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ASHI-NAHI MERGER OFF - For Now
ASHI-NAHI
merger talks were called off by NAHI's Board in late April.
Inspectors,
like us, were hoping for more.
That
may come to pass around September.
"The
door isn't shut," we're told by Board members who attended the April Board
meetings.
"We're
still ready to go for it," one disappointed ASHI Board member said.
"The
bottom line is: 'yes, the talks were discontinued,'" a NAHI leader told us,
"but we're still open to it. We're slow
walking."
NAHI's
Board met first, a day or so before the ASHI Board meeting. It ended with an email to ASHI saying NAHI
decided to disband the task force working on a merger. Email is cold, as PLI reminds inspectors in
its reporting course.
"It
was a shock to all of us," an ASHI Board member at the meeting told us right
afterwards. Merger was on the ASHI
Board's agenda for April, but NAHI's email took it off.
Marvin
Goldstein, ASHI's new Board Secretary and an inspector with Building Inspection
Service, Southampton, Pa., called a friend on NAHI's Board right away. There's "no hope" for the merger, Goldstein
reported his friend said.
But
that's about as close as the two Boards came to actually talking about it.
ASHI's
Board flew home thinking NAHI slammed on the breaks with an excuse - that a
joint member survey the two groups carried out to measure member support for
the merger was flawed.
The
ASHI Board was mystified. They'd read the results - not for NAHI, but
for ASHI members and seen the overall results.
Knowing that much, it isn't rocket science to figure out the rest. (The survey results are set to
be published in the ASHI Reporter
next month.)
ASHI's
Board went to the meeting convinced over 80% of both memberships wanted the
merger.
Meanwhile,
NAHI's Board felt it had a real problem, or three. The survey was conducted by the ASHI-NAHI
joint task force on merger. But it
looked to NAHI's Board like only about 20% of NAHI members even voted in the
survey. A good sample maybe, but still a
problem.
That
was a double problem for NAHI. First,
NAHI's Board thought past NAHI president Jim Turner, a NAHI CRI from Upland, CA
and spearhead for merger, had told ASHI somewhere around 86% of NAHI members supported merger. Now Turner and two key supporters were off the
Board. Second, the NAHI Board thought
the whole idea - the survey, the joint task force, the entire push - got the
cart before the horse.
Reason? NAHI's By-laws say 2/3 of its members have to
agree to merger talks before they even start. That hadn't happened. The NAHI Board decided to fallback and
regroup to follow their By-Laws before getting ahead of themselves.
Second,
NAHI started feeling like the proverbial "red-headed step child." "They
wanted to absorb us," one Board member groused, "and do away with our name 100%."
"At
the first meeting, ASHI says '1 - NAHI's going to lose its name; 2 - NAHI gives
up its SOPs; 3 - Only NAHI CRIs will be members of the merged group, all other
NAHI members start at zero; and 4 -
about 6 or 8 NAHI Board members would be welcome on the new Board, but for 2
years only," as one NAHI Board member involved in the talks put it. We've heard warmer, sweeter proposals.
Third,
NAHI's Board said it asked ASHI to document its membership and ASHI
"refused." The NAHI Board thought it had
put its cards on the table. They told
ASHI that NAHI membership hit a high around 2,500 in 2007 and dropped to about
1,400 this year. NAHI felt part of that
was NAHI members who waited to renew, thinking the merger would turn one
membership into two.
NAHI
didn't think ASHI was as forthcoming.
They heard ASHI say it had "over 5,000 members" - and then say it would
not back it up. (ASHI membership has long been a secret guarded for no reason. In a February, 2009 news release, ASHI
claimed "over 5,000 members." In a 2007
news release, ASHI said it had "nearly 7,000 members." For years ASHI membership counts amazingly changed only by
even thousands, never hundreds or tens.)
Both
NAHI and ASHI leaders still see reasons to merge. So do we.
First, professionally, one national standard of practice would be a step
forward. So would true license
reciprocity between states (like driver's licenses). Only a national body can get that done.
