The home inspection dance

The home inspection business is like the Wild West, where anyone can print up a business card and call themselves an inspector, says industry insider Bruce McClure. For this reason, he says, all inspectors should not be painted with the same brush.

“If you happen to have web skills and computer skills, you can make yourself a great website and overnight make it look like you are the biggest show in town,” he says.

In his newly published book Buy or Run, I’m a Real Home Inspector, Not a TV Celebrity, McClure argues the lack of industry standards creates friction between inspectors and realtors, whom he believes have too much influence over the inspection process.

“It’s about who is running the show, and at this point in time, it is the realtors that are running the home inspection industry,” says Mc-Clure, a former director of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) and co-ordinator of the home inspection program at Conestoga College in Kitchener.

Some agents feel they can intimidate an inexperienced inspector to make the sale “work”, he says. But as inspectors become more established, he argues, there are agents who will blacklist them to secure a sale.

“They want a home inspector that is going to protect their sale,” says McClure, who was recently in Ottawa promoting his book. “They want a home inspector that is going to turn a blind eye to things. And that is why we get these sensational news stories and TV programs about all these mistakes home inspectors make. In a lot of cases, it is really a case of who the home inspector is looking (out) for.”

Peter Weeks, a home inspection instructor at Algonquin College, acknowledges he has run across similar issues during his career.

“There’s no doubt if a buyer walks after seeing the inspection report the realtor is not happy,” says Weeks. “But for the most part, real estate agents are good hard-working people trying to put together a good deal for their client.”

Like McClure, Weeks believes one of the biggest problems that plagues the industry is that it’s not regulated, which means anyone can call themselves a home inspector. Both say it’s these people who are undercutting other qualified inspectors, and therefore missing some of the major issues when inspecting homes. This lack of industry control, both argue, puts all three parties – the buyer, the realtor and the home inspector – in a vulnerable position that may result in legal problems.

Buyers can ask their realtor to suggest names of home inspectors, but ultimately it’s the buyer’s decision on who to hire.

So how do you know if you are hiring the right inspector if they are not required to have a licence?

Do your due diligence, says Weeks, and make sure they are registered as a home inspector with the OAHI. (In order to register, inspectors are required to complete 10 college courses that include structural, heating and plumbing inspection and have 200 hours of experience as an apprentice.)

Weeks, who like McClure is a registered home inspector, says it’s important for consumers to understand the home inspector’s role, too. He says potential buyers should see them more like a “home doctor” who does a visual inspection of areas such as the roof, foundation and heating and cooling systems, and if red flags are raised in the report, they will suggest further inspection by a specialist such as a plumber or electrician.

Randy Oickle, incoming president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, says that, like realtors, there are good and bad home inspectors, and the best way for inspectors to deal with accusations of blacklisting or intimidation is to refer to the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act and a Regulatory Code of Ethics.

“In contrast to home inspectors, real estate salespeople are highly regulated,” says Oickle. “If a salesperson knowingly steered a home buyer to a bad home inspector, that salesperson could face severe penalties. Home inspectors have no such obligations.”