The syndicated column “Holmes, sweet Holmes” in the May 29 Columbian real estate section regarding Mike Holmes’ take on the home inspection industry is a bit misleading.
Holmes strongly advises having a home inspection and gives some good points on choosing an inspector. However, he refers to the home inspection industry as unregulated and that anyone can call themselves a “home inspector.”
He goes on to say all that’s needed is a business card and a flashlight to be in business. Well nothing could be further from reality. Washington state is among 33 states that license home inspectors in a fully regulated manner. New inspectors must complete 120 hours of instruction plus 40 additional hours of supervised field training before they can take the national and state tests (http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/homeinspectors/hilicense.html.)
If they are successful, they are also required to complete 22 hours of continued education credits every two years to maintain their license.
