Home inspectors' qualifications vary

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Home inspectors' qualifications vary

Look for RHI designation to ensure you're not getting uncertified

`cowboy'

Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada*

Sep 15, 2007 04:30 AM

Steve Maxwell

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/256044

Hiring a home inspector is a lot like buying organic food. You need

to look behind the label to see exactly what you're getting. Not

every `organic' apple comes from the Garden of Eden, and not all

`certified' home inspectors are the kind of people you should trust

when laying out hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home purchase.

As it turns out, Canada produces some of the best home inspectors in

the world. The trouble is not everyone in the business measures up,

even if they might seem to. That's why you need to be careful in

very specific ways as you select a home inspector. The best are

trained to help you choose a resale home wisely, but that's not all.

Careful homebuyers also have new homes professionally inspected

before they sign off on their purchase. The construction errors

you'll occasionally find in brand new houses are astonishing.

The most common home inspection designation you can trust is RHI.

The letters stand for Registered Home Inspector, and it's a

distinction that not just anyone can claim. Only inspectors who've

fulfilled specific requirements can legally call themselves an RHI.

These include completion of a series of baseline courses, technical

background in the building field and successful completion of

hundreds of actual home inspections and reports that have been

examined and verified by an independent committee of experts. The

Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI; 888-748-

2244) acts as a clearinghouse of information for locating RHIs. You

can find registered inspectors working in areas across Canada by

visiting cahpi.ca.

By comparison, how much faith should you put in a home inspector

with a " certification " they received through self-administered tests

taken on the Internet and optional courses taken if and when they

like? That's the reality behind some professionals in the home

inspection business these days. Watch out. Ask questions. Who has

actually verified these people?

Then there are the home inspection cowboys with no certification at

all. They've been " doing inspections for years, " and somehow that's

supposed to make them good. But why take their word for it?

Right now the home inspection business continues to evolve with a

Canada-wide initiative called the National Certification Program

(NCP). The origins of the NCP stretch back to 1996 when a report was

issued by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). It

uncovered noteworthy inconsistencies in the skill and diligence of

home inspectors across the country, and that led to action by

government and industry stakeholders. Inspectors certified as

National Certificate Holders (NCH) are in the minority, but that's

changing. Eventually this designation will probably become the gold

standard for home inspectors across Canada.

So what exactly does a properly qualified home inspector look for in

a resale home? Lots of things, many of which aren't immediately

obvious. These include water penetration of exterior wall surfaces,

foundation deficiencies, the presence of mould, improper or

antiquated electrical installations, furnace condition, the presence

of aluminum wiring and the existence of deficiencies that may

preclude insurance coverage.

Ultimately, the issue of home inspection quality comes down to you.

Government has partnered with industry to make trustworthy

inspectors available, but in the end, you're free to hire anyone you

like. Many of today's non-RHI inspectors do charge somewhat less

than what you'll pay for an RHI inspection and written report. But

are the savings really worth it? What would you rather do, save $100

upfront on a $300,000 purchase, then find you've got asbestos-clad

pipes in the house you just bought? Or knob-and-tube wiring that'll

make your home difficult to insure?

We don't need to hope our home inspector knows the difference

between mould growth and efflorescence. We can know for sure. All

you really need to do is look for the right letters behind the name,

then read the inspection report.

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