Second,
they both have done a lot for home inspectors, but they're locked in outmoded
business models.
Inspectors
do not need to spend hundred of dollars in dues on more than one national
organization, as both groups realize. So they can combine to get a single,
bigger slice with maybe half the expenses, or keep beating each other up for
smaller change.
State
licensing took the place of group "certification." When literally anybody could call themselves
a "home inspector," certification - such as NAHI or ASHI - made a
difference. Now, no one even asks. They just want to know if you're licensed.
After
licensing topped 35 states a few years ago, membership in both groups became a
luxury, not a marketing necessity.
Now,
both groups are pride merchants, living on obsolete certification and
conventions. Both are marginal,
irregular (not annual) outlays for inspectors.
Third, there's
lots of costly duplication between the two.
They both:
· Pay for
Executive Directors (EDs) (Jeff Arnold at ASHI; J. R. Burke at NAHI; both with
around a year's experience in the job) and a little staff;
· Spend on
lobbying to get the same kinds of things generally;
· Sell
educational seminars to meet their own educational requirements (ASHI also runs
the "ASHI School of Home Inspection") instead of just accepting license state CEs.
· Still cling
to their old "certification" programs, and its revenues;
· Publish
magazines (the NAHI Forum and the ASHI Reporter);
· Run web
sites, with online discussion and marketing tips sections;
· Sponsor
online "inspector locator" services that duplicate each other, even down to
excluding each other's members;
· Sell
"national" exams for home inspector licensing
(NAHI calls its CRI exam and program "the only home inspector
designation available in the industry"); and
· Promote
"Standards of Practice" (SOP) and a code of ethics. The NAHI and ASHI SOP were two of the three
adopted by the Kentucky Board of Home Inspectors. ASHI recently rebranded 10 rules from its
Code of Ethics as a "Client Bill of Rights" (saying, oddly, it was inspired by
HBO's 2008 miniseries on John Adams
(America's first vice-president, our second president, and father of our
sixth president), though he was neither a home inspector nor the author of the
Bill of Rights. James Madison was. His Bill contained 12 amendments, though 10
passed.) and; they both end up saying their members are held to the highest Standards of
Practice in the home inspection industry.
Both
also got burned with disappointing national conventions in the last year. It's believed ASHI lost $250,000 on its
January "Inspector World '09." A last minute reuse of the block of rooms
it had booked for members who never came to the party may have snatched it from
calamity. (ASHI's gambling on Vegas for
January, 10.) NAHI's "20th
Anniversary" convention in Las Vegas in
2007 was canceled; it's thought to have lost $100,000 because of room
guarantees at the Riviera hotel. Its
"National Education Conference '08" in Philadelphia also had attendance
well below expectations, like a few hundred, and was costly.
That's
tons of expensive duplication. The
doubled costs tap inspectors and the same sponsors - all to fund two of
everything and reach a smaller, fragmented audience than both combined. Membership "dues" are turning into a
headache.
It's
not news in tough times that we save by trimming duplication. There also are budget boosts in combining
cash flows.
They
both have money in the bank. Neither one
is going away overnight like Merrill Lynch or Bear Stearns. They're both running tight ships and in for
the long haul. For both Boards, thinking
about the profession and the public more than about their groups might help.
There
are honest differences between the two SOPs, for instance. NAHI tends to "bright line" standards,
like 3-foot headroom in crawls, 5-feet in attics, etc. ASHI tends to be subjective, like its "readily accessible" rule. There are
problems with both, and strengths with both. Blending the two, and squaring the new SOP with state SOPs, would be a real opportunity to cherry pick the best
from both and improve the rest for the 21st century. Neither one is worth imposing on the
other group "as is."
