Just twenty 20 years ago, 75 percent of all purchased homes underwent a professional home inspection before sale. Today, the volume of homes inspected hovers around 95 percent according to Bill Loden, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Though the significance of home inspections in a turbulent housing economy is undeniable, a March 2014 report by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the nation's top housing regulator, cautioned against falling victim to unscrupulous and unregulated practitioners. 

One of the reports strongest objections railed against the fact that the housing inspection industry is largely unregulated and even where regulations exist, the effectiveness of the statutes varies from state to state. In Maryland, inspectors are regulated by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and are required to take a 72-hour pre-licensing class as well as have a license renewal every two years. But in California, neither licenses nor class hours are required. 

The inspector general report also outlined the perusal of 84 property inspection reports and revealed that more than half of them contained some form of documentation error, such as one inspector appearing to have filed the same report repeatedly over a span of seven months. Other concerns pertained to firms inconsistently performing criminal background checks and housing inspectors with past or current ties to construction businesses "finding" flaws in homes and then recommending a colleague's firm to repair the damage. 

With any industry there will always be the troublesome minority that tries to cut corners, but for a reliable and professional home inspection company in the Maryland area, check out Alban Inspections! Visit our website for more information on all of the services we offer!