Today is Florida's Licensing Deadline

[hausdok]

According to an article in yesterday's Naples Daily news, home inspectors in Florida who aren¡¯t licensed by today will be performing illegal inspections.

The current home inspector licensing law was signed in 2007. The article went on to state that after today unlicensed inspectors face fines of more than $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail.

Today new inspectors in Florida must complete a 120-hour course or show that they were licensed in another state. Inspectors who were in business before the law went into effect were able to be grandfathered prior to March 1st if they could show that they have three years or experience as an inspector or a certificate showing that they'd completed at least 14 hours of home inspector education. The process requires a background check, a $300,000 commercial general liability insurance policy and the applicant must be of good moral character.

The article states that according to the Florida State Department of Business and Professional Regulations there were no licensed home inspectors in 2009 but by January 2011 there were 938 licensees and as of this month there are 4,199 licensed inspectors in Florida.

4,199 inspectors! Wow! It sounds like one couldn't swing a cat around by its tail and not strike another practicing home inspector; talk about your competitive and tough work environments.

[Robert Jones]

Damn that's a lot of inspectors.

[Jim Katen]

Yeah. Especially considering that there were only 4,198 home sales in Florida last year.

[Nolan Kienitz]

Interesting ... only a G.L. insurance requirement and no requirement for E&O.

I think some HI org was stacking the deck from what I've been hearing.

[hausdok]

Interesting ... only a G.L. insurance requirement and no requirement for E&O.

I think some HI org was stacking the deck from what I've been hearing.

Why would the lack of an E & O requirement stack the deck?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Robert Jones]

We don't have the E & O requirement here in WA and that club isn't even in play here.

[hausdok]

We don't have the E & O requirement here in WA and that club isn't even in play here.

I dunno, there are plenty of "clubs" in play here but none of them has had any influence on the board. When the law was passed here and the board was initially appointed, I think one of the local club chapters thought that they were going to get a leg up, because the board chairman, who is an independent, is married to an inspector who at that time was chapter president. They'd even allowed their lobbyist to assist with modification and passage of the bill in it's final form.

You should have heard some of the bellyaching I heard when some of the folks from that club discovered that the board doesn't play favorites and had developed a state SOP instead of adopting any of the club SOPs.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Nolan Kienitz]

I had read somewhere that the 'club' was schmoozing to get all their members easily approved via CE classes or something to be sure they were covered for the state licensing requirements.

I didn't and don't follow it closely at all as the 'club' (some members anyway) gives me heartburn.

[davidlord]

Most of those newly licensed Florida inspectors dont really inspect much. Talking with a contractor last week and he told me he had done 10 inspections this year. I did 426 in 2011 and 226 so far this year as of 6/25. I know the market is different throughout the country but its busy here. My pest control company is also busy. The economy does not suck at the Lord household. Its not all gloom and doom as the mainstream trys to sell. There are positive examples out there as well.

[kurt]

Thanks for that. You're right, it's not all gloom and doom everywhere.

There's business, 90% of the population is still working, current polls show that >80% of folks in America still want to own a home, and most of the rest of the world would love to own land and a house in America.

So, dig in, it's still America, and there's work to be done.

[kurt]

Thanks for that. You're right, it's not all gloom and doom everywhere.

There's business, 90% of the population is still working, current polls show that >80% of folks in America still want to own a home, and most of the rest of the world would love to own land and a house in America.

So, dig in, it's still America, and there's work to be done.