Questions & Answers with Ron Passaro, Founder & First President of ASHI

Interviewed by Christiana Brenner

Q: Would you briefly explain what the home inspection industry was like 30 years ago? What did you hope a professional organization would do for the profession when you began discussing forming ASHI in February 1976?  

Ron-Passaro.gifA: The state of the art of the home inspection profession 30 years ago was one of non-existence. The word home inspection was not part of the real estate vocabulary. The law of the land was Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware), and the home inspectors that did exist were a small handful of unorganized, sole practitioners scattered throughout the country.

At one time in my career, I thought I was the only home inspector in the world. I had never met or talked to another home inspector. The industry was completely void of interaction or communication, and there were gray areas; there were no set qualifications that even defined what a home inspector was. Was a home inspector an architect, engineer, tradesperson or something else?

We needed an organization to help home inspectors break out of the vacuum they’d become so accustomed to operating in, and begin exchanging knowledge. There was also a serious need for standards for home inspectors to follow and ethics that would protect the public that used their services.

Q: In little more than a year, standards and ethics were in place and the first local chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) had been created. In less than two years ASHI held its first convention. Why do you think ASHI took shape so quickly? Did you expect then that ASHI would become the most respected professional society of home inspectors in the nation?

A: ASHI became increasingly popular because home inspectors across the country felt a need to unite. The original group of home inspectors at our first meeting, although small, was committed. They and the rest of the home inspectors that came into the fold after that were dedicated to establishing home inspections as a profession.

I knew ASHI would become a force to be reckoned with — I’d never met a group of people that were so dedicated to a profession and willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. Everyone did what they said they would do, and there was never a shortage of volunteers.

Others took notice and wanted to participate.

Q: In the past you’ve talked of the camaraderie among Members and Candidates. You’ve repeatedly said “ASHI is more than just about business …” Has that changed as the Society has grown? With nearly 6,000 Members, do you feel there are still lifelong friendships being made?

A: The solidarity among ASHI Members is unwavering. I have made friendships all over North America and just about everywhere I travel; I have friends that will invite me into their home and to their dinner table because of ASHI. There’s a connection, an understanding and a mutual respect among the Members.

Q: ASHI is now celebrating three decades of success, including a rapidly growing membership. An unmatched influence on the industry, ASHI set the standard for home inspectors across the country and advocated for the licensing of home inspectors. What would you say has been ASHI’s greatest accomplishment?

A: One of ASHI’s greatest accomplishments has been protecting and helping homebuying consumers in making one of the largest financial decisions of their lives. There is nothing more endearing than homeownership and home inspectors have become a big part of that. secondary accomplishment has been in improving the housing stock in America and Canada.

Prior to the advent of home inspection, once a home’s construction was approved by the local authority (and in some locations even this was not required), the house was never again looked at by a professional. During the dawn of my home inspection career, I would see horrendous and dangerous conditions caused by ignorance and/or indifference. Some of these conditions were life threatening. I am more than sure, because of ASHI, and our members’ diligence, lives have been saved in the home environment.

Q: And what about the next 30 years?  What would you like to see ASHI accomplish in the future?  

A: What I see for ASHI over the next 30 years is more recognition of its expertise of the home environment. More governmental agencies will come to recognize ASHI as the premier organization of home inspectors in the world. Because of our experiences of seeing how homes age and how they are effected by their environment, we will be asked for our input by every other organization that deals with the housing stock in America. I even see material suppliers and building code officials looking towards ASHI for that same type of input. No other profession is in a position to supply that type of data.

ASHI should never, never, never, yield to the pressures of lowering its standards to accomplish the goals of others who do not hold the professional beliefs that are a part of the ASHI family. I am proud to be recognized as father of this family and cannot begin to tell you how proud I feel when I walk among home inspectors at the conferences. I am still taken aback when people ask to have their picture taken with me. I am one of you and many other things as well, but I am most proud of being an ASHI home inspector.


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