I am requesting your help in drafting an ivitation for inspectors and the general public to come meet with the Real Estate Commission to have their voices heard.
Any input would be appreciated.

Please let's not get into the pros and cons of in$urance. I'm looking for editorial input, only.

Dear fellow inspectors and concerned citizens,

This may be the last chance to have your voice heard. The TREC commissioners will meet again on October 8, 2007 at 9:00 am. If you believe the mandated insurance coverage rules will negatively impact, in any way, real estate consumers, your profession, livelihood and family I request you take action and join me, clients, family members, friends and my peers in bringing our concerns before the commission. The commissioners can, if we can be persuasive enough and they choose to, have a final ruling (vote) on this matter before the Attorney General review is completed.

As you probably already know there is already verbiage in our profession’s Occupations Code that disallows negligence, incompetence and dishonesty in our profession.

These acts are against the laws of our state and a recovery fund is already in place for consumers, to cover these events when they do occur in our profession.


TEXAS OCCUPATIONS CODE

CHAPTER 1102. REAL ESTATE INSPECTORS


SUBCHAPTER G. PROHIBITED ACTS



§ 1102.301. NEGLIGENCE OR INCOMPETENCE. An inspector may

not perform a real estate inspection in a negligent or incompetent

manner.



§ 1102.302. AGREEMENT FOR SPECIFIC REPORT;

DISHONESTY. An inspector may not:

(1) accept an assignment for real estate inspection if

the employment or a fee is contingent on the reporting of:

(A) a specific, predetermined condition of the

improvements to real property; or

(B) specific findings other than those that the

inspector knows to be true when the assignment is accepted; or

(2) act in a manner or engage in a practice that:

(A) is dishonest or fraudulent; or

(B) involves deceit or misrepresentation.



§ 1102.305. VIOLATION OF LAW. An inspector may not

violate this chapter or a rule adopted by the commission.



SUBCHAPTER H. REAL ESTATE INSPECTION RECOVERY FUND



§ 1102.351. REAL ESTATE INSPECTION RECOVERY FUND. The

commission shall maintain a real estate inspection recovery fund to

reimburse aggrieved persons who suffer actual damages from an

inspector's act in violation of Subchapter G. The inspector must

have held a license at the time the act was committed.



Errors & Omissions and General Liability insurance do not, cannot and will not cover any of the above acts. Nor do they benefit Texas consumers in any way. There is no insurance coverage available on this planet that will cover an inspector if and when these events occur.
Mandating these coverage’s is like saying it is against the law to rob banks but here is some insurance you can purchase just in case you what to make robbing banks your chosen career path.


In closing I hope to see everyone receiving this in Austin October 8, 2007 at 9:00 am



Street Address:
Texas Real Estate Commission
1101 Camino La Costa
Austin, TX 78752
Map to TREC
Driving Directions to TREC

Phone:
(512) 459-6544 or 1-800-250-TREC (8732)

Hours:
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday

Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you know that could be impacted by these new rules and contact me by e-mail or by phone after 6pm any day of the week.

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend because of the anticipated birth of my first grand daughter.

The following is a quote extracted from Business Insurance Now
Professional Liability Insurance - Errors and Omissions Insurance Policy (E&O Insurance)
It is very important for you to be aware that virtually all professional liability insurance policies are issued on a claims-made basis. That means that coverage is only provided for work that is done during the policy period and for claims that are filed (made) during the policy period. In effect, if an E&O insurance policy is cancelled, and no provision is made for an extended reporting period, then all coverage stops and it is as if you never had a policy.

I sincerely hope that someone who does attend makes the above point under the hardship category. All Texas Inspectors should understand that from the first day of this requirement, the least they should carry the Insurance is for four years after they stop inspecting. The dog dirt cheapest I have read about to date is $1750/year for $100K coverage. That translates into $7000 minimum cost with no income associated AFTER YOU ARE NO LONGER INSPECTING.

__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

Barry, I don't think TREC can do anything with our comments whether they want to or not.
It is the law for the next two years unless the Governor calls a special session which ain't likely since he signed the bill into law.
Giving them our opinion might make us feel better, but TREC's hands are tied. They have no choice, they have to enforce the law as it is given to them.
Jim

__________________
Jim Luttrall
Mr. Inspector.net, Inc.
Allen, Texas 75002

a boycott would work better.

Wouldn't work Stanley... there are too many prostitutes out there that would sell there ass in-order to get business.

