About time
The CBC announces today that B.C. is planning to license house inspectors.
The British Columbia government is moving to protect consumers by requiring home inspectors to have a license.
The decision follows repeated calls for tougher regulations and is welcomed by John Grasty, the acting president of the Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners Society.
Grasty says he regularly hears from homeowners who tell him that, despite an inspection, their dream of a new home has turned into a nightmare.
Just a few weeks ago, he said, he took a call from a woman on [Vancouver Island], who had just purchased a home and discovered a gas leak that wasn’t detected by a home inspector.
He said he often gets calls from people who purchase a home, only to find that it had contained a marijuana grow operation.
Grasty supports licensing for home inspectors, but worries about the standards they will be required to meet.
“They would have to be tested annually, or regularly, on several trades such as plumbing and electrical,” he said.
Even a professional engineer may not be qualified in all of those areas, he said.
I must say it’s about time. I hope (but will be very surprised, given this overly business friendly government, if they do) they will go far enough to truly protect the consumer. That will require making those inspectors financially responsible for their oversights. Right now it simply is a crap shoot whether you get an honest and qualified home inspector or someone who knows even less than someone whose sole experience comes from watching the home renovation shows on Home and Garden TV.
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Comment from Heather
Time: 2/9/2008, 6:35 pm
As a homeowner, I heartily agree. BUT… we personally know a licensed inspector, and the reality is that they can only report on what they can see, and they can’t be destructive in any way. (that doesn’t excuse the gas leak, I know). They can’t rip apart a floor or a newly drywalled wall to see what is honestly happening. Also, existing homeowners are often extremely uncooperative with inspectors, piling immovable furniture and boxes to block them from looking close, because of course they don’t want to lose a potential sale.
It was a disappointment when we realized that there’s only so much an inspector can tell you, and most of it is stuff an observant and semi-handy person could determine for themselves. It’s also highly frustrating and disheartening for the (legitimate) inspectors, because they know that their hands are tied at the same time as people are placing huge amounts of trust in them.