CAHPI: Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors
Designations:
Associate
Registered Home Inspector (RHI)
CanNACHI: Canadian National Association of Certified Home Inspectors
Designations:
Associate
Certified Master Home Inspector (CMHI)
InterNACHI: International Association of Certified Home Inspectors
Designations:
Certified Professional Inspector (CPI)
Certified Master Inspector (CMI)
Alberta NACHI: Alberta chapter of InterNACHI
Designations:
Certified Canadian Home Inspector (CCHI)
Wow, that’s a mouth-full and probably not very helpful. Suffice to say that not all designations are equal nor do all qualify for a license from the government of Alberta. I encourage you to compare the criteria for the RHI and CMHI designations to others, I consider either designation to be difficult to obtain, and hence a desirable trait for anyone conducting a home inspection in Calgary.
Alberta home inspectors are not required to belong to any professional association, membership is completely voluntary. Memberships are not free, some associations require on going education and have policies encouraging members to attend meetings and work with stake holders to improve the industry. Other associations focus more on marketing and helping members in Calgary to expand their business.
Each of these associations publish a Standards of Practice (SOP) and Code of Ethics (COE) which spell out in great detail what a home inspection includes, what it does not, and how members should conduct themselves. The SOP and COE help to protect consumers by ensuring that home inspectors are held to a standard, if the SOP says that a representative number of electrical receptacles are to be inspected, then it darn well better get done! If the COE says that an home inspector can not make repairs to home that he has inspected, he better not be offering handyman services during the home inspection!
I sincerely hope that the days of a poorly trained, fly by night, 2 hour home inspection in Calgary is long gone, replaced by people who consider themselves professionals taking pride in helping potential home buyers gain a solid understanding of the home they are considering. Mike Holmes and his television show tend to give us a bad rap however it has raised the profile of the industry which is a good thing. Everyone inspecting homes in Airdrie should step up their game and do all they can to be thorough, complete and unbiased.
A home inspection professional is a generalist which can be likened to a family doctor. The goal is to identify significant defects and refer specific diagnosis, causes and methods of repair to licensed trades people. Although your family doctor may be a great doctor, they may not be the best choice to perform your operation, same line of thinking for Chestermere home inspectors. A licensed plumber would probably take at least an hour to go through a house at a cost of well over $100. Multiply that figure by the 12 systems contained in the SOP and you can soon see why a 4 hour, $500 home inspection is really a great deal and only one person to schedule!