One
day, maybe, home inspectors will start pulling together. Right now, they've lost that lovin'
feeling. A little more mutual respect,
including the candor that goes with it, would go a long way. Some ideas to move the ball: First, make the process orderly and
efficient. This is not the first merger of two professional associations in
history. Each Board should exchange goals and timetables. Second, each Board
should disclose and handle its own governance issues, either by following
existing By-Law requirements or amending their By-Laws, etc. Third, agree on
full disclosure, under a confidentiality agreement if need be. Both Boards have
fiduciary duties. Those include due diligence, which can't be accomplished
without disclosure. Fourth, use a conventional process, like a merger committee
neither association controls but with authority to act on behalf of both and
invest in the process. For example, designate 1/3 of the committee members from
ASHI, 1/3 from NAHI, and 1/3 non-members, non-affiliates of either group, drawn
from nationally diverse licensed inspectors, state approved SOP instructors,
retirees, non-profit administrators and consultants, and other experts.
Both Boards should agree on the tie-breaker neutrals. Association members
should have authority to make binding decisions on some issues. Define issues
where they can't, and get recommendations for full Board actions on those, and
on ultimate issues (like to merge or not to merge). Set deadlines for all
issues and Board decisions. Fund the committee proportionally with at least two
lawyers, an accounting firm, staff and office use. Committee members should
have incentives to work hard, including attractive compensation for their
time, travel, lodging, and expenses. Assign that committee the divisive issues,
like survivor name, debt, budget, staff, and SOP recommendations. Authorize it
to create a project task force for any issue, such as one to create a 21st
century SOP by combing through older SOPs, every state's statutory enactment,
and a review of SOP issues in litigation. A one-year budget should be
enough.
Beginning with this issue of InView, starts a series of articles
on "the rest of the story," as radio newsman Paul Harvey said. If you
were there during part of the history of one of home inspector groups, please
share your story with us at www.pli4u@aol.com. It's worth pulling the whole story, and all inspectors, together.
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Wood Ain't What it Used to Be.
What's "Wood"?
Ashley, saying it's the "#1 selling home furniture in America," sold
a $350 secretary desk tagged "brown
cherry." ABC News' "Good Morning America" (GMA) woke up viewers with a
chisel. It was stained wood veneer over
particle board and fiberboard, somehow not mentioned in the product tags. So GMA tried out a $130 nightstand tagged
"Horizon Maple." It was "more like
contact paper over a core of particle board," ABC said. So they tried an $80 Martha Stewart "dark
cherry accent table" from Kmart, whipped out a power sander, and found - yup,
fiberboard, under veneer with a dark cherry finish.
There
used to be a law. Federal standards for
furniture labeling were dropped about five years ago. One rule said makers could not use a wood
name in the product description if the it did not contain that wood. Wood stains were another thing the old rules
made makers disclose.
Next,
ABC tested leather furniture. It found 10-20% of its samples, from national
chain World Market, were "just plastic." The labels called it "rich brown
leather" and "100% Split Grain Cow Hide." Under the microscope, no leather
fibers at all were found. About 25% of
its "100%" leather chairs were made of a synthetic material, without its knowledge,
World Market told GMA for the 11/2006 show.
It promised genuine leather replaces - for any customer who contacted them. Uh, doyathink all the customers did, or even
knew to? Federal
rules require clear labeling for shoes and purses - but not furniture.
Inspectors
face similar problems. When an
inspection reports materials like "wood floor," there is a growing chance the
floor is no more wood than GMA's furniture. "Laminate wood flooring," for example,
may contain only a nice photograph of wood plank flooring under a clear coat,
compression glued to particle-type underlayment.
We
do not mean such construction materials necessarily are "bad." Just that if we call it "wood," and it's
something else, we're misleading or plain wrong. Some of the
modern laminate and engineered "wood" floors actually have better durability
and longer warranties than old style hardwood (like #1 select maple) planks. All KY SOPs require inspectors to "describe" (differentiate) materials but there are no labels for us.
Today,
"hardwood floor" means solid wood floors (unfinished, prefinished, factory
finished, and job-site finished) and "engineered wood" floors (3-9 wood plies
glued and laminated together), for most manufacturers. Consumers can be forgiven for believing the
"hardwood" floor they got was solid wood.
