Throughout the decades, home inspection as a service to home buyers has evolved from a past-time activity into a mature profession, not only accepted but recommended by government agencies.
About 30 years ago, in its beginnings, there were no specific requirements for covering the items to be inspected in a house, and there were no specific qualifications or educational requirements to be an inspector. Things started to change in early 1976, when a small group of independent inspectors founded the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), acknowledging that in order for inspectors to be accepted by the public as professionals, it would be necessary to establish an organization that has a set of standards, a code of ethics and membership requirements.
Today, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) is the largest national professional organization of home inspectors, with 88 local ASHI chapters servicing thousands of members throughout the United States and Canada.
Home Inspection Organizations for Certified Home Inspectors
As the home inspection profession matured, more organizations were founded to promote excellence and professionalism by providing a set of standards and a code of ethics, as well as educational opportunities such as technical seminars, continuing education courses and monthly meetings where members can exchange ideas, network and experience. Nowadays, there are several home inspection organizations, as follows:
- American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) – founded in 1976
- National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) – founded in 1987
- National Association of Building Inspection Engineers (NABIE) – founded in 1989
- Housing Inspection Foundation (HIF) – founded in 1989
- National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI) – founded in 1990
- Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors (CAHPI) – founded in 1994
- National Society of Home Inspectors
Moreover, 32 states have enacted home inspection legislation that requires individuals performing home inspections to become licensed. This not only further ensures professionalism, but it also provides consumer protection by preventing anyone who is not licensed by the state from performing a home inspection. Licensing requirements vary from state to state, however most require candidates to take the National Home Inspection Examination or equivalent, as a means of evaluating their competence.
Some states also require candidates to successfully complete an exam of ASHI standards and ethics. The national examination is conducted by Pearson VUE at more than 215 proctored test center locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. In addition, depending on the state, there are also requirements that candidates must successfully complete 60 to 80 hours of classroom instruction; also, candidates must have both liability insurance and errors and omission insurance, and must have completed 100 to 200 fee-paid inspections under the supervision of a licensed, certified home inspector.
Once a candidate is approved for licensing, he/she must follow the rules and regulations set out by the home inspection legislation. For instance, the home inspection legislation of one state includes a pre-inspection agreement – a requirement that the home inspector must send a pre-inspection agreement to the client no later than one business day after the appointment for the home inspection is made. Among other things, the agreement must contain the fee and a description of the systems and components that will be inspected, as well as the items that are not part of the home inspection. Also, the pre-inspection agreement must also contain a description of any and all services not part of the home inspection for which the client is charged an additional fee. The agreement must be executed before the start of the home inspection.
In some states, the presence of wood-destroying insects and the condition of the septic system are two areas of concern not included in a home inspection, and require the inspector to have a separate license in order to evaluate them. A separate license is also required to perform a test or collect samples to check for environmental hazards such as radon gas testing, or testing for mold, asbestos and lead in the water or paint.
Depending on the state requirements, when renewing the home inspection license the inspector must attest or provide information showing successful completion of 10 to 40 hours of continuing education units per renewal period.
In states that do not license home inspectors, there is generally a statute regarding the field of home inspection, requiring that the inspector is a member of a national or a state home inspection organization. This statute has helped the profession to be self-regulating, as a national or state home inspection organization has strict membership requirements.