News

Texas REALTOR® | January/February 2005

Take a closer look at inspectors
New requirements create flood of rookies .

by James Hemsell

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.

The more experienced home inspectors in the state belong to home inspector associations such as the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors (TAREI). Just like the Texas Association of REALTORS®, these associations concentrate on keeping their members up to speed on the constantly changing real estate profession. All TREC-licensed inspectors must follow TREC regulations called the Standards of Practice. TAREI and ASHI inspectors must not only follow the TREC standards but also follow the higher TAREI and ASHI standards, which results in a higher level of inspection and reporting that will provide your client with useful information about the property.

James Hemsell is a Denton-based Professional Inspector with 23 years experience. He is the past president of the Lone Star chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors (www.ASHITexas.org).