About Asotin County, WA

Contrary to popular opinion, we do have pest issues in areas like Pullman and Moscow. Our primary invader is the carpenter ant. The problem that is starting to develop is that while we have a slew licensed inspectors in the area (and the number is growing), only two of us are still licensed as pest inspectors.

The Washington State Standards of Practice for home inspectors is pretty clear. We are required to report any conducive conditions to pest infestation and wood destroying fungus and, if not also licensed as a Structural Pest Inspector, refer our clients to an SPI if we suspect insect damage.

One of the realities of the marketplace is that home inspectors market to Realtors rather than directly to clients. I have my doubts that the referral will consistently take place. There is a great deal of resistence to pest inspections in this area. There is an ecomonic incentive to try to avoid messy areas like termites and carpenter ants and, of course, the liability involved inherent to a pest inspection.

I've elected to keep my pest licensed. I don't make much additional revenue from it but it does leave me in a better position to serve my clients. Fortunately for me, the Realtors that I work with want a good solid inspection and will work with and help their clients when they get the report.

The inspector shall "Report any evidence that indicates the possible presence of an underground storage tank. "

Part of the process with having the inspectors go through a licensing process is that we now have more consistency in the reports that get generated. That quote above right from the new Washington State Standards of Practice for licensed home inspectors.

Tracking these down can be tough though. Underground tanks were often placed by the side of the home and, in the forty or fifty years since they were used, those areas were converted to flower beds or shrubbery.

Normally, I'll look for a vent for the tank or the fill tube - though I had one newer house in Pullman that had a fill tube (it was even marked "Heating Oil" on the cap) with a house that never had an oil furnace.

The other place that needs to be checked is the area around the furnace. Is there an old copper line, probably crimped? If so, where does it go? Through the foundation wall? If it's there, I need to trace it as far as I can. Having an old oil tank isn't a disaster for the transaction (though it doesn't help). Most can be safely de-commissioned.

The title of the post and the question itself probably seem a bit silly. Everybody here on AR is in the same business whether they're a Realtor, Inspector, Mortgage Broker, Stager. Quite often though I see people confuse industry with job. A good example was this last Friday.

I was taken by surprise during one of my inspections Friday, of a Clarkston WA house. I had an exchange with a Realtor from Lewiston ID that went something like this:

Inspector: So, have you been keeping tracks of the changes in the home inspection side of things?

Realtor: No. Why should I pay attention to your industry?

Huh? Since I didn't have a ready answer, I think she had a point. And in my usual way, I thought of all sorts of good answers - hours later. Before I arrived at those answers though, I had to think it through. So now I have an answer, of sorts. Why should you pay attention to my industry? Because we're in the same industry and what affects me affects the Realtor as well.

Washington State is in the process of licensing the home inspectors that work here. This is a fairly large change and, in SE Washington, not well recognized. Washington currently requires inspectors to have Structural Pest Inspector licenses - only three inspectors out of a dozen here carry that license and the others work with a degree of impunity. Clarkston and Pullman are 400 miles from Olympia. In terms of attention, we're pretty well ignored (except the Department of Revenue!)

The changes that are coming though are going to make it more difficult for Realtors to avoid the licensed inspector for their preferred inspector (and please, I am not bashing the Realtor here - the unlicensed inspector is a different story.) Inspectors working in Washington will have to include their license number on the report. Brokers will be looking for those (or should be). Without it, they place themselves in a position of legal jeopardy. There are literally dozens of other things that will be changing.

The Realtors don't know it. And it is completely my fault.

I haven't communicated the changes to them. I keep up with what is happening in the various aspects of the industry. I am always curious as to what is happening in somone else's neck of the woods, what problems are they facing, what can I learn, who can I help? To spend hours with my head in a code book or online reading Russel Ray or Steven L Smith or online journals is second nature and, quite literally, a pleasure. I'm even worse with college basketball.

It's part of my job to help the Realtors by keeping them fully informed of things that can adversely affect them and their clients. Usually, I do that by giving them the best inspection I can (shameless plug here: I'm a pretty good inspector!) but sometimes I can accomplish more good by working with the Realtors than with our clients.

We share the same goal - to help our clients find homes that they will be happy in for as long as they choose to stay there. That's our industry. We all have a part to play in it.

I recieved the following email from the ASHI of Western Washington-

Well, it didn't take long! We have just received word that the first attempt to change the new Home Inspector Law has been brought forth in the Legislature. It is Senate Bill 5644, which you can review at: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5644.pdf Basically, the bill attempts to allow on-line learning and inserts the word MOLD into the requirements for a Home Inspection. We would expect the DOL to fight the on line learning change, as all Real Estate classes are currently required to be instructor lead courses. Both the Real Estate Licensees and Home Inspectors are under the Real Estate Division of the DOL. Of course, inserting the word MOLD into the Home Inspection requirements is contrary to industry standards and raises serious questions about insurability.

The following is the letter that I sent to my local representative:

Honorable Senator Schoesler, The above referenced bill has been placed on the agenda of the legislature for consideration by Senators Parlette and Kohl-Welles. A substantial change is the requirement to perform a home inspection with the express purpose of identifying mold. This is outside the Standards of Practice of all the major certifying bodies and I am not aware of any state in the nation that makes this requirement. There is no nationally recognized standard for sample collection, sampling methodolgy, chain of custody and reporting for mold. It would, however,. lead to tremendous litigation and would be detrimental to my profession and the consumer that the current licensing law seeks to protect. Further, it seeks to substantially undermine and weaken the protection of a well trained inspector workforce by watering down the education requirements. I urge you to reject the changes proposed in SENATE BILL 5644. Thank you, Paul Duffau

I know that MOLD is GOLD for some inspectors but I think that it is often a way to increase revenues rather than provide quality service. The testing that a home inspector does is radically different than that of a licensed and certified testing laboratory - and I used to work in one in the field of materials testing. If they really wanted to make a change that benefits the consumer, requiring E&O of all inspectors would be a more effective protection.

Well, it's about time.

For those that don't know me, I am an avid, if less talented, runner. Unfortunately, one that has been sidelined for several months. I'm finally back to running but because I haven't had a chance to build up my mileage, it won't be racing any time soon.

In the meantime, I'll be crewing. The Snake River Half is a fast 1/2 marathon run every year by the Palouse Roadrunners just down the hill fron Pullman WA. The course is an out and back with an elevation profile that looks like this:

Ideal for someone that hates hills.

Since I can't run it though, I'll be assisting at one of the aid stations with the Asotin HS Cross Country team and their coach, Tim Gundy.

I haven't helped at many races in the last few years and I find that I miss it. One year, while still in San Diego, I had the chance to crew all five ultra-running events sposored by the SURF (San Diego Ultrarunning Friends) club. Watching others succeed was wonderfully motivating in my own racing.

If you're a runner and want to take on a dead flat course, look up the race at: http://www.palouseroadrunners.org/RunningRoutes/SnakeRiverMap.htm

I gaurantee at least one aid station will be cheering you on wildly - including that old slow guy hanging with the kids.