Buyer
Beware:
The licensing
requirements by the State of
Texas are minimal, at best. Any
person with absolutely no
construction experience can
enroll in 488 classroom hours of
inspection-related courses
through a “test
teaching” facility, pass a
simplistic state test and become
a licensed home inspector. When
you realize that Texas requires
600 classroom hours to become a
manicurist, and 1600 hours for a
hair stylist, perhaps you will
begin to put this into
perspective.
Before January 1, 2005, real
estate inspectors were required
to complete a mere 188
classroom hours in order to
become licensed.
Further exacerbating this problem
has been the growing out-sourcing
trend in corporate America. The
ranks of licensed home inspectors
in Texas rose from 2196 in 2001
to 9850 in January, 2008. That is
an increase of almost 450% in
just six years. This occurred
during a period of time when the
total state population grew by
16%. The overwhelming majority of
these home inspectors are from
backgrounds unrelated to
residential construction.
You will know a home inspector
has not been an inspector for
very long if his or her TREC
license number is over 4,500.
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So buyer
beware, if you want to
provide a little on-the-job
training for a relatively new
home inspector with little
experience, then retain an
inspector with a high TREC
license number. They may even
charge a bit less for the
inspection, while they are
learning the trade. But if they
miss an expensive problem during
this inspection, it will become
your problem after the closing.
You need the most educated and
experienced home inspector
available. Real estate agents,
title companies and mortgage
brokers may recommend inspectors
who are lenient and don’t
find much. A “clean”
inspection report eliminates a
potential roadblock in the way to
their big commission checks. The
same holds true when purchasing a
new home. Refrain from asking
your builder the name of his
buddy, the inspector.
Finally, an inspector who
completes computer generated
reports on-site is typically
rushed. We frequently spend more
than two hours in the office
putting our field notes and
pictures together into a complete
and accurate report.
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