House bill would require home inspectors to be licensed
Read more: Local, State
JEFFERSON CITY -- Buying a home is the biggest purchase most people will ever make.
To get some peace of mind, most home buyers now turn to a home inspector before signing on that dotted line.
Those home inspectors recently became an issue of debate at the Capitol after a bill was introduced to require home inspectors to be licensed by the State Division of Professional Registration.
KRCG found out why realtors want home inspectors licensed while the inspectors say there's no need.
"Basically anybody can go out there and buy a business card and say, 'I'm a home inspector," says Representative Michael Parson, (R) Bolivar. He's trying to change that with house bill 978 that will would license home inspectors.
"I think people have a right to know that somebody who comes out to inspect their house in somewhat qualified," adds Parson.
The Missouri Association of Realtors backs the bill, they say most involved in real estate transaction are already licensed and says inspectors should be too.
"So in that home buying process the home inspection becomes very critical," says R. Dennis McClellan, CEO, Missouri Association of Realtors.
The board says having licensed inspectors would protect everyone.
"The seller does not want any problems later nor does the buyer nor does the realtor, " says McClellan. "So one of our challenges is to try to flush out any problems that we see down the line."
But home inspectors we talked to say the bill mostly protects realtors.
"Realtors many times use a list of home inspectors," says Stacey Van Houtan, a home inspector with the National Association of Home Inspectors. "As they hand out this list it does give them some what of a scope of liability. If they were able to just hand out a list that says these are the home inspectors licensed in Missouri then their liability would be reduced, it would be transferred to us."
The MO Attorney General's Office says they don't see many complaints about home inspectors.
But representative Parson says the consumer will benefit by having an agency to complain to if they encounter problems with an inspector.
"If you're a legitimate home inspector in the state of Missouri i don't think there is anything in this piece of legislation you need to be afraid of," adds Parson.
Representative Parson says the bill probably won't pass this year but says it will be a priority next year.
Even without state licensing, you can protect yourself by looking for an inspector from a national organization and by following the home inspector during the inspection and asking plenty of questions.
