The third Home Inspector Advisory Council meeting took place at the Department of State offices in Albany two weeks ago. I am pleased to report that things are moving.
The issue of most interest to the majority of home inspectors is the status of the continuing education regulations. The DOS announced that the regulations are on the Secretary's desk awaiting a signature. They expect to be able to put the regulations into effect within two to three weeks. However, a last minute recommendation by the Council may slow the process a little. We will send out another email as soon as we learn that the process is up and running and that the DOS is accepting applications for CE courses.
The Council has completed work on a draft Standards of Practice and has submitted this document to DOS legal counsel for review. Once counsel has reviewed and revised the draft it will be posted for a public comment period prior to adoption. This is typically a multi-month process.
The Council is now working on a draft Code of Ethics.
The Department provided licensing statistics to the Council which show that, to date, 1,355 home inspector licenses have been issued. Of those, 101 are architects or engineers, 833 were licensed under the grandparenting provisions and 421 have been licensed by completing the mandated training since inception in January 2006.
The DOS and the Council discussed the effectiveness of the 40 hour field training component of the required training for new inspectors. Concerns were expressed over the quality of training that is being delivered when multiple trainees accompany a single inspector during these field inspections. One aspect that was discussed is the balance needed between providing the best training and the availability of inspectors willing to train others. A sub committee was formed to further investigate. Please take a minute to complete the short survey on your willingness to provide training below. Results will be provided to the DOS and Council.
About a dozen members of the public attended the meeting and the majority of them spoke at the public comment period. The next meeting is scheduled for May 2 in Albany. I encourage all inspectors to attend. The DOS calendar can be viewed from a link on NYSAHI.com.
Keep your ear to the ground and as always, please drop me a line if you hear of anything new that affects our profession.
