Home Inspectors Are Not The Same

Good morning.

I am going to RANT a little bit this morning so please forgive me in advance.

LICENSING

One of my greatest concerns as a long practicing home inspector in Florida (since 1992) is the easy entry into our profession. Since the advent of licensing in Florida, most consumers and real estate agents consider Licensed Home Inspectors to be all the same. We are not!

There are four exams available for licensing in Florida. The National Home Inspectors Exam (NHIE) is considered a high stakes exam and is the only psychometrically valid exam offered. More information on the various tests available can be found below. I encourage each of you that are real estate professionals to review/investigate/qualify home inspectors on your referral list.

• National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE)
• Florida Association of Building Inspectors (FABI)
• InterNACHI Florida Home Inspector Licensing Examination
• Association of Construction Industry’s Certified Home & Prop

All Inspectors at AllSpec Services are required to pass
the NHIE prior to being a practicing inspector in our firm.

INSPECTION REPORTS

Length of Report. I am amazed at what some of my real agent friends are sharing with me regarding Home Inspection Reports. They are becoming unnecessarily long (I have seen them exceed 50 plus pages and many times much longer). I would think the length of these reports must be overwhelming to both the home buyer and the real estate agent?

Clutter. Oftentimes these reports are cluttered with hundreds of pictures that simply don’t enhance the report or provide clarity regarding the defect but are used as a mean to protect the inspector (I was here and saw this).

Boiler Plate. Most of these long-winded reports are also filled with boiler plate language, disclaimers, and useless filler that should have been addressed via the inspection agreement and the standards of practice. Why clutter the inspection report with this information? I believe this is due to the Inspection Software Industry driving our profession into the wrong direction of minutia. I believe home buyers and real estate professionals want clearly written, easily understood reports.

Constant Referral to Others. Many home inspectors lack the mental ability our courage to make the call. If it’s wrong, its wrong. That’s why we are here. The constant referral to call in outside experts is a method to reduce the risk and liability, on behalf of the inspector. It is burdensome and decreases the credibility of our profession. Make the call!

Okay, I’m done now.