ASHI Members Promote Professionalism

by Sandy Bourseau September 1, 2005

ASHI Members often are called on to help educate the public about safety, home maintenance, the value of home inspections and related issues. They also educate the real estate community, as they promote the profession and ASHI. When home inspectors are quoted in articles or serve as experts on radio and television broadcasts, they have high credibility with the audience and increase consumers’ familiarity with the service they offer. Here are highlights of what ASHI Members have been doing lately.

ASHI Member Bob Sisson, Inspections by Bob, Boyds, Md., informed readers that “wiring hazards often lurk under the kitchen sink,” “homeowners set their water heater’s thermostat at too high a temperature,” and that “problems can be found with stoves that aren’t properly secured,” in the “Hazards in the Home” article published on The Washington Times Web site August 3, 2005.

ASHI Vice president Frank Lesh, Home Sweet Home Inspection, Indian Head Park, Ill., was taped inspecting a home for a documentary by Mike Parret with the Institute of Maintenance and Building Management in the UK. Scheduled to launch in October as a six-DVD set, the documentary—described as a “journey through a building but on a global scale”—has been filmed throughout the UK, Hong Kong and Venice, Italy.

ASHI President Don Norman, HouseMaster Home Inspection Service, Bridgeton, Mo., appeared on KTVI-TV (Fox 2, St. Louis, Mo.) on August 2, 2005 and was interviewed by Scott Mosby of the Home Improvement Show on KMOX-AM 1120 (St. Louis, Mo.) July 16, 2005

Immediate Past President Stephen Gladstone, Stonehollow, Inc. Stamford, Conn., was featured in “Be a House Detective,” a three-page article published in the Summer 2005 issue of MetLife Your Life. A sidebar, Time for a Checkup, closed with the following directive: “To find a qualified inspector, visit the Web site for the American Society of Home Inspectors at ashi.org.”

Gladstone and Past President Mike Casey, ITA, Manassa, Va., were both featured on Bankrate.com, where ASHI was identified as the largest home inspection group.

ASHI Member Greg Guyler, AmeriSpec Home Inspections, Windsor Heights, Iowa, was featured on WHOTV.com as the expert for a special report explaining the difference between a qualified home inspector and a certified one.

Roger Hankey, Hankey & Brown Inspection Services, Eden Prairie, Minn., may hold the record for longest appearing article on a Web site. Late in 2003, he spoke with the president of the local Board of Realtors®, who was speaking at a Heartland
Chapter meeting. When Hankey explained there were things that inspectors needed from agents, he was invited to write an article. He did, and part of it was published in the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtor’s® newsletter with a link to the full article on the association’s Web site.

“I’d forgotten about it until a month or so ago,” Hankey said. “When I checked,   
I found it still nicely placed on the site.
The article opens with the statement, “Home inspectors depend on real estate agents to help them provide proper service to their homebuyer clients. Improved cooperation between agents and inspectors will contribute to greater customer satisfaction for the clients of both professions. The home inspector needs information and real estate agents are often the sources for most of the information about the house, the buyer, and the homeowner.”

After outlining what home inspectors need, Hankey concluded the article with the statement, “For more information on the ASHI Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, membership requirements, FAQ on inspections, or to find qualified inspectors, go to www.ashi.org.”

To read the entire article, visit www.mplsrealtor.com/segments/Realtors/homeinspectors.pdf

Members are invited to share their experiences promoting ASHI and the profession.


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