Think of the new folks who are just starting out. Times are tough with the lack of work and the market down. Seeing an opportunity to fill in where others drop off has been the crack in that 'dam' that would ever prevent it from getting off the ground.

__________________
"If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?"
Richard Rushing, HCRI
Duncanville, Tx.

Jim,

Yes the commissioners can, I met with Fred and Brad yesterday, the commissioners already have passed an interpretation that they had to submit under pressure from saner minds (IC and others) to the AG for his clarification.
Perry thinks this is bad for consumers and commissioners are looking for an escape clause. Let's give them one!
Numerous commissioners are on the fence over this one and our presence in Austin 10/08/07 would have a favorable impact upon their decision making.
One day out of my schedule to change what will affect my business for the rest of my career is a no brainer to me. Hope you are of the same opinion and I get to stand beside you.

Richard S.,

Please explain how your boycott theory would work.

RR,

I already know how your theory works.

BTW here is some info published by TAREI earlier this year.

Attached Images

TAREI 2007 CDB.jpg (60.0 KB, 26 views)

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

Thom,
CONGRATULATIONS, big guy!
Say hi to the family.

BTW in Texas it is 2 years after discovery, whatever that means, so in reality because of TRCC 10 year warranty coverage this may actually be necessary for 12 years after you retire, is what I have heard.

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

Hello fellow professionals. According to IN database, I have not posted to this gnu site. Glad to have made the transition.

I am indebted to all of you who post here.

Some random musings:

Re: TX ins*rance. There is the feeling out there amongst some full-timers that this is an opportunity to make lemons into lemonade. E&O will get the part-timers and the low-ballers out of the picture, so that the we can all do a better job, and charge accordingly.

As part of overhead, $2K a year is nothing. Easy to get to $20K a year expenses if you are full time. My medical ins has doubled in the last 5 years, with no claims.

If you are a newbie and are chafing at the ins requirement, well yes at one time newcomers got a flashlight and a screwdriver and a clipboard and were able to slowly transition into the biz. But standards have changed. This has turned into a profession, and the public expects quality. HIs have to keep up with masses of information regarding products, codes, etc.

For the seasoned low-ballers, if you want to keep doing your 1983 report in 2007, I can tell you one of these days you will have a claim, and a 2007 inspector is going to clean your clock. And the jury is going to listen to the 2007 inspector and agree that standards have changed and why the hell are you doing 5 jobs a day with a two page checklist.

I do not have an answer for how new folks are supposed to enter the profession and do good work, other than work under supervision. Most guys I know who "sponsored" new HIs, trained them, and made a little money off them, ended up getting ripped off in the long run, despite non-compete clauses, which are a joke.

When I see fees out there of 195+ (with coupon), basically these folks are working for free, only they don't know it.

Lecturer at ASHI Anaheim Jan 2007 said that the numbers of E&O claims have gone down in the past few years, but the actual claim $ amount has gone up. He attributed this to higher quality work being done in the field.

TREC knows that a lot of HIs out there are freaking out. I don't think showing up will do anything to change things.

TX HIs don't have to show ins cert until renewal, so with the two year renewal cycle, everyone won't be on board until summer of 2009. This will keep the drooling lawyers guessing.

The downside of the ins requirement is that in theory after a couple of claims you get cut off, and yes there will be some outfit out there willing to take you on for $15K a year, but at that point I go back to serving fries at the Chikin-Lickin'. At least there you can't get sued.

Mailman is bringing all sorts of E&O offers. Allstate today. FREA magically has created a $100K policy. What a coincidence!

JB

Barry:

I have contacted everyone contactable at TREC since the inception of this insurance issue, to no avail. Dr. Thorburn tried to give me some kind of answer before he left the building, but nothing of substance. Loretta DeHay could not give a straight answer to the question, "what day is this?", the rest of the staff is both clueless and listless.

They bascially assumed the law meant E&O and not general liability, passed the football to the OAG and mum's the word. They could not give a **** less what happens to inspectors.

Idealism is great. So, go there and be idealistic. Take your thermal camera gimmick gizmo with you and see if there is a beating heart in any of the suits present at the meeting.

Let us know,

Aaron

John,
Welcome to the board.

You are probably right concerning whether or not Inspectors showing at the Committee meeting will produce any changes to what they intend to do. However, I believe you are dead wrong concerning whether it will "change things." To date, Texas Inspectors have been like frightened little children regarding TREC. When accused of infractions the majority have rolled over and taken whatever is meted out because they were more afraid of resisting authority than they were of the sanctions.

