There are no federal laws governing home inspectors. We are regulated only by the individual states. (See also the “Pa. NJ Requirements” section of this web site.) Since the laws vary from state to state – and some states don’t have home inspection regulations – how can you be sure that your inspector is qualified, experienced, and trustworthy? One way is to be sure your inspector is a "Member" of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). There are a number of home inspector associations / organizations and it can be confusing for the home buyer to decipher which ones are legitimate and which ones are bogus. Most of them require minimum to no training, education, experience, and adherence to ethical standards.  ASHI is the oldest and largest home inspector association. It has the strictest Standards of Practice and more importantly the toughest Code of Ethics. You can become a “Certified Home Inspector” with virtually no inspection experience with many of the organizations. ASHI is the toughest association to become a member of. Among many other requirements you are not a “Member” of ASHI until you have completed 250 fee paid inspections. Additionally a representive number of those 250 inspection reports are reviewed by ASHI to determine if they meet the standards of practice. There is only one other association that comes close to this (The National Association of Home Inspectors NAHI) and they require only 100 inspections to become a member. Right out of the box, an ASHI inspector is two and one half times more experience than any other association requires. I can not think of any other profession where the old saying “there’s no substitute  for experience” applies more than home inspections.

As a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), you can be assured that not only am I qualified, but I also adhere to the association’s standards of practice and code of ethics.  See also “Inspector Profile” section of this site.

You can find more information about ASHI at their website, www.ashi.org.