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Home Inspector Photo Gems
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January's "Report This"
More Classic Construction Techniques in Photos from Our Inspectors.
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Please report what you see in the photo below.
It really works, but just don't stand too close!
Thanks RB
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Yanking Licenses
Plus: Data Breach Tips, and Torching Regs.
The General Assembly is at it again. Which legislation could rock your world?
Read more:
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Will home inspectors start checking roofs with camera-carrying drones this year?
This is the coolest answer since The Whole Earth Catalog. And it is loaded with ideas inspectors can use. Read more
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Robot & Drone Inspectors?
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Lo and behold -- there's a crawl space inspecting robot, on sale in one of the booths at ASHI!
And that's just the beginning of this story!A
And
Read More
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We dare you to find a better deal on the important services home inspectors need all the time. (If you do, send it to us.)
Want to save serious bucks on credit card sales? Try
Shopping for the best deal on E&O insurance? Check out
Need a professional web site? Here's a steal.
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Purchase Peace of Mind Reviews
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Would you like Peace of Mind Reviews?
PLI's newest service will review your inspection report - before it goes to your customer, anytime you want, with same day turnaround service. Same day service is no extra charge.
Reports are the home inspector's real product, no matter how hawk-eyed any inspector is. But without feedback from another pro, it's hard to know how good that product actually is - especially for new inspectors and inspectors working solo. When inspectors begin their career, there is a lot to remember. Let us give you the backup to really get ahead.
Every month, Steve sees the Board of Home Inspectors raining on another inspection report, often with things that would have been a simple fix. And most months, letters get sent to home inspectors asking them to show up at a Board meeting to get "educated" about report writing and their SOP. Don't go there.
PLI wants every home inspector to enjoy success. So here's chance to double-check your work. Gain confidence you are carrying out your SOPS, minding state regulations, and plugging in "best practices" - so you won't have to look over your shoulder. We've got your back.
Introductory Offer:
For a limited time:
They are $150 each for non-PLI grads, $125 for alums. Or you can choose a 5-report bundle, at $100.00 per inspection (with a minimum of five reviews) -- and save $250. Bundles may be paid in two installments, with no time limit for submitting reports to review.
To start, just call PLI and email your report to [email protected]
along with your photo library. Be sure to tell us your SOP. PLI will review your emailed report that same day. (If the report is received in the office after 5pm, or in hardcopy, then it will be the next morning.) This is getting popular, so call ahead if you can!
It's always a good practice is to tell your customers the report will be emailed (or sent) to them in 24 to 48 hours. Handing out inspection reports at site is risky business - at least until you've been inspecting for a minimum of five years. Even then, it never will be the best way to provide quality inspection reports and to avoid problems.
And Let's Stay Safe Out There!
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It's Your Professional Community
So Pitch In!
We're All InThis Together!
Please, visit our website and read our
Blogs.
"Comment" on them.
Click on "Blog" at the bottom left of the home page
Here are just a few of the latest blog conversations you can join:
Or fire us an email to start a new topic thread -- anytime!
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Hands-on with the furnace
Cold, but ready to inspect! |
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Greetings!
Tell the truth!
Where else did you hear about new SOP from NAHI, ASHI, and NACHI? The new rules are here. Most newsletters really are ads. Here's a fact packed, beefy 7 pages of news home inspectors can use.
Heard about the 2013 Ky law to snatch licenses - home inspector, driving, you name it - to collect taxes? Read what the legislature is doing about it today.
There's even more beef in PLI's courses! While you're thinking about it, enjoy a Flash from the Past. Like "The First Home Inspector," below.
It's true:
"It Pays to Know."™
Year 'round. Nonstop.
See you soon. And stay safe out there!
Lorri Keeney, President
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New NAHI SOP
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NAHI's FINISHING TOUCHES
We're 3 for 3 now. All 3 SOP have been revised and updated since Kentucky's home inspector licensing law got passed.
It has taken years. First ASHI sent out a big update of its SOP. NACHI revised in June. Now NAHI is in hot pursuit.
The newest NAHI proposed SOP (12/27/2013) uses "significant deficiency" for the first time. That's the same phrase as Kentucky law, and ASHI.
Just for starters, the latest NAHI draft SOP also adds "at or near the end of service life" to its reporting rule - bringing NAHI closer to ASHI and giving up NAHI's long-standing rule that the "intended function" is key, "without regard to life expectancy."
There's lots more where that came from. Not only do inspectors bet their houses on doing what their SOP says, they also can change SOP anytime. It pays to know the changed rules. Check out the rest, from the NAHI draft that smells like final.
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KANSAS KILLS HOME INSPECTOR LICENSING
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Gov. Sam Brownback
Home inspector licenses are history in Kansas. What happened?
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The First Home Inspector
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Up walked a mild, thin, quiet and smiling older fellow. That's his photo, below. We were catching up with Ron Passaro, better known as ASHI "Inspector #1," at the ASHI national convention last week (1/12-1/15/2014).
"Welcome to the first home inspector," Inspector #1 beamed, greeting John J. Heyn.
"You have got to hear this guy's stories."
View his first report. Hear his story. Read More
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CE Class - February
20th - 23th
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Real inspections. Real houses. Real hands-on learning -- custom built for real home inspectors.
One of PLI's January, 2014 Classes on site
14 hours CE Advanced Courses
February 20th & 21st $289.00
14 hours CE Basic
February 22nd & 23rd $289.00
Class sizes are limited -- so you get the most.
Because "It Pays to Know."
