Did you know The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) was formed by a Stamford, Connecticut builder?
Before the 1960s, very few homes were inspected. Those that were inspected, were typically done by friends or moonlighting professionals (builders, engineers, etc) to appease homebuyers’ fears. Ronald Passaro, a builder in Stamford got started in home inspections for this very reason. “When I got started, I had never met another home inspector. The term ‘home inspection’ did not even exist. I started ‘inspecting’ homes for friends and relatives, and then strangers started asking me to look at their homes. One day I sat down with my staff and we started writing up an outline of what we can tell people about a home they were buying. We developed our first set of home inspection forms from there,” says Passaro. (Home Inspector, Sept 2017)
Meanwhile a requirement by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), mandating that all homes obtained with a FHA loan receive a plumbing, heating, electrical, roofing, and termite certification, was creating demand in the high interest rate environment. To comply, Realtors would call separate tradesman to make the various required inspections.
In 1973, Passaro could only identify six other inspectors in the tri-state area. By 1976, they had established relationships with others across the country, forming ASHI and publishing the first Code of Ethics and Standard Operating Procedures. Motivated with a desire to help others by sharing their expertise and to improve the housing stock across the country, ASHI became, and remains, a crucial force in the real estate industry.
“During the dawn of my home inspection career, I would see horrendous and dangerous conditions caused by ignorance and/or indifference. Some of these conditions were life threatening. I am more than sure, because of ASHI, and our members’ diligence, lives have been saved in the home environment.” (Passaro, ASHI Q & A)
The handwritten, three-part inspections reports once delivered on-site, have since morphed into electronic documents with photos and findings sometimes totaling over 100 pages. The effort to streamline the inspection process, by certifying one professional to cover the major systems (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing), gave rise to the need to differentiate one’s services from a competitor as the profession grew.
Further niche specializations developed – first lead paint, then radon. Today, there are mold inspectors, sewer and sewer line inspections, septic inspectors, etc. Many use competitive advantages provided through technology like drones for roof/chimney inspections, and camera crawlers for septic inspections.
And while the obligation of an inspector is to report “Material Defects”, reporting all defects identified — delivering a comprehensive report, became another method of differentiation. As the length of inspection reports grew, consumers demanded a summary of findings. Sometimes a summary of the summary would be nice!
So what’s a home buyer to do? How do they remain calm navigating through a 60, 70 or 100 page report and decide what to ask the seller to correct?
The most important thing to remember is that all homes have flaws and inspectors are trained to find them. Move-in ready does not mean that the home will be maintenance-free for the next few years. Whether it is cosmetic updates driving the work, or the nine-year-old washing machine that gives out, you should expect to spend some money maintaining your home.
A seller is under no obligation to fix anything found in an inspection report and in a seller’s market their stance may be more firm. Push them on replacing the working nine-year-old washing machine, and the deal may fall apart over less than $1,000. However, if the roof is leaking with visible water damage and mold in the attic, you are wise to request repairs. In short, true material defects should be discussion points. The rest of the findings should be used as information to develop a household budget for repairs and maintenance.
If buyers are stretched or feel they are overpaying, as they often do in a seller’s market, the inclination is to “get some money back” by pushing on every inspection item. We advise our buyers to tread carefully in this market. In the past year, we have “resold” dozens of our sellers’ homes that have gone back on the market due to disputes over non-material inspection issues.
Having experienced professionals by your side is crucial. We guide you through inspection reports and every other aspect of your real estate transaction. If we don’t have an answer, we know someone that does — either on team KMS or one of our trusted associates. Who you work with matters, give us a call.