Nachi Certification Exposed

[Paul MacLean]

This was posted on the ASHI board. It's a video about NACHI's certification. YEAH!

Click on the home inspection piece.

KDKA news video about home inspector "certifications"

[monte]

Good Video Paul, that just about sums up these online certification programs are all about (MONEY) to the organization.

[DonTx]

OUCH! That one had to hurt.

[Bain]

Hilarious . . . and who cares if the news-guy doesn't know the difference between a joist and a beam? He passed the test, didn't he?

[Steven Hockstein]

That report was a heavy shot at NACHI. Hey you NACHI members out there. Any response to defend your organization besides the test is better than nothing.

[Brian G]

Just wait till the other shoe drops. It's only a matter of time until one of the high-flying news magazines turns their mega-watt spotlights on the "certification" over there. You can't stay under the radar forever with a guy like Nick out front. [:-bigmout

Brian G.

Certified, Licensed, Insured, Bonded, Incorporated, Amalgamated, Collated, Spindled, and Drip-Dried...So There [^]

[Steven Hockstein]

Originally posted by jhagarty

Originally posted by Steven Hockstein

That report was a heavy shot at NACHI. Hey you NACHI members out there. Any response to defend your organization besides the test is better than nothing.

Tonight's feature Story referenced a Bad Inspector with the presumption that he was a Member of NACHI. Turns out he is a Fully Compliant PA ASHI Member.

Is ASHI going to step up to the plate and take responsibility?

I just watched the report. I did not see any reference to NACHI or ASHI. I did see that the reporter stated that anyone can be a home inspector in PA. Did I miss something?

[Garcha]

This is exactly why I moved, and it has nothing to do with what organization you belong to. PA does have regs that require an inspector to have completed 100 Endorsed inspections, have E&O insurance and to have passed a written exam from a national Non-profit organization. The problem is nobody told me the rules before I got my Certs and Business running. I have worked constructiuon since I was 15. I know exactly where my weak spots are and take extra care to provide accurate assessment in those areas and I also pay attention to what the "old timers" have to say on forums like this. Once I got my business going with fliers in hand I performed about 10 inspections before I found out the law and that there was a $500.00 fine for each infraction- so I stopped!

No inspection companies around where I lived would hire me and some were hoping I would get 50 or 60 inspections so they could turn me in to the Atty General and put me out for good.

Problem: Why didn't the Scool I paid mention PA Law when I Applied?

Why didn't HIF mention to me when I joined?

Why didn't the Insurance Co say something?

Here I am doing the best I can and I know I do a better inspection than most of the guys Who are (no offense) ASHI certified or been doing inspections in my area for the last 20 years. These are the very guys who spend an hour in a house and call that an inspection. Certs do not matter, experience and integrity do!

I moved my business to Cinci because I knew the area and have been zing'en along ever since. I don't trust Realtors and I don't trust Inspectors that are in competition with me. I do my job better than most and it shows- I have not had one complaint since I've started and my customers love me. They all know what they got before they paid for it and that makes me feel great.

Any Inspector that does not keep up with boards like this is missing the best chance at continuing education besides Home Builders Associations. I quit HIF and refuse to join ASHI or NAHI as a marketing point. I belong to the Better Business Buraeu, Local Builder's Associations, and Chamber of Commerce- Because they all deal Locally.

Sorry but this is a sore point for me, I get over it more and more with every satisfied OHIO customer I am able to serve.

[member deleted]

This news piece is about one BAD Inspector, and unless I am mistaken it didn't even mention NACHI at all.

The inspector in the story is an ASHI Inspector!! It just goes to show that no matter what organization one belongs to the bottom line is if he or she is a good and honest inspector....period.

-Kevin

Richardson Home Inspections, LLC

[Scottpat]

Kevin,

In the first piece it was about the NACHI exam, and how the TV reporter passed the exam in thirty minutes. The second piece that aired on the 13th did not talk about any specific organization, but the inspector in trouble does belong to ASHI. It basically said to check references before you hire an inspector.

You are correct in that it does not matter the organization, all of them have bad inspectors.

[Darren]

Albeit some have more bad "inspectors" than others!

Darren

[chrisprickett]

I can't get the link to work.

[hausdok]

Hi Chris,

Click on the link and look at the top of your browser to see if anything up there says, pop-up blocked. If so, right click on that and choose allow pop-ups and it should display.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Chad Fabry]

Chris,

It doesn't work with Firefox. I had to use explorer.

[chrisprickett]

Originally posted by Chad Fabry

Chris,

It doesn't work with Firefox. I had to use explorer.

Thanks guys, but I use Explorer and unblocked the popups. Still no tickie. I'll play with it a little later.

[Chad Fabry]

Chris,

Allow me to summarize the content:

The online test is a joke that the reporter, several friends and relatives passed handily.

They interviewed an inspector in PA with only 38 inspections who has no one to sign off on his reports even though PA law requires a qualified inspector to sign off and assume liability for the first 100 reports. The inspector they interviewed has been sending his reports to NACHI to have them verified, but there's no one at NACHI to do this.

Various shots of severely rotted floor joists that an engineer was ripping apart with his hands.

A sad story of a new home owner that paid 80K for their house and needed to spend 100K more to fix it.

Screen shots of NACHI's exam, a fleeting glimpse of the PA DEP document that states that Gromicko was fine 15k for improperly installed radon mitigation systems.

That was about it.

[Brian G]

Originally posted by Chad Fabry

They interviewed an inspector in PA with only 38 inspections who has no one to sign off on his reports even though PA law requires a qualified inspector to sign off and assume liability for the first 100 reports.

