Home Inspections - An Unregulated Industry

Buying a home involves a very large financial transaction. It is vital for the purchasers future financial wellbeing to be sure that the property they are buying does not have any serious defects. This can range from 
weathertightness issues (a leaky / rotting home), Methamphetamine (Meth or P) contamination to a series of other defects.

Buying a home with serious defects can mean thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense to put it right. In extreme cases such as leaky homes or serious Methamphetamine contamination the whole building may need demolishing.
 
Insurance will not always pay out and have exclusions and limits in household policies - especially when the buyer has not taken reasonable steps to ensure what they are buying is OK. A home inspection and a meth contamination test on any property being purchased would it seems be an essential precaution.
 
But can you rely on the home inspection / meth test you obtain? The home inspection industry is 
unregulated and anyone - no training, no qualifications, no building inspection insurance can be a house inspector in New Zealand. This is a crazy situation, but it is true.
 
Lawyers and Real Estate Agents must be licenced, are part of a professional body, undergo continuing 
education and operate to a code of practice to protect the public. As already stated, nothing is required to be a home inspector. This has led to a lot of untrained, unqualified home inspectors operating in New Zealand.
 
Some are ex-builders who think that because they were a builder, they are qualified to conduct home inspections. Unfortunately for the house buyer this is just not the case. A qualified home inspector studies for hundreds of hours and must pass exams to become a certified home inspector.
 
Home inspectors are trained to check not just builders work but also plumbing, electrical, heating and 
ventilation and much more - an ex-builder is not. In the USA, Canada and many other countries home inspectors must be licenced to operate.

To obtain their licence inspectors must pass home inspection exams. In addition to these there is a professional body called the international association of certified home inspectors (InterNACHI) which is the worlds leading professional body in over 80 countries world-wide, including New Zealand.

You know that any member of InterNACHI is fully trained and qualified as a home inspector and must undertake 24 hours of continuing education, training every year and must retake the InterNACHI membership exams every 3 years.
 
In addition to being fully trained, qualified and a member of a professional body, it is vital that a home inspector has professional indemnity insurance for home inspections. Do not mix this up with professional indemnity insurance for being a builder.
 
Insurance as a builder costs a few hundred dollars per year and does not cover home inspection work. Professional indemnity insurance for home inspectors costs thousands of dollars per year. There is no New Zealand based insurers so many operating as home inspectors are not insured.
 
All A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspectors in New Zealand are:

1. Fully trained, have studied and passed exams to certification standard.
2. Are members of InterNACHI.
3. Hold Professional Indemnity Insurance ($1,000,000) as home 
   inspectors.
4. Are trained and insured for Methamphetamine sampling and testing.
5. Conduct all inspections according to NZS 4306:2005 and issue a NZS certificate with every inspection.

It is very long overdue for the home inspection industry to be regulated - for the publics protection. In the meantime, choose A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections for your own protection.