Home inspection

Some sources say the first known home inspection company, Home Equity Loss Protection Services dba/H.E.L.P.S.(Glen Ellyn, IL), was founded by Christopher P. Nolan and Loyola Professor, Mark Goodfriend. Mr. Nolan was initially inspired by Coldwell Banker Realtor, Carole Kelby, a top producer from Wheaton, IL. He first trained DuPage County Deputy Sheriff, George Wick, as H.E.L.P.S. first official Home Inspector. Years later, the company was officially incorporated in the early 1980s by Jane Garvey, surviving wife of Professor Mark Goodfriend of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, following its purchase from Christopher P. Nolan. As a founder of the home inspection business and entrepreneur, Mr. Nolan was inspired to create a comprehensive system of home inspections. He found because as an investor of distressed real estate (then a nationally recognized real estate expert and speaker for Lowry Seminars) he realized a need to have skilled professionals inspect key areas of the home prior to his purchases in order to mitigate the risk of his investments.[1]

Other sources suggest that the Home Inspection profession was started, in 1938, by the father of Marvin Goldstein, President of Building Inspection Services, Inc. and a founding member of ASHI.[2]

In Canada and the United States, a contract to purchase a house may include a contingency that the contract is not valid until the buyer, through a home inspector or other agents, has had an opportunity to verify the condition of the property. In many states and provinces, home inspectors are required to be licensed, but in some states, the profession is not regulated. Typical requirements for obtaining a license are the completion of an approved training course and/or a successful examination by the state's licensing board. Several states and provinces also require inspectors to periodically obtain continuing education credits in order to renew their licenses.

In May 2001, Massachusetts became the first state to recognize the potential conflict of interest when real estate agents selling a home also refer or recommend the home inspector to the potential buyer. As a result, the real estate licensing law in Massachusetts was amended[3] to prohibit listing real estate agents from directly referring home inspectors. The law also prohibits listing agents from giving out a "short" name list of inspectors. The only list that can be given out is the complete list of all licensed home inspectors in the state.

Ancillary services such as inspections for wood destroying insects, radon testing, septic tank inspections, water quality, mold, (or excessive moisture which may lead to mold), and private- well inspections are sometimes a part of Home Inspector's services if duly qualified.

In many provinces and states, the practice standards for home inspectors are those developed and enforced by professional associations, such as, worldwide, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI); in the United States, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), and the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI)(No Longer active 10/2017); and, in Canada, the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI), the Professional Home & Property Inspectors of Canada (PHPIC) and the National Home Inspector Certification Council (NHICC).

Currently, more than thirty U.S. states regulate the home inspection industry in some form.

Canada saw a deviation from this model when in 2016 an association independent Home Inspection Standard was completed. This was developed in partnership with industry professionals, consumer advocates, and technical experts, by the Canadian Standards Association. The CAN/CSA A770-16 home Inspection Standard was funded by three provincial governments and is aimed to be the unifying standard for Home Inspections carried out within Canada.

It is the only Home Inspection Standard in Canada that has been endorsed by the Standards Council of Canada.

In Canada, there are provincial associations which focus on provincial differences that affect their members and consumers. Ontario has the largest population of Home Inspectors which was estimated in 2013 as part of a government survey at being around 1500.[4]

To date, only one Association, Ontario Association of Certified Home Inspectors, has mandated its members migrate to the CAN/CSA A770-16 Home Inspection Standard, with a date of migration set as February 28, 2020. Other National and Provincial Associations have set this standard as an option to be added to the other standards supported by the associations.

In Canada, only Alberta and British Columbia have implemented government regulation for the Home Inspection Profession. The province of Ontario has proceeded through the process, with the passage of regulatory procedure culminating in the Home Inspection Act, 2017 to license Home Inspectors in that province. It has received royal assent but is still awaiting the development of regulations and proclamation to become law.

