Whitney Clark,
Counsel for the Department of State
FROM:
Daniel Friedman
American Home Service Co.
3 Willowbrook Hgts.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Dear Counsel:
I write to express my grave concern regarding the proposed code of ethics and standards of practice for home inspectors licensed in New York, and with more than 20 years experience in the profession as an inspector, as an educator for home inspectors in New York and across the U.S. and Canada, as well as a researcher and writer on building failures and building failure diagnosis. My experience and credentials can be read at www.inspect-ny.com/danbio.htm
I am particularly familiar with longstanding "turf war" issues between a minority of licensed engineers in New York and the who perform home inspections and the majority of well qualified home inspectors who have other basis for their experience and expertise.
It appears as if the State has inadvertently stepped into the sticky unpleasantness of a renewal of that very old and tired issue, one which was examined closely among home inspection professionals and the NYS Engineering Board back when Doug Hasbrouck was its head.
Simply put, forbidding home inspectors to comment on the adequacy of basic mechanical or structural components of a home, and asserting that only a licensed engineer can make such a pronouncement runs afoul of the following basic points:
1. Every building trade which works on homes includes workers who have to make daily assessments of the condition, function,useability, and general adequacy of plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, masonry foundations, roof framing, wall framing, and every other system in a home. No licensed professional engineer is consulted when an air conditioning installer selects and installs ductwork; No licensed professional engineer, and no architect is consulted when a homeowner installs or replaces a heating boiler. The trades people are educated about the basic procedures used to determine what is appropriate for the homeowner.
In short, the proposed ethics and standards for home inspectors, people charged with observing the basic condition and useabilty of components in a home, would forbid a home inspector from doing what even the local plumber, electrician,
carpenter, or mason are expected to do. This is not engineering.
2. Even most professional engineers are not qualified to make pronouncements of the condition of a home. A licensed professional engineer is licensed in and is expected to practice with his or her area of specialty. Engineering specialties include topics beyond construction and mechanical systems, such as electrical engineering (circuit design for IBM),
chemical engineering, aerospace engineering, etc. By the proposed law and code of ethics and standards for home inspectors, an engineer whose degree, training, and experience are all in the design of electronic circuits, might be permitted to assert that the foundation of a home does or does not need repair, or that the air conditioning system is adequate!
3. The proposed ethics and standards for home inspectors which inappropriately limit the scope of practice of home inspectors fail to recognize what the NYS Dept. of Engineers, the American Society of Home Inspectors, and associations in other states have long recognized: home inspection is a singular profession in its own right, with its own area of special knowledge and training, in particular, focused on the observation and detection of "in service" defects in homes - things that are NOT at all represented in the curriculum of professional engineering or architectural education.
In sum, the proposed limits expressed in the State's Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics for home inspectors
1. are inappropriate, reflect the wishes of a minority of engineers who want the "turf" of home inspection to themselves,
2. fail to recognize that assessments of virtually all components of homes are regularly assessed by tradespeople not engineers
3. reseve for professional engineers work that is presently done by home inspectors and trades people both of whom are in many instances far the most qualified for those assessments
4. would preclude bringing the expertise of the home inspection profession with its focus on in-service field conditions to the benefit of homeownes and consumers and would reduce the available services of building diagnosticians by excluding some of the most and best qualified professionals in the state, educated and trained home inspectors, from working in their trained and qualified profession.
5. would introduce a deliberate and marketing-based confusion among home owners who, by following the guidelines in the proposed standards and ethics, FAIL to recognize when it IS appropriate and necessary to consult a design professional, working within his or her area of expertise, such as when the application of engineering principles of design, calculation, and evaluation ARE needed to design a repair, system, or solution to a problem.
Please STOP the proposed and inappropriate code of ethics and standards of practice, and CONSULT with the experienced, educated, and dedicated professionals in the home inspection profession, including its engineer and architect members, and CORRECT the proposed guidelines.
If you do not take appropriate action the result is nothing less than a dumbing down of the level of professionalism and service available to homeowners who need a competent home inspection, and thus ultimately the proposed language hurts consumers.
Respectfully
Daniel Friedman
