Is your home inspector blind? If he's not a member of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), he might just be!
Other home inspection associations have no entrance examination. Blind people, children, psychics (who claim to "sense" if a house is ok) and even pets have joined other associations. InterNACHI is the only association with an entrance examination. NACHI turns down more than 1/2 the inspectors who want to join because they can't pass the exam.
InterNACHI inspectors:
- Have to pass InterNACHI's Online Inspector Examination. (This is a general, not association-specific exam).
- Have to pass InterNACHI's Online Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics Examination (This is a new, separate, open book, InterNACHI-specific exam coming in September 2004 testing only standards and ethics knowledge.).
- Have access to InterNACHI's free library for improving their inspection skills.
- Have access to InterNACHI's message board for exchanging information and tips.
- Have access to InterNACHI's What's New section so they can keep up with the industry.
- Have access to Dear InterNACHI for detailed advice.
- Have access to a time-tested Agreement which keeps them (and you) away from lawsuits.
- Have access to InterNACHI's Report Review/Mentoring service.
- Have access to InterNACHI's free online inspection courses.
- Have to sign an affidavit.
- Have to carry E&O insurance (if their state requires it).
- Have to abide by InterNACHI's Standards of Practice.
- Have to abide by InterNACHI's Code of Ethics.
- Have to fulfill InterNACHI's Continuing Education requirements.
So the next time you need to refer your clients to home inspectors, make sure they are members of InterNACHI. InterNACHI, America's elite home inspection association.
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Kevin anyone that does not check the credentials of their inspectors is just asking for it.
Absolutely! Don't only check credentials, make sure the credentials are top notch, like NACHI is.
I've definitely had a few very poor home inspections in the past couple years. Missing large items, flirting with lawsuits, etc. You must always offer a few options if your client asks for referrals.
I always make sure to tell any client that I do not endorse, but I can pass on the contact info of a couple I've seen before.
Cameron Novak
Corona, California Real Estate Broker
The Homefinding CenterTM
Corona, California
951-212-7479
Chat About Corona Real Estate 24/7/365
In my opinion, passing out multiple home inspector flyers to your clients for them to choose blindly is most definitely flirting with lawsuits. The best method is to find an excellent, thorough, proven, NACHI certified home inspector and sticking with him 100%. That way you know exactly what the report will look like, when it will be delivered, how he will educate your clients, what he won't say, what he will say, what he won't forget to look at, and on and on. No surprises.
I have to agree with Kevin. I refer one inspector, and one inspector only because I know he's the best. My Clients hire me because they trust me, and I'm going to do everything I can to earn that trust, which means recommending only the best service professionals from other industries. I'm passionate about that. In fact I've written two blogs about why: This one and this one.
I tried every association I could find during my first year in business looking for one where I could participate freely and effectively. After a year, I quit them all. Six months after that, I discovered NACHI. That was March 2003. I've been a member ever since. As I tell my Clients, "NACHI has about 9,000 members, ASHI has about 3,600, and CREIA (California) has about 1,200. I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know everything there is to know about real estate, so if I have a question about something, I can post an answer on the NACHI Message Board and have the answer, contributed by many members, within hours, sometimes even minutes. So my Clients never have to wait more than a few hours for me to get the answer to them. NACHI doesn't sleep, and neither do I."