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ASHI Nashville Convention 2014
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PLI At ASHI Convention - Nashville 2014
Who said she can't ride? "Cowgirl Up!"
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PLIs "Ask Steve"   |
I had a question from a realtor, who was inquiring on behalf of a client, about radon testing. Can I not simply do a test a using First Alert Radon test. My understanding is that KY does not requiring certification or licensing for radon testing. Also, since the test is a lab result, can I not simply have a separate short form, signed by the client, that releases me from liability of any false reading in a lab report?.
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Comments From Last Month's Newsletter
Dear Editor:
I finished reading the failed septic comment and your reply Read the letter last month and the real issue in my minds eye is why in the world would any home inspector make any comment on any septic system other than "Have a licensed septic contractor inspect the complete system for safe and sanitary operation. Repair / replace as needed"? Other than that, we would be so far outside of what we are to visually observe and report on, its sad. It is no wonder inspectors keep shooting themselves in the foot.
Reply:
I agree. But you know the problem. All three SOP and the KBHI say you can do anything you want, whatever the SOP requires.
Apparently this inspector is selling (at least) a dye test. He really cannot be criticized for that, since the Board -- and the SOP -- always has said the Standards are not a job description, just a "bare minimum." Even so, staying inside the SOP is a better idea in my book. Like yours, my reports always say "A private waste system is outside the scope of a home inspection (not visible). Local septic maintenance companies are best acquainted with local soils and should evaluate the system."
Your second point also is dead on. The more an inspector adds on, and goes outside the SOP, the better the odds he will shoot himself in the foot, sooner or later. Still, it may be good business if the rewards outweigh the risks long term. Largely, that boils down to the inspector's skills and market. I didn't know the inspector, but I knew the market was heavily rural.
Which brings me to the footnote on dye testing, if you're going to say anything about septic. In CT, where more big homes have septic than sewers, dye tests are ridiculed. But here, the health department does the same dye test. So this particular story did not seem to be the time to go off on dye testing.
Partly, that's because it already was a long piece anyway (it summarized a much longer conversation). Which may be part of the reason you noted the scent of legaleze. It's true I'm unavoidably a lawyer, an inspector, a teacher...a marksman, a Boy Scout, a WASP, etc. But the lawyer disclaimer had two real points:
She could've picked a law firm to call; she picked PLI instead. We welcome that. We would really like to help better inform the public and reduce consumer-inspector conflicts. (Sure, the KBHI should, but it's not.) Having said that, it is prudent, and required, to be sure there is no misunderstanding. Whenever law school teachers, or I, answer questions, we have to be sure people are not mistakenly expecting us to be the lawyer, and take care of the legal rights. Sure, I'm a lawyer. But not their lawyer. Because attorney-client relationships can be created without payment, lawyers have to draw a careful line in conversation. Just because it looks like a duck, and quacks, it doen't mean its not a decoy. All we do just simply has to be clear.
Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming!
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Professional Learning.
nonstop.
Only PLI
delivers ALL inspectors needs
ALL year long
ALL at incredible prices.
PLI speaks up for ALL inspectors with Lawmakers and Rule setters at
Federal, National Association, and State bodies, including the KBHI. No one else does.
"Only PLI has helped defend a home inspector at a state licensing board, in court, at the Attorney General's Consumer Protection office, and in arbitrations. No other school or association has. You get more than just 14 hours. It pays to know that too."other group has helped defend a home inspector -- successfully -- at a state board.
How do you spell "Professional Support for Professional Inspectors?"
"PLI."
Just a few of the Services you get from PLI:
ALL the Breaking News inspectors need. Free!
Top inspection software. Save hundreds $! With live help!
Contract reviews and updates -- at prices you can't beat!
Manuals and handbooks - cheaper than the web!
Tools (including IF) & safety gear - at PLI-only discounts.
Hot topics and technical excellence in CE.
Experienced advice on handling 411 notices -- from someone who actually has!
Expert witnesses for inspector and real estate cases.
Live problem desk. Same day service. Free to PLI grads.
SHARE us with your friends.
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License # KBPE R-0403, KBHI P-1001, KBHI CE-1002
Louisville, KY | Phone 502-896-2020 | Fax 502-895-4766 | Email [email protected]
Content copyright 2014. Professional Learning Institute 4U, LLC. All rights reserved.
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We hope you find this helpful. Please remember this is a news and reporting service only. It is not legal, accounting, or any other professional advice. It is not a substitute for the advice of a knowledgeable professional who is acquainted with your individual situation. Users should rely on their own professional's advice rather than any news or publication for their individual decisions. Any and all use of PLI Content, this and any PLI site, any newsletter, and the Services is subject to the Terms of Use (TOU), which are on the PLI site. PLI does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content or Services. By your Use of this Content or the Services, you agree that under no circumstances will PLI or its members, officers, directors or agents be liable in any way for any Content or Services, including but not limited to any errors or omissions in any Content, any offensive, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred. Articles and comments reflect only the views of the author and not of PLI. You are entirely responsible for all content that you upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available.
We all are in this together. We believe everyone should be able to understand the laws, regulations, decisions, and decision-makers that govern them. PLI stays closely tuned to our industry and professional developments, though PLI does not support or oppose any organization, office holder, or candidate, or contribute to any political campaigns. Articles from the Newsletter Archive may be reprinted provided PLI's copyright is credited, notice is given of the PLI TOU and to PLI, and a copy of any such reprint is delivered at the time of reprinting to PLI. Article updates may be available; contact us. For other information, explore Resources on the PLI site.
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