Consumers Benefit From Major Home Inspection Legislation

When President Obama signs the major financial reform bill, consumers and home inspectors will benefit from the section on HUD home inspection counseling that will add home inspection to the HUD housing counseling program, in a big way.

HUD will be enlisted to do the following:

• Actively advise homebuyers across the country to obtain home inspections as a key element of buying a house

• Tell buyers that obtaining a home inspection is a decision they need to make, and should make

• Tell buyers what professional characteristics to look for in a home inspector, and where and how to find one

• Ensure that homebuyers reached by the HUD counseling programs consider obtaining a home inspection as early as possible in the process  — when home inspections have the greatest utility to homebuyers.

• Develop new documents and training materials both for training HUD counselors and for distribution to the buyers they counsel

• Make all of these messages available to all homebuyers regardless of whether they finance using government-backed programs or private sector lending.

• This national de facto marketing effort will occur at no cost to ASHI members, and will be conducted under the authority, funding and staffing resources of HUD.

For an in depth review of the home inspection-related section from Randal G. Pence, Esq. ASHI’s advocate in Washington D.C., click here.