Inspectorjoe

Jim, your's is the first comment I've seen on that. It rubs me the wrong way too. Did you read Steve Gladstone's idiotic rationalization in the current ASHI Reporter? "We know the testing is seen by many as threatening and expensive," said Gladstone. "Others feel they have already proven their knowledge and business acumen." Well, lah de freakin' da! Joe Hancaviz

I took the first twenty names from the member list and Googled them, i.e: +"john aaron" +"home inspection". Nearly all returned just one result: the FIHI site map page. The only one of those first twenty that appeared to actually be a home inspector was Lon Barnaby. It doesn't seem that those other "members" really exist. I went to the search by zip code section and put in Lab-Pro's Emmaus Zip Code 18049 and got There are no certified FIHI® home inspectors near you at this time. This listing is updated weekly, so please check back soon. I then put in Mr. Barnaby's home Zip Code of Macungie, 18062 and got the same message. It appears that the search feature is not meant to be functional, but with no members to search for, that's understandable. I looked at the Membership Application. It didn't ask anything about qualifications, education, training etc. In fact, it doesn't ask for much more than name, address and phone number. In addition to apparently endorsing FIHI's independence from Realtors stance, Lab-Pro is also listed as a member of IHINA. That's kind of odd, considering, as Bill Kibble pointed out, that Lab-Pro is a paid affiliate member of the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors. That brings me to a story. We recently got a call from a young woman, a first time home buyer. She was under contract on a house and wanted it inspected, but "her" agent was pressuring her to use a certain inspector. She wasn't comfortable with that and did some research and chose her own inspector. At the inspection last week I asked her the name of the company "her" agent was trying to strong-arm her into using. It was Lab-Pro. Joe Hancaviz Nazareth, PA