NACHI was the direct result of Nick being unwilling to play by the rules laid down by others who thought they owned the only game in town. Nick’s refusal created a new game in the home inspection industry that although was quickly rejected by the mainstream soon had a grassroots following due to the then little understood housing boom. The rest is as you say…history.
So, today those who once controlled the game from their ivory tower and who suffered from the Nick’s baby & NACHI’s dramatic growth have switched tactics and are teaming up with the Realtors & state legislators to use licensing laws in an attempt to regain what was lost.
The vehicle that is commonly used to advance their cause is the Home Inspector Coalition which is supposedly made up of a cross-section of concerned home inspectors who have pledged to work for the betterment of our profession by developing restrictive licensing legislation that will miraculously raise-the-bar (professionalism) and protect the consumer. Of course, for performing such noble work these crusaders expect to be rewarded by not having to submit to the same qualifications as those they are protecting through grandfather clauses which excuses’ them, how convenient.
A New Game Declared:
The wonderful thing about our opponents is they expect for us to play by their rules, their first mistake. There are two distinct things we can do to upset their plans to have every state licensed.
Infiltrate their Home Inspector Coalitions spy on their operations, tactics & methods and report anonymously back to NACHI and the other independent home inspectors who do not support licensing. So, if you are currently in a Home Inspector Coalition and you have become disillusioned about licensing, don’t quit, go underground and be a spy for a good cause.
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;
[INDENT]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
[/INDENT]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.
The 2007 legislation season is coming to a close and it appears we who oppose licensing have much to be happy about but we can’t sit back and bask in the moment. 2008 is around the corner and we need to get started. If there is anyone out there willing to help us out with the coalition groups contact either Jim Bushart or myself here on the message board. You can trust that we will keep your confidentiality a secret.
Old Star Trek clip reveals how to defeat the efforts of the pro HI licensing lobby… Or maybe I’m just lying.
Enjoy!
pmagrone
(PAUL MAGRONE, Florida License # HI 30)
7
I know I am new in this game but I have to ask if anyone knows where the current bill stands at this time? There have been a lot of changes but more needs to be done. Are you of the opinion that the current proposed legislation will fail. Last look made me think they were pushing forward with it. I know a lot of my efforts are sometimes off the mark but I have really tried to be an influence in stopping this thing. Where are we right now and what remains to be done? I want to do my part to help this group. What people do not realize is how well put together NACHI is. As a newer inspector I can honestly say that the educational resources here are in a league of their own.
The House & Senate passed this same bill back in 2005, there is no reason for them not to see fit to pass it once again. It will most likely take a veto from the Governor stop it now. Unfortunately, I would say there is better then a 50% chance we will get licensing this year, the bastards have been hard at it for over fifteen years here in Florida and they look due.
The desires of Home Inspectors seeking a Licenser of the profession are often diametrically opposed to Legislators willing to entertain a Licensing Bill.
This is why many years (and dollars) often pass with nothing coming to fruition.
The sad part is not in watching these *coalitions of the stupid *trying to get their way… the sad part is when they succeed at getting their way. They then adopt only the kindergarten NHIE which everyone has the answers to and think that it holds everyone out. 3 months go by and everyone has a license. All the REALTORs start pointing to the licensed list when recommending inspectors, which includes inspectors who got licensed yesterday. The number of inspectors more than doubles, and it becomes a war of who can market the best (NACHI members of course). The bogus credential-only associations they used to belong to lose all their members when the state goes into the credential-issuing business (licensing). NACHI does great, what with us offering all the success tools that the state doesn’t and won’t ever offer and what with there being more than twice as many inspectors in the state. Then the schools start opening up on every corner pumping out licensed inspectors like freakin’ popcorn machines. That’s when it really gets sad. Surrounded by hoards of competing inspectors just as licensed as them (and typically better at marketing) the *coalition of the stupid *then stands there, knee deep in it all, with their mouths wide open, scratching their heads and wondering where the hell it all went wrong.
Licensing… great for NACHI the trade association… horrible for individual inspectors.
If they are going to license, then they need to make real standards and
require enough education to create good inspectors (I know this never
works in the real world, but it can help). Texas requires 488 hours plus
testing… which is better than 30 hours and no testing… see what I mean?
Regardless, once the licensing laws come, NACHI inspectors should still
prevail… Why? Because NACHI teaches and helps the inspector to
market on the internet more than all the rest.
The internet is the Real Estate promise land. Take all you can while
the land is available. IMHO
