PLEASE speak up about the new ASHI SOP if you don’t agree with it

The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) has proposed a new Standard of Practice (SOP) for home inspections. I strongly oppose many of the changes, and I urge all ASHI members to read the standards and voice their opinion. Here are the key details:

• The existing SOP was written in 2014.
• The new proposed SOP was sent to ASHI membership for comment on July 10th of this year.
• An updated version, based on member comments, was sent to ASHI membership on November 11th of this year.
• The updated version is dated 8/2024.

Many more descriptions

The new standard requires home inspectors to describe far more materials and components of a home. I already find the materials and descriptions part of our reports to be worthless filler that nobody cares about. Expanding this section will make inspections take more time to complete and expand the sections of our reports that don’t matter. A few examples would be having to describe the type and material of: the subfloor, beams/girders, columns/piers/pads, the deck walking surface, and deck guards and handrails. And we’d also need to document the presence of smart home systems. This adds no value to our clients.

No more deficiency-based reporting

Another huge change is that we would need to start reporting the condition of everything listed in the SOP. As it currently stands, we don’t need to do this. We need to inspect everything listed in the SOP, and document that we inspected it, but we don’t need to describe the condition of each one of these components. Not so with the new standards. This will make home inspection reports longer, but adds no value to our clients. The longer the report, the tougher it is to read. Home inspection reports should be clear and concise. This change mandates a move in the opposite direction.

A longer discussion of the changes

I recently recorded a podcast with Tessa Murry and long-time ASHI member James Katen, where James did a great job of discussing the larger picture. I could listen to him talk all day. Check it out.

Call to action

If you’re a member of ASHI, please take the time to read through the changes, found at https://www.homeinspector.org/Resources/Standard-of-Practice. This stuff affects you. If you don’t agree with the changes, speak up by sending an email to standards@ashi.org. The period for public comment ends on December 10th. Thank you.