Licensed Home Inspectors

Update Jan 21, 2011

Since I first wrote this posting, in April of 2009, things have changed significantly in the home inspection industry. Now all three organizations (soon to be four) accredited by Consumer Protection BC, to certify and train home inspectors have virtually the same programs in place. All have an education requirement, all have a field training requirements, all have a Standards of Inspection that are almost identical to each other, and all have a requirement for continual education. All have a Code of Ethics and a conflict resolution program. They have to or they would not be accredited by CPBC which considers all of the points above the minimum set of requirements for licensing.

This is excellent progress and a direct result of licensing I feel (and I feel as a result of the pressures put on the industry by the former BCIPI). The down side is that it has led to a complacence in the public's mind. The public is lead to believe that all inspectors have been through these systems, have the same training and provide the same service. As such they feel that a home inspection is a commodity that can be shopped by price alone. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The facts are that most if not all associations have significant numbers of members that were accredited before current requirements were put in place. These members may have never had to take any courses or receive any field training. Yes they may have been doing the job for 5 yrs, 10 yrs, or even 15 yrs - but is it being done right? When licensing was put in place there were inspectors that joined ASTTBC (in order to get licensed) that had been performing home inspections for years. But when they took the field assessments they failed. They had never had the benefit of any type of passing down of knowledge from a more senior member of the industry.

There is also a vast difference between inspectors that receive a majority of the business through Realtor referrals and those that offer an independent service. The former usually provide a simplified check list style report right on site and often take 3 hours or less to inspect a single family home (1 hour or less for a Condo style apartment). This is the service expected by the agents and preferred by them because it does not cut in too much into the agent's schedule and often the limited time on site can mean many of the defects are not uncovered or reported on. An independent inspector who relies on word of mouth or past client referrals for their income, usually puts in a lot more effort into the process to protect you, the buyer and make sure you are satisfied. Most of us will spend 5-8 hours for a single family home (2.5 - 3 hours for a Condo apartment) and most of us provide a custom written narrative report with annotated photos at the end of the process. We do this because we feel that the report is the most important part of the process and that it needs to clearly identify ALL of the areas that could be improved with the dwelling and let you make an informed decision on what is important to you (other inspectors often make those decisions for you and only show a selection of the more severe defects). A select few of us even goes as far as identifying possible remediation plans to not only tell you the problem and the significance of the problem, but also possible ways to address so that you, as a buyer, can get a better feel for the cost of the defect (most reports just state there is a problem and to hire an XYZ professional to further investigate - which you as a buyer often do not have time to do before subject removal).

The bottom line is that although the industry is almost identical from association to association 'on paper', the actual service provided differs greatly from inspector to inspector. You as a buyer need to understand this and research what service you are getting for the price you are willing to pay and ask yourself - 'Will this service allow me to make an informed purchasing decision?'.

Original Post ***

In a press release dated January 30, 2009, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced that, as of March 31, 2009, all those providing home inspection services must be licensed. To verify your inspector is licensed, please ask to see their inspection certificate or search the BPCPA "Home Inspector Search" page.

The benefit of the licensing is that all those who provide home inspection services within the next 2 years will need to belong to an accredited inspection organization that ensures a standard of education, a standard of practise, a code of ethics, a requirement for continuing education, and a mechanism for handling customer or peer complaints. The licensing requirement stops those with no experience in the field from getting business cards and a flashlight and setting up a business. The requirements also stop those (carpenters, engineers, contractors, licensed plumbers, electricians, etc.) who may have training and experience in one or two building components, but lack the training required to inspect the dwelling as a whole, from providing inspection services.

Licensing inspectors is a great first step for the industry and provides an added layer of confidence in the system for the public. It is, however, still important for you to choose your home inspector wisely.

Only BCIPI inspectors certified by the ASTTBC are required to be fully trained before they offer services to you the consumer. BCIPI is unique in this practise. A new BCIPI inspector must pass a series of mentored field training exercises and supervised inspection assessments before they are authorized to provide services to the public. The new licensing does not yet require this from all organizations and allows those that have ONLY written a theory examination to be licensed and work unsupervised while gaining enough work experience to become “qualified” by their organization.

At SENWI, we feel that like most professional occupations and trades, some form of apprenticeship is required to hone a student’s skills and prepare them for practise in this field. Book smarts can only take a new inspector so far. A form of apprenticeship is needed to take them the rest of the way and should be a mandatory requirement for new inspectors coming into this industry.

You can rest assured knowing that all SENWI inspectors are fully qualified to provide their services to you.