ASHI member caught abusing his office in a failed attempt to destroy his competition.

Section 5-2 - Disclosure and Non-action - Matters involving conflict of interest.

(a) If the Mayor, any Council member, or any member of a board or commission has a conflict of interest with regard to any matter before the Council, board, or commission, as applicable, he or she shall follow the disclosure and other requirements of this section.

 

(b) At or before the time the matter is heard, the member shall disclose the interest to the Council, board, or commission, as applicable.  The member shall not vote on or otherwise take any formal action concerning the matter, shall not participate in any executive session concerning the matter, and shall refrain from attempting to influence any other member in voting on the matter.

Memo

 

To:        City Council

From:    Nick Gromicko

Date:     10/11/2005

Re:        Home Inspector Registration

 

Nick Gromicko, Founder of the National Association of Home Inspectors (“InterNACHI”), respectfully requests that this memorandum be admitted into the record of the hearing on the captioned matter.

 

InterNACHI objects to the proposed Amendment to Title 15 of the Loveland Municipal Code for the following reasons:

 

1.       There is no Code of Ethics included in the proposed Amendment.  Thus, a home inspector could pay kickbacks and finders’ fees to realtors or, more unethically, find defects in the inspected home and then suggest himself as the perfect person to repair them.  If the purported rationale behind the Amendment is to protect the consuming public, this is a glaring omission.

 

2.       There is no requirement to carry Errors and Omissions Insurance.  Thus, an aggrieved client of a negligent home inspector would have no recourse against a judgment proof inspector.  If the purported rationale behind the Amendment is to protect the consuming public, this is a glaring omission.

 

3.       The proposed Amendment is nothing more than a word-for-word recitation [with a different numbering scheme to fool the unwary] of the standards of practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors, an out-of-state organization to which Mr. Rudolph belongs, rather than the more stringent standards of practice of the Colorado-based InterNACHI, which is not only the world’s largest association of home inspectors, but Loveland’s, Colorado’s and America’s, as well. Because InterNACHI standards of practice, continuing education and annual testing requirements are so high, AIG, the world’s largest insurance company, insures InterNACHI members exclusively at a substantial discount from the rates it regularly charges for errors and omissions insurance.  By lowering the home inspection standards to the ASHI model, the City of Loveland will instantly eliminate almost all of the inspectors in the city of Loveland and make it impossible for many to acquire errors and omission insurance to protect the consuming public.

 

4.       The continuing education requirement is inadequate.  It should be at least twenty-four (24) hours.

 

5.       There is no annual testing requirement of the home inspector in the proposed Amendment.  In an industry that has undergone and continues to undergo such rapid change as the home inspection industry, inspectors should be required to demonstrate continued competency.  If the purported rationale behind the Amendment is to protect the consuming public, this is a glaring omission.

 

6.       There is no requirement that the home inspector have any experience whatsoever.  If the purported rationale behind the Amendment is to protect the consuming public, this is a glaring omission.

 

7.       Section 3.2.5 is clearly unconstitutional.  As written, one could be barred from earning a living as a home inspector on the basis of unproved allegations, while, ironically, a convicted criminal who, thus, has a resolved complaint, could operate as a home inspector with impunity, an absurd result.

 

8.       The Amendment is tainted by its provenance.  It was prepared and proposed by a home inspector  who is a member of Loveland’s Construction Advisory Board and has ties to the real estate industry.  The Amendment he has proposed would eliminate his direct competition which is a clear violation of  5-2(a) of the Loveland City Charter relating to Ethics.

 

9.       Finally, despite InterNACHI’s having met with the Construction Advisory Board and provided Jon Rudolph with a torrent of material germane to the proposed Amendment, the proposed Amendment omits any mention of InterNACHI in the Acknowledgement Section, an oversight that could not be unintentional.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Nick Gromicko

InterNACHI