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Anyone who, from this point forward, wishes to enter the field of home inspection in the state of Washington will require proof of having completed a state approved fundamentals of home inspection course. There are only a few such courses available in the state, many of which require purchasing a franchise. The first course approved by the state, and offered through the state college system, is taught at Bellingham Technical College.

Prospective home inspectors and, also, experienced home inspectors who did not get their licenses prior to the law being implemented -- September 1, 2009 -- are now required to take the 120 hours of classroom training. Read that again: classroom training. Since I am involved as  coordinator of the training program for BTC,…

In Washington State we are working to avert a bottleneck. The new home inspector law takes effect on September 1, 2009. That is just around the corner now. The grandfathered inspectors -- I am one of those -- have to take the licensing test and pass it prior to September. I am happy to say that is a chore that I have now completed. Other inspectors need to do the same, before the lines get too long at the testing centers.

For the newer inspectors, and those who want to get into the field, state approved education is now required. There are three approved course providers at this time, however, two of them are franchises. Bellingham Technical College has the only approved class in the state, that is readily available to those members of the public who…

One aspect of being a home inspector that I like, is that, periodically, I am able to help clients locate other professionals who can help them solve problems. I keep a list of roofers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, general contractors and others, who have good reputations and have been looked upon favorably by my past clients. In some cases I have met those contractors on-site, while conducting an inspection.

I had an interesting request the other day. You have to realize that in my area we have many waterfront homes. That includes homes on the bay -- Birch Bay, Chuckanut and Semiahmoo -- and on Lake Whatcom, Lake Samish and also in Sudden Valley and Glenhaven. Many of these homes have docks and, being waterfront homes, some of them…

In Washington State, prospective home inspectors, and those who do not have enough experience to meet the initial grandfathering requirements, will be required to take an approved course in the fundamentals of home inspection.

Bellingham Technical College, a state technical college, has received conditional approval from the state to offer this course. The course has been in existence for 15 years, but a number of modifications have been, and will be, made to better meet all of the state guidelines. 

The Bellingham Technical College course is 120 hours (three weeks) of classroom training and it includes a fourth week. In that final week, students will receive 40 hours of state approved field training. Students, who satisfactorily complete the course,…

Real estate deals, involving mobile or manufactured homes, have stringent inspection requirements when HUD financing is involved in the purchase. HUD calls for a permanent foundation inspection. This inspection must be performed by, or signed-off on, by a licensed professional engineer.  That is not, in most cases, a home inspector.

The photo is a view of the sub-structure crawl space of a manufactured home. 

The manufactured home in the photo would NOT meet the strict HUD guidelines for a number of reasons. The professional engineer would have the duty of inspecting the foundation at this manufactured home -- if HUD was involved. In most, non-HUD, deals the home inspector would do all of the inspection.

Normal HUD requirements also call for an…

Fire hazards scare me. People are so careless or so unobservant of fire hazards that it never fails to amaze me. I see a number of problems with wood stoves and fireplaces. But, probably, the most often seen fire hazards, listed on my home inspection reports, involve electric heaters -- baseboard heaters or the fan-assisted in wall heaters. People do the same crazy and dangerous things over and over and they are not careful with these units.

Years ago, I accidentally left the hose from a shop-vac resting on a baseboard heater. It melted. I learned to be careful. These units get extremely hot and they will start fires. That is why I am always dismayed when I see "no-brainer" fire hazards in homes. The most common problem would be cloth drapes hanging down…

Over the years, I have been asked , by potential clients, why they should hire a home inspector. What would be the problem with them doing the home inspection themselves? The answer is usually simple -- they are not qualified to do the home inspection. In most cases they know little about the components and systems in a home. The buyer might be good at determining if the paint and the carpets meet their visual requirements, but they do not know how to evaluate the crucial parts of the home. They know nothing about structure, electrical, plumbing, roofing, heating or wood destroying organisms. 

A few years ago, I decided to design three simple and interactive online tests. At first I built these so I could send them to prospective home inspection…

In modern construction, often at the hole at the back rim of the kitchen sink where a sprayer might go, there is a "mushroom" looking device. I have, during my time as a home inspector, found it amusing how few people know the purpose of that device. I had someone, the other day, tell me that she thought it was a water shutoff valve for the whole house. Hardly! Few people understand how it works or what it does.

That device is called the air-gap and it is connected to the dishwasher (sometimes a water-softener).  Air-gaps are required by most modern plumbing codes. The device is simple -- no moving parts, a couple tubes under the cover,  but it serves a critical function. This device deceases the chances of a cross-connection that would lead to dirty…