Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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.
Find them here: homeinspector.org/Resources/Standard-of-Practice
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.
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.
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.
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.
Find them here: homeinspector.org/Resources/Standard-of-Practice
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.
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.
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.