TREC sets the standard for inefficient bureaucracy. For anyone who is willing to read the sunset commission report, their inefficiency is undeniable. Though it is my understanding that they provided different figures to the commission, their PUBLISHED DATA GIVEN TO CONSUMERS via the TREC website made it clear that their was no logic or reason, with respect to consumer protection, for the McCall amendment to have been introduced.

The value of having large numbers of inspectors show at that meeting will be determined by the attitude of those attending. If your attitude is to be humble, polite, respectful; stay home. TREC already knows you are afraid of them.

However, if you are willing to stand united as adults and address the public employees you pay, you can accomplish a great deal. Not the least of these is to put them on notice that MANDATORY ins. for inspectors without MANDATORY ins. requirements for Realtors AND attorneys involved in Real Estate transactions is discriminatory and does not serve the interest of the consumer. By getting that on the public record, you are serving notice to TAR that their lack of support for us in the last legislative session was not overlooked.

Get this straight. You are dealing with bureucrats and politicians. Morality and justice have nothing to do with any of this. A show of force that may result in their public images being damaged is the only thing that matters. From the commission's viewpoint, they need to show a profit to the State. That's why you see the majority of complaints and sanctions issued by TREC as administrative sanction. The minority of complaints are brought by consumers.

Never mind. I give up. I don't think you could get 12 Texas Inspectors to stand up together against child sexual abuse. Why should they invest the effort to fight something as insignificant as their livlihoods? At this point a show of force has nothing to do with ins. It has everything to do with letting TREC, TAR, McCall, and the legislators know that they are dealing with men and human beings, not with lambs and open pocketbooks.

As long as I'm this pissed off, let me end by saying, "Screw TAREI, NACHI, ASHI, NAHI, NSHI, Mitsubishi, and all the other HI"s in the language. All any of them have been to this point are self serving entities that divide inspectors. To date, they have achieved licensing standards. Though I believe that has been an improvement for the consumer, NOT ONE of these organizations has demonstrated a concern or effort to make the lives of their memberships better. So yes, you had better show and stand for yourselves because no one else is standing for you.

__________________
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

Barry:

Which of those three types of people that you recognize is the type prone to overgeneralizations? The actor, the viewer or the drooler? Which one are you?

It seems to me that if inspectors in this country spent less time, including in places like this forum, launching ad hominem attacks against one another, constructive things might happen.

I wish you well in taking charge of my life, Barry. Pardon me if I don't camp out all night waiting on a ticket to that show.

Aaron

Badair,
So... do you believe different? Do you not believe there will always be those out there breaking the 'picket-line' of boycot.

I'm with Thom when he says;
"Never mind. I give up. I don't think you could get 12 Texas Inspectors to stand up together against child sexual abuse. Why should they invest the effort to fight something as insignificant as their livlihoods? At this point a show of force has nothing to do with ins. It has everything to do with letting TREC, TAR, McCall, and the legislators know that they are dealing with men and human beings, not with lambs and open pocketbooks."

Is the stand needed... hell-yeah! Will it happen...doubtful.

__________________
"If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?"
Richard Rushing, HCRI
Duncanville, Tx.

Aaron,

I'll be taking charge of my life.

My statement wasn't a personal attack just an observation of mankind and a personal invitation, sorry you took it differently.

I accept your rejection of my offer.

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

My ex used to tell our kid can't never could and won't never will

I refuse to take an attitude of apathy on this one.

It's really not that difficult just get in the car and head down I-35, just wait 'til the 8th of October. Hell I'll come by and pick you up if that's what it takes. You're not that far out of the way.

__________________
badair http://www.adairinspection.com Garland, TX 75042
Residential-Commercial-Construction-EIFS-Infrared Thermography
life is the random lottery of events followed by numerous narrow escapes

Barry:

Again, I salute your idealistic attitude and your willingness to spend the time butting heads with the TREC flying monkeys. I did my multi-year stint in that role and have now moved on to attempting to affect them from another angle. You can never be an insider there. No matter what size crowd you draw, they have no obligation to listen to you. Their agenda is not the same as yours and never will be.

Take a hint from just the most recent events: the demise of the TRECIC, the requirement for E&O, the long list of inspectors being sanctioned for dubious regulation infractions, et al.

Want to make a difference in Austin? Ask your wife to hand you down your shootin' iron before you go. Take an extra box of bullets. There's a lot of 'em.

Aaron