interested in knowing that so that we can communicate accurate information to them for dissemination.

I personally have been performed phase inspections for 30 years and fully understand the differences and the need to use a form or format that pertains specifically to the type of inspection performed.

I hope this helps you.

Sincerely,

Larry J. Foster, Professional Inspector #3
Foster Inspections & Construction Consulting, Inc.
3800 Ben Garza Lane
Austin, TX 78749-1512
512-440-7141
512-440-7144 Fax

From: Chuck@homecert.com [mailto:Chuck@homecert.com]
Sent: 2009-02-23 10:05 PM
To: Larry Foster
Subject: TREC REI 7A-1 Form Policy Request

Larry,

I'm submitting this request to you as the Chairperson of the TREC Inspector Advisory Committee.

My request pertains to the required use of TREC Form REI 7A-1 for all prospective buyer inspections. In particular, its use for construction phase inspections (e.g., foundation pre-pour and frame/pre-cover inspections). While I do understand the desire to utilize a standardized format and to retain all of the standard property, client and inspector information as well as the preamble; it does not seem to be well advised to require that all of the additional sections (e.g., appliances) be required to be maintained in reports for types of inspections where they are irrelevant. In the case of a pre-pour inspection, the vast majority of standard content sections and subsections are simply inapplicable. All of this extraneous content actually makes it more difficult for the client to sift through to find the actual relevant items in the report, the rest simply becomes clutter.

My suggestion is: retain the requirement to use the base form for construction phase inspections performed on behalf of prospective buyers including: standard demographic data, headers, footers, preamble, checkboxes, typeface, etc. But allow the inspector to delete sections and subsections which are not applicable to the type of phase inspection being performed and renumber remaining sections as appropriate, maintaining the same relative order. This change would help clean up these specialty reports by removing useless clutter, which in turn, will help the consumer to more readily locate the report findings which are really relevant to them.

I would appreciate it if the committee would consider revising this requirement.

Best regards,