Letters

Take time to check out credentials

A recent Sunday Real Estate section had an article about the importance of home inspections when purchasing your home. Some important issues were not covered. Our state currently has no licensing or regulations for home inspectors. Anybody with a business license and an ad in the phone book is ready for hire.

Some folks take a simple online test and receive a certificate stating they are now a “certified” home inspector. How do you know if the inspector you hire is qualified? Are they liable for damages if problems are later discovered? Is he/she new in business and is your home the first building they inspect? There are national associations that require membership be earned by passing a nationally recognized test (not online), performing 250 paid inspections prior to full membership and following stringent standards of practice which include a very strict code of ethics. Go to www.ashi.com for additional information before you hire any inspector.

Paul A. Luczyk

Mukilteo

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