A Greeting from the New ASHI President

January 15, 2024

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. I am honored that the members have put their trust in me to lead ASHI in 2024. We are blessed with many dedicated volunteers who care deeply about our ASHI members and the profession.

As a professional society or association, we tend to think primarily of members, individual inspectors, single-operator firms, and multi-inspector firms. Still, there are so many more individuals and groups who are essential parts of our community. We have volunteer members work double as committee members and chapter leaders. Their contributions should also be recognized. Just as you may thank members of the military, I ask you to thank ASHI volunteers at all levels, past and present, as committee members, chapter leaders, and national leaders. They are the source of our rich tradition and history.

We have strategic partnerships with those who support our profession and our Standard of Practice. We work with other professional associations like ICC (International Code Council) and CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America). It is my goal in 2024 to continue strengthening these relationships—increasing the value to our members through these and other collaborations.

I am very excited and look forward to collaborating with you to leverage new opportunities to increase membership value and growth for the home inspection profession.

A Little More About Mark

I’ve been in the profession since 2014. Early on, I was mentored and got involved at the chapter level, first starting on committees and then serving on the chapter board and as chapter president. I served on CoR as a member and group leader, on committees and task forces, and was elected to the board as a director in 2020. I’ve presented education and led leadership development conferences. I have followed a rich history of volunteers, especially the St. Louis Chapter’s former presidents Gerald Loesch (1994-1995), Richard Heyl (1990), Don Norman (2005), and John Wessling (2022). The past 10 years at the chapter and national level have been rewarding and increased my enthusiasm for the value of ASHI and as a steward of our profession.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve under ASHI’s first woman president, outgoing President Lisa Alajajian Giroux. She is dedicated, energetic, and thoughtful. She is passionate about ASHI affairs and our members, and she has led the society stellarly. I would also like to recognize my mentors, including Mike Wagner, John Wessling, Hollis Brown, Frank Copanus, Harry Morrell, and Wayne Brewer who gave me my start in the profession. ASHI has been fortunate to have volunteers like these who have contributed in many ways and at many levels.

Industry Outlook

The housing industry is in turmoil with high interest rates, economic challenges, and housing inventory shortages, which has led to reduced property sales and a higher percentage of buyers forgoing inspection contingencies. Then there are the class action lawsuits against NAR and major brokerages challenging the “Clear Cooperation Clause” of
Real Estate contracts under federal antitrust law.

There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of the real estate industry, which directly impacts the home inspection profession. We should view this as an opportunity and have the foresight to innovate, revitalize, and seize opportunities. I encourage you to stay positive, consider this a marketing opportunity, and be visible. After all, if you are not visible, you are invisible.

In a changing world, the ASHI board has a vital role as stewards of the profession. The board must ensure ASHI implements effective risk-reduction measures, seizes new business opportunities, offers more value and discount programs, develops MOUs to collaborate with others, and develops new revenue streams for our members.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve under ASHI’s first woman president, outgoing President Lisa Alajajian Giroux.”

Member Discounts

In 2023, we have increased member value in many ways. For example, there are now member discounts with ICC and CSIA. We recently announced an opportunity to obtain health insurance and other forms of insurance typically found as corporate benefit programs exclusively for members of ASHI. We have added practical cost-saving measures for our members, like the AAA auto club membership discount.

InspectionWorld

Based on member feedback, the board decided to take InspectionWorld on the Road in 2024. With the downturn in the housing market and uncertain economic times, the goal is to bring IW closer to home, closer to you, and at a more affordable price.
We had close to 20 chapters apply to participate. It was a hard decision and does not reflect poorly on any chapters, but we were limited to a few. The chapters chosen to partner with ASHI on InspectionWorld on the Road events are the Ohio Chapter, New England ASHI, Silicon Valley ASHI, and St. Louis ASHI. These chapters are also willing to partner with others on their events. If you are a chapter leader, please reach out if you would like to participate in the IW excitement in 2024.
InspectionWorld is not going away, as we have grown to know and love it. Look for more information in February on InspectionWorld 2025 and an exciting celebratory InspectionWorld in 2026 celebrating our 50th anniversary.

Chapters

Chapters and our members are the lifeblood of ASHI. You’ll see better communication and support for chapters this year in many ways, starting with InspectonWorld on the Road and the return of the Leadership Development Conference (LDC). Look
for more information soon.

As I see it, we do have some challenges, and strategy development is critical to our future. Everything we do must be strategic and look to the future, positioning ASHI and our members to get to the buyer first so whatever the changing real estate industry brings, we can protect you, the home inspector—supporting professional development and providing better business outcomes to home inspection professionals.

We have so many great opportunities. I want to engage you to work collaboratively with us and across the industry to grow the American Society of Home Inspectors, member value, consumer awareness, and the value of the home inspection.


To Read the Full Article

ASHI offers its members unparalleled resources to advance their careers. ASHI offers training for inspectors at all levels of knowledge and experience, including resources about all major home systems. Members benefit from a vast network of experienced professionals, providing a community for mentorship and knowledge sharing..

Learn More About Membership »

In this Issue


Are Home Inspectors in Demand?

Climbing home prices means less home inspections.

Postcards from the Field

To submit a postcard from the field send your photo, caption, name, city and state to: postcards@ashi.org

Right is right, and right always prevails.

Forrest Lines was a giant man with an even larger heart. He will be dearly missed.

New Year, New Opportunities

Five things to do to start the New Year off right

Bringing the Experts to You

Updates on InspectionWorld 2024

New Construction Snafus

Before I became an indoor air quality (IAQ) professional, I was a contractor and a home inspector. During my home inspections and IAQ investigations of newly constructed homes, I found many problems that worried me, no matter what professional “hat” I wore. Here are some real-life experiences:

Inspecting New Homes

Many of the issues or defects found in existing homes were there from day one. Your knowledge and experience of inspecting occupied homes will give you a sense of what you’ll find in new homes, aside from age-related issues or the wear and tear of an older home having been lived in.

Professional Networking

Grow your professional network, find a mentor, network with the best, and best part of the community that’s making home inspection better every day.