Prior to the advent of home inspections, all too often REALTORS® found themselves a party to complaints or lawsuits between buyers and sellers regarding property defects, even though they had no prior knowledge or awareness of the issue. Property condition inspections have greatly helped to mitigate that liability; however, prior to regulation, home inspector’s limitations of liability still left some unhappy buyers without an avenue for redress. That all changed with passage of the Kansas Home Inspector Competency and Financial Responsibility Act in 2008 that brought about minimum educational and financial requirements for home inspectors, including: completion of 80 hours of hands on training; passage of a proctored exam; proof of $100,000 general liability insurance; and proof of financial responsibility, most often in the form of a $10,000 Surety Bond. Implementation of these regulations and development of a uniform Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics was made by an independent board (KHIRB) appointed by then Governor Sebelius that also included both a Consumer Protection Attorney and REALTOR®.
After 5 years of successful regulation that was fully fee funded and operated at no cost to the state, and despite overwhelming support of a bill to reauthorize these regulations on votes of 102 to 17 in the House and 36 to 3 in the Senate, Governor Brownback vetoed legislation effectively ending all regulation on July 1, 2013. His veto statement essentially stated that regulations were unnecessary as evidenced by the minimal number of claims, and consumers that did have problems could make those complaints with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Home inspectors argued to override the veto, stating that the minimal number of formal complaints was proof of the success of the legislation, and lawmakers should not wait until substantial damage occurs before enacting regulations to protect consumers, but to no avail. Of the 36 states that somehow control or define the home inspection process, Kansas is the only one to pass and then later rescind their regulations.
The old KHIRB’s website created a location where Kansas REALTORS® could go to find a complete list of all registered home inspectors. The non-profit Kansas Association of Real Estate Inspectors (KAREI) has now replaced this defunct site with their own (KAREI.ORG), where once again a comprehensive list of formally registered home inspectors can be found along with those newer members still working on certification. Simply click on the “Find an Inspector” tab and then enter your zip code. A list of inspectors within a 20 mile radius will be shown, and those certified will have their national member organization’s logo prominently displayed next to the inspector’s name. Most inspectors belong to 1 of 3 major national member organizations, all of which grant certification, in part based upon passage of a rigorous exam and at least 16 hours of continuing education per year. By clicking on the view button next to the logo you can view the inspector’s other qualifications and contact information. At this same “Find an Inspector” webpage, you can also search for those that perform specialty inspections such as: Radon, Mold, Swimming Pools, Pests, Fireplaces, etc. The KAREI.ORG site also contains a section just for REALTORS® where you’ll find a link to the Resource page that contains helpful links on potential problem areas like Mold, Aluminum wiring, Lead paint, Polybutylene piping, EIFS, etc.
Provided by Kerry Parham, President KAREI