In Ontario, there are two provincial Associations, OAHI( the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors) and OntarioACHI (the Ontario Association of Certified Home Inspectors). Both claim to be the largest association in the province. OAHI, formed by a private member's Bill in the Provincial Assembly, has the right in law to award the R.H.I. (Registered Home Inspector) designation to anyone on its membership register. The R.H.I. designation, however, is a reserved designation, overseen by OAHI under the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act, 1994. This Act allows OAHI to award members who have passed and maintained strict criteria set out in their membership bylaws and who operate within Ontario. Similarly, OntarioACHI requires equally high standards for the award of their certification, the Canadian-Certified Home Inspector (CCHI) designation. To confuse things, Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI) own the copyright to the terms Registered Home Inspector and RHI. Outside of Ontario, OAHI Members cannot use the terms without being qualified by CAHPI.

The proclamation of the Home Inspection Act, 2017, requires the dissolution of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act, 1994, which will remove the right to title in Ontario of the RHI at the same time removing consumer confusion about the criteria for its award across Canada.

Through education and advocacy, both Organisations cultivate a thriving Home Inspection profession based on the highest standards of professional development and ethical standards.

A home inspector in the United Kingdom (or more precisely in England and Wales), was an inspector certified to carry out the Home Condition Reports that it was originally anticipated would be included in the Home Information Pack.

Home inspectors were required to complete the ABBE Diploma in Home Inspection to show they met the standards set out for NVQ/VRQ competency-based assessment (Level 4). The government had suggested that between 7,500 and 8,000 qualified and licensed home inspectors would be needed to meet the annual demand of nearly 2,000,000 Home Information Packs. In the event, many more than this entered training, resulting in a massive oversupply of potential inspectors.

With the cancellation of Home Information Packs by the coalition Government in 2010, the role of the home inspector in the United Kingdom became permanently redundant.

Inspections of the home, as part of a real estate transaction, are still generally carried out in the UK in the same manner as they had been for years before the Home Condition Report process. Home Inspections are more detailed than those currently offered in North America. They are generally performed by a chartered member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

The concept of home inspection in India is in its infancy. There has been a proliferation of companies that have started offering the service, predominantly in Tier-1 cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, etc. To help bring about a broader understanding among the general public and market the concept a few Home Inspection companies have come together and formed the Home Inspection Association of India

After RERA came into effect, the efficacy and potency of Home Inspection companies has increased tremendously. Vast majority of the people who own homes or are potential home buyers do not know what Home Inspection is and such a service even exists.

The way that Home Inspection is different in India than in North America or United Kingdom is that, Home Inspectors do not have a licensing authority that is government authorised. Apart from the fact that houses in India are predominantly built using kiln baked bricks or concrete blocks or even are just concrete walls (predominantly in high rise apartments) this means the tests conducted are vastly different. Most companies providing Home Inspection services conduct non-destructive tests [NDT] of the property, in come cases based on customer requirement tests that require core-cutting etc are also performed.

Vast majority of home owners are not aware of the concept of Home Inspection in India. The other issue is the balance of power is highly tilted toward the builder, this means the home buyers are vary of stepping on their proverbial toes. This is the case because in most cases, that home would be their single most expensive purchase in their lifetime and the home owners do not want to even come across as antagonising the builders.

Some home inspectors and home inspection regulatory bodies maintain various standards related to the trade. Some inspection companies offer 90-day limited warranties to protect clients from unexpected mechanical and structural failures; otherwise, inspectors are not responsible for future failures.[lower-alpha 1] A general inspection standard for buildings other than residential homes can be found at the National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers.

Many inspectors may also offer ancillary services such as inspecting pools, sprinkler systems, checking radon levels, and inspecting for wood-destroying organisms. The CAN/CSA-A770-16 standard allows this (in-fact it demands swimming pool safety inspections as a requirement) and also mandates that the inspector be properly qualified to offer these. Other standards are silent on this.

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