You forgot the brief discussion of his "correspondence school only" qualifications. He said that was enough for him. [:-indiffe

Brian G.

Some Folks Are Awfully Easy to Please [:-dopey]

[Garcha]

He also had no experience in the trades so I hope it was enough for his clients. I find it hard to believe.[:-blindfo

[kurt]

What is most disturbing to me is how many folks are out there operating just like Mr. Pennsylvania. Folks that don't know nuthin', and are too dim to know that they don't know nuthin'. Heck, 38 inspections is enough, ain't it?

The whole thing makes me wanna puke.

I think the main reasons I hang around the inspection forums so much is....

1) Learn something new.

2) Reinforce my hope that there are good folks in this business who actually care about this thing that we do.

[Garcha]

I'd like to hear from Mr. Pennsylvania in about a year when all the little details he missed start creeping up on him and clients start contacting Lawyers. This could be a GREAT reality show. I know I'd watch.[:-glasses

[Erby]

What makes me want to puke is the experienced ASHI member in the second piece. The rotted wood video in the first piece is from a house inspected by him. NOT the new kid NACHI guy. I can kinda understand a new guy wanting to make a living. I don't understand the experienced guy ripping off his customers.

Perhaps some of us need to go back and look at what our qualifications where when we did our first inspection alone, on our own. How exactly does one go about getting a couple of hundred fee paid home inspections under their belt. Every one of us, at some time, did our first "on our own" inspection.

While the first piece is about the NACHI "Certification" test, the video of the damaged / rotten joists being pulled apart is from the home inspected by Thomas Laurito, the experienced ASHI Inspector with his little handwritten 6 or so page report with the same comments in each report. It doesn't mention that Laurito was also advertising his services through the NAHI/ASHI coaliton, PHIC (Pennsylvania Home Inspectors Coalition) to mentor new inspectors thru their RAMP (Ride Along Mentoring Program)

I haven't done it recently, and won't again, but a couple of years ago, I calculated the cost of getting mentored by PHIC for 100 inspections. $24,500.00 straight to the mentor's pocket.

http://www.kdka.com/

Click on "Top Video" at the right side and then keep clickin on "More video" until you get to videos for 5/13/05 and 5/12/05 dates.

Some of you whine about the NACHI guy and his 38 inspections, but I didn't see anything in either video about him screwing up.

I see little comment lamenting that fact that it was an experienced ASHI guy screwing the customers by messing up so bad.

PHIC was trying limit competition and screw the new guys out of $24,000 dollars. NACHI gave them another route. ASHI/NAHI have chosen to give new inspectors very little in support.

NACHI gives them a bunch. Is it any wonder that so many took it.

If you really want to do something about the idiots entering the profession, go after the schools who promote crap like "make $500-$800 dollars a day" and throw these guys on the street with little knowledge of how to run a business or make it a successful career.

And push for more stuff like this:

http://www.agt.net/public/moemad/wanto.html

Ah, I've wasted enough time whining.

T'aint the association, it's the inspector. Every association has bad inspectors and good and bad points. But not every inspector is bad. Just enough to screw it up for the rest of us.

[Bruce Thomas]

Ok guys,

I swore I wouldn't get involved is this debate any more but this one is here at home.

Clarification: When I called Marty Griffin the reporter to tell him that PA does have a law he said that he was sorry that he miss spoke and "thanks for watching". How about some responsible reporting to go along with a responsible inspector.

The NACHI guy with 38 inspections is breaking PA law and is liable for fines and imprisonment but it's not likely because no one is enforcing the law.

Erby, PHIC suggests $50 per ride along X 100 is $ 5,000.00. Some of the schools charge that much for a whole lot less education.

I'm a PHIC mentor and I charge the suggested figure. When I'm done with a guy he knows how to incorporate, market, keep books, budget, advertise and inspect a home from top to bottom and everything in between. I only wish I had a mentor when I started, I would have saved a fortune.

I have much more to say but is this debate really worth the time. Let the PA Attorney General figure it out.

Bruce From PA

[Bill Kibbel]

PHIC was trying limit competition and screw the new guys out of $24,000 dollars.

I mentor in both PA and NJ. I have never asked anyone for a cent. Erby, you're invited as my guest to the next PHIC meeting. You'll quickly find that our efforts have nothing to do with making money off anyone entering the business or limiting the competition. It's about minimum standards in our profession and consumer confidence.

[Erby]

Note Bruce, that the focus of your comment was the inexperienced NACHI guy that had only done 38 inspections, but you say nothing about the experienced guy that missed the rotted beams. That's my point.

I won't debate PHIC anymore. The $24,500 figure, or real close to that, came right off the information posted on the PHIC website a couple of years ago, when I cared about it. I won't try to recalculate it. That's what it was then. I don't know about now and no longer care. Primarily because the debate, as Bruce pointed out, isn't really worth my time. I agree that some or perhaps most schools charge as much or more for a whole lot less.

I still lament the fact that it was the experienced guy that missed all those rotted beams & joists in the videos.

Bill, thanks for the invite, but I'd rather attend the next meeting of the Historic Building Inspectors Association. It's of more interest to me, unfortunately, it's a ways to far to go.

And, when I find the time to get involved in the local historic preservation groups, y'all will probably receive an application for membership. Done did everything else. Want to review a couple of reports for me?

I'm glad to see your helping out the new guys. They really need it.

[DonTx]

Seems the snowball is growing in size and speed.

http://www.contractormag.com/articles/c ... lumnid=407