by James Hemsell (Article from "Texas REALTOR" Mag., Jan-Feb 2005)
I’m sure you know the Texas Real Estate Commission
regulates sales agents and brokers. They also regulate home inspectors, and the
commission made some dramatic changes that may affect the quality of home
inspectors inspecting properties for your buyers and sellers.
Prior to January 1, home inspectors received their
licenses through one of two tracks. The original licensing program followed the
models of many trades, such as plumbers and electricians. An apprentice
inspector worked under the direct supervision of a professional inspector until
he had acquired 90 hours of classroom training, performed 25 inspections under
the direct supervision of the professional inspector, and passed the TREC
licensing exam. The apprentice inspector then became a real estate inspector and
had to acquire an additional 38 hours of classroom education, 200 more
inspections, and pass another test to become a professional
inspector.
About eight years ago, an alternate track was developed that
eliminated the sponsorship requirements and substituted additional classroom
education (60 hours) in lieu of the experience and supervision requirements.
Soon, most inspectors were acquiring their professional licenses this way. This
eased entry into the profession but also created problems with the quality of
many home inspections. Numerous professional inspectors were now licensed who
had never performed a single inspection. These inspectors had not developed the
skills necessary to inspect the property, communicate effectively with the
parties in the transaction, or fully understand the role of the inspection in
the transaction.
Effective January 1, TREC has modified the educational
requirements of the education-only track to reflect the knowledge necessary to
perform the home inspection role. The commission recognized that on-the-job
experience increases the effective amount of education that a home inspector
acquires in the sponsorship track. If a home inspector performs 225 home
inspections during their 15-month training period under the sponsorship track,
the education-only track should have the educational requirement increased to
approximate that amount of on-the-job experience. Now, home inspectors on the
education-only track to acquire a professional license must have 448 hours of
education before taking the test.
The closing door on the old
regulations created a flood of new home inspectors in Texas. As many as 800 new
inspectors may have obtained a professional inspector’s license in the past year
or so.
This means the home inspector on your next contract may not have
sufficient experience—as deemed necessary in the new requirements—to perform his
job at a level that could adequately protect your client and the transaction.
Competition is a good thing; however, liability lurks in every
transaction. A newly licensed home inspector may not have the best inspecting
and reporting procedures, proper equipment to perform the inspection, or the
experience to adequately disclose the condition of the property without placing
the contract in jeopardy.
Read the rest of article at - www.TexasRealtors.com