"Laminate" floors come in three basic types. The most common is glueless floating
laminates. The other two are installer
glued and factory pre-glued. The
differences run deeper than materials and plank tongues. Laminate floors are "floating" installations,
which means they just lie on the subfloor (on a thin underlayment
padding). Because they are so simple to
float (over everything from OSB, to vinyl, to concrete), don't need staples,
glue or nail-downs, and never need wax or polish, laminate floors invite
handyman, nonprofessional installation and can be prone to noise. Laminates also cannot be refinished and they
are tough to repair. For more, try www.floorfacts.com and manufacturer sites.
The pace of introducing new
construction materials in residential housing has accelerated so much recently,
and touched so many different products, that PLI recently had a new CE course
approved for inspectors called "The Vocabulary of Inspection."
Please take advantage of our
upcoming "Tips" feature to share trouble spots or pass along insights.
For the latest CE,
sign up now - call 502-896-2020. |
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Register Now! Pick a Session-14 hours -2009 CE
May 22nd & 23rd Friday & Saturday
June 13th & 14th Saturday & Sunday
July 10th & 11th Friday & Saturday
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14 Hours CE Home Inspector Training - Louisville
Get in and Get out.
Day 1: Ky Law & Regulations 3hrs CE-1002-02 8 - 5pm
Standards Of Practice 6hrs CE-1002-02
Day 2: New CE course coming soon
SOPs 8 - 9 am
Manuf Housing 3hrs CE-1002-02 9-12 noon
2hrs CE-1002-BUS2 1 - 3 pm
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In a Jam?
Out of time? In a special situation? Call. PLI offers private tutoring and other special individual
instruction. Call Lorri. 502-896-2020. KBHI:CE-1002
We hope you find this helpful Please remember this is an informational and reporting service only. It is not legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice. It is not a substitute for a knowledgeable professional in the appropriate field acquainted with your individual situation. Readers should rely on their own professional advice, rather than any news or publication for their individual decisions.
We're all in this together. PLI stays closely tuned to industry and professional developments, though PLI does not endorse or favor any organization, candidate or contribute to any campaigns. Updates on selected topics may be available. Please call or email.
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| Inspector's View
Here's the attic the inspector almost didn't do. After all, the seller and the Disclosure said the roof never leaked!
Thanks, Chuck!
** Email us one of "your views".
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A Little History
All three of the national home
inspector associations used by the Kentucky Board of Home Inspectors for
Standards of Practice are relatively recent.
The
oldest, at 33, is younger than many Kentucky home inspectors.
Their
histories are shrouded in mists, even if you've been around this business for
decades. Read their sites and you might
think every move and every convention was a "great success" and each one was
born the best thing for inspectors since flashlights.
It wasn't that easy. We know.
We were there.
The very fact we
even have these groups still is a tribute to home inspectors pushing hard for
the profession and the public. Still,
just as Americans look back to the "Founding Fathers" and the birth of the
nation for guidance, signs of progress, and trends, the stories of the three
national groups have meaning.
The
three are ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc., at www.ashi.org),
founded in 1976; NAHI (National Association of Home Inspectors, Inc., at www.nahi.org),
founded in 1987, and InterNACHI (International Association of Certified Home
Inspectors, formerly known as the National Association of Certified Home
Inspectors, at www.nachi.org),
founded in 1998. We'll profile each one in upcoming issues.
There
are other national organizations, such as the Housing Inspection Foundation
(HIF, at www.hif-assoc.org),
which have their own ethics and Standards, offer "certified" and "registered"
designations for inspectors, have websites with "inspector locators," and do
notable service but are less prominent in Kentucky so far.
All
three outfits Kentucky picked promote their own residential Standards of
Practice (SOPs) and Codes of Ethics.
(InterNACHI also has a commercial Standards of Practice. ASHI also recently added a "Client Bill of
Rights" to its roster.) All three hustle to gain any advantage they can,
including working to build their Standards into state laws and
regulations. The Kentucky Board of Home
Inspectors (KBHI) adopted all three SOPs.
