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if. he developed a simple form on which an inspector could check off some items <br />and then he could file that form with the city. Mr. Thompson had no objection to <br />that, but he hated to put the home owner in the position whereby if the buyer did <br />not buy the house, the home owner rAght receive a citation from the Buildi.ng <br />Department; this could discourage people fram having inspections done. He advises <br />his customers that his inspection is not a code inspection, and he cannot <br />dismantle the house, he can only inspect what he can see. Mr. J. Harmon, North <br />Shore Inspections, would prefer that licensing be done at the State level. He <br />holds numerous licenses for various trades. He stated that there is no unifornmity <br />i.n the plumbirg codes, only a State minimum, neither is there in heating or the <br />other trades; however, the National Electrical Code is followed by most people. <br />He would be willing to discuss this with the city. Previously when responding to <br />a survey from a college, he advised that he would like to see some national <br />guidelines that could be followed for home inspections. Mr. Jaeger advised that <br />he was a graduate of Case Western Reserve, an Amer.ican Arbitration Association <br />Arbiter and is frequently called in as an expert witness. He just had a <br />conversation with a person who is going to discuss with high level <br />representatives of the Clinton Administration, the exclusive use of A.S.H.I. <br />members to do inspection on 100% of new transactions insured by the F.H.A. In <br />reference to licensing, he is concerned about contract law and con£identiality <br />with their clients. Inspectors get paid a fee to examine property for the buyers <br />and are contractually obligated to be confidential. He read a portion of a <br />pre-inspection agreement which is a typical contract of many companies who employ <br />A.S.H.I. members. It stated, "The inspection company agrees to conduct an <br />inspection for the purposes of alerting the client to major defects and <br />deficiencies in the condition of the property. The inspection and report are <br />perforried and prepared for the sole confidential use of the client. " He further <br />read the A.S.H.I. code of ethics "It is the duty to practice the profession <br />according to the code of ethics..e.o(he advised that he would skip down to the <br />pertinent line)..m"the member will not release any copies of the inspection <br />report without the approval of the clients or their representatives." He <br />questioned what would happen if a client advised that he did not want his report <br />released to anybody. It has been widely accepted, including at the Federal level, <br />that A.S.H.I. representatives are professionalS. He believed that licensing night <br />be necessary at the State level if it is shown that consumers need such <br />licensing. He was not aware of any miuzicipality in the State of Ohio which <br />license accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc. He believed that licensing at a <br />municipal level could be discriminatory. They are professionals, and he requested <br />that.they be treated as such. Mr. P. Iiartman spoke again. He advised that he <br />keeps hearing A.S.H.I. and he has declined joining the association, not because <br />he disagrees with what they do, but he does not believed that his company needs <br />what they offer. He will adhere to any standard of ethics, but no private home <br />inspection company should be forced to join an association just so they can say <br />that they are a part of that association. M. T. Piviato, gave a resurne of his <br />background for the past 43 years, and advised that is also a member of A.S.H.I. <br />where with all his experience it too'ic him 2 years and 9 months to pass all of the <br />A.S.H.I. requirements. If he had not completed the entire program in 3 years, he <br />would have had to start all over again at the beginning. He explained that when <br />the radon testing first started it cost $50.00 for a test, after the State <br />started licensing the buyer pays $150.00 per test. He objected to politicians and <br />bureaucrats taking away bits and pieces of his freedom since he fought to save <br />the country's freedom. He will fight this by not inspecting in the city and wi11 <br />notify everyone in northeast Ohio not to inspect in the city. Later when the city <br />city hears from new residents tYaat no one will inspect in the city, it will be