You show up at the inspection on time and ready to go. The client and agent are there and you go through your introductory remarks. Straight to work with the attentive client, and happily the owner is not there. A great situation! You get through the home, summarize for the client and provide a report summary.

You collect your payment, thank the agent and client, and you’re ready to be on your way. It’s then that the agent says, “Do you remember being at this house 18 months ago?” Your heart sinks. What did you say the first time you were there? Is the old report around? What happens if they compare the two reports? Why didn’t you remember the house?

If you’ve lived through this, you know embarrassing may just be the beginning. If your reports do not track, your credibility may be hurt, and your liability may be significant. At Carson Dunlop, we worry about this and that’s why we built a tool into our Horizon home inspection report writing software that gives us a heads up when booking an inspection if we inspected the house before. Not only that, we are only one click away from the previous work order and one more click away from the previous report. We can always see what we said before. A valuable tool? Absolutely. In some cases it’s a real lifesaver.

Canada’s first licensing law for home inspectors was passed in January 2009. By March 31, all home inspectors will have to meet the requirements of the National Certification Program for Home and Property Inspectors www.nca-anc.com, requirements of CAHPI-BC, (Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors - British Columbia) www.cahpi.bc.ca, or the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC) www.asttbc.org. All home inspectors will have to carry Errors and Omissions insurance and General Liability insurance. There will be a $100 licensing fee, and home inspectors will have to carry an identification card. There will also be a criminal record check.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that real estate agents will not be allowed to recommend home inspectors. Instead they will send consumers to the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority, a non-government, not-for-profit organization. (www.bpcpa.ca) This authority will also handle consumer complaints related to home inspection.

Those who are not a member of any of these organizations may have their credentials assessed by the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority at a cost of $250. This option is only available until March 31, 2009, and those who are approved will have to become members of one of the three organizations within two years.

No license is required for commercial property inspections. For more information from the Authority, click here.

Mid-efficiency furnaces are being phased out in Ontario. After 2009, these will no longer be available. While high-efficiency systems are great, they can be difficult to install in some homes, due to venting requirements.  Mid-efficiency furnaces are less complex and less expensive than high-efficiency furnaces. Replacement of an older conventional or mid-efficiency furnace in 2009 with a new mid-efficiency may make sense for many homeowners.