From them, inspectors here must choose one.
NAHI's Code of Ethics is carried over verbatim in much of the Kentucky "Standards of Conduct" regulation.
All
three have member benefits - but
practically no history of their own organization on their websites.
All have
chapters of some kind. ASHI claims 2 in Kentucky (including the "Great Lakes Chapter" which lists 14 "member states," not including the Kentucky and the "Kentuckiana" Chapter, granted Chapter Charter #50 in 1995); 3 in Indiana (including The Great Lakes Chapter and the Kentuckiana Chapter); 3 in Ohio (including the Great Lakes Chapter); and 3 in Tennessee. NAHI lists no chapter contacts in KY, IN, or OH; there's one in OH (NAHI sets up just one per state). InterNACHI has an IN Chapter, a Tri-State Chapter, and 3 TN Chapters.
All three
"certify" inspectors in various ways and have their own "national" exams. All three hype their own role and place as
"best" in the profession, nurse critiques of the other two, and have been known
to get into lawsuits from time to time.
ASHI, NAHI and ASHI Kentuckiana are KY CE Providers. In January, 2009, the KBHI approved
InterNACHI as a Continuing Education Course Provider (CE-1012).
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Firsts
PLI is happy to announce another
"first." PLI now has served over 200
Kentucky licensed inspectors. That's
more than the "membership" of any national or state outfit here. In addition, many classes are loaded with
inspectors who have been to PLI before. Thanks to all of you!
The world's first $2,625 baseball
ticket is on sale now at New York City's new Yankee Stadium.
-
The New York Times, April 16, 2009,
D10. It was quiet at the Stadium. Empty tiers of "luxury" seats
and boxes spread from dugout to dugout.
Average costs of "premium" seats exceeded $500. The new stadium promptly became the
site of the worst single inning in Yankees history, allowing 14 runs, the
Saturday (April 18) two days after the first official home game Thursday (April
16). A massacre, not unlike the fate of
the fans whose taxes subsidized the place and now can't afford to get in. The New
York times, D1, D3.
The first $50 million listing
price cut for a single family U.S. home is now on the record books.
- The Wall Street Journal, 4/21/09 A6. The price shrank to a fetching $75 million,
slashed from its original $125 million listing price. It was the Greenwich, CT 20,000 sq. ft.
40-acre 1918 Jacobean-style brick home of the late NY hotel princess Leona
Helmsley, complete with two pools and 13 bedrooms (6 for servants in a "staff
wing"). Her 1989 conviction for tax
evasion disclosed she paid for millions of its renovation costs with company
money. The next closest price cut on the
books was Donald the Trumpster's house in Palm Beach, FL, also listed at $125
million, sold last July for $95 million.
Wouldn't it be a trip to inspect either one of those places?
Microsoft set a new record Thursday,
April 24. It reported its first
year-to-year quarterly revenue drop since it first sold stock to the public in
1986.
-The New York Times, 4/24/09 B1.
It's not the first Microsoft "first" of the recession, or since Bill
Gates stepped down as America's richest man and college dropout. Other Microsoft firsts this season include
its first drop in Windows sales, its first large layoff, and its first expense
cut over $1 billion.
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Other Services 4U
Report mentoring - 3 reports reviewed by email -- $99 By phone, chat or in
person -- $119. Have reports checked before the KBHI sends you a letter. |
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KBHI Reminder
Home inspectors "shall ....show
proof of general liability insurance" of "at least" $250,000 with their KBHI-2
renewal application. KRS 198B.722(3)(c).
"Applicants
must attach the original or a copy of their
certificate of insurance," the form says.
Trouble
is, some home inspectors are not attaching
it. They
are counting on agents to send it in.
Some attach notes saying "submitted by agent."
The
KBHI is getting ready to use a 2x4 to get everyone's attention. At the April meeting, the board asked PLI to remind
everyone to attach their certificate
to the renewal application.
Consider yourself reminded!
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