American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)

Overview:

Profession(s): Professional Home Inspecting
Scope: National - United States
Formed: 1976
Members: 5,400
Registration No.: 501(c)(6) not-for-profit membership organization (IRS)
Address: 932 Lee Street Suite 101, Des Plaines, IL, 60016, USA
Phone: 847-759-2820
Fax: 847-759-1620
Email: hq@ashi.org
Website: www.ashi.org

Description:

The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) was founded in 1976 and is the oldest, largest and most respected of societies for professional home inspectors.

Mission/Aims:

ASHI will meet the needs of its membership and the consumer by promoting excellence and exemplary practice within the home inspection profession.

Principal Activities:

ASHI serves the home inspection profession:

ASHI's Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics and required membership examinations are nationally recognized as the standard for home inspection.
ASHI’s public relations program provides more than 200 million potential readers with information about ASHI’s membership and the home inspection profession.
ASHI raises awareness of the home inspection profession with informative articles in major publications and through conferences, presentations and meetings with a variety of audiences and organizations.
ASHI continually advocates on behalf of the inspection profession on the Federal level through our hired lobbyist and the recently established InspectPAC.
Above all, ASHI exists to promote and develop excellence in the field of home inspection. This effort creates a skilled inspection force that will better serve the consumer.

Member Benefits:

In the past year, more than 140,000 consumers found their home inspectors with ASHI's "Find an Inspector" tool.

Benefits in the Professional Community:

Exclusive use of ASHI's online discussion boards to obtain and share information and experiences with other inspectors from around the country.
Access to ASHI’s vast library of technical and business resources, including training and service providers.
Exposure from our links to real estate, home improvement and other sites that consumers use and recommend.
Membership-only phone and e-mail access to ASHI National offices.
Information-on-Demand, our 24x7 toll-free fax line for immediate access to documents, brochures, order forms and more.

ASHI members qualify for:

Affordable health insurance programs through Marsh Affinity Group Services Discounted rates on Errors & Omissions Insurance (E&O) from ASHI's endorsed provider, Business Risk Partners.
Lowest available rates for credit card processing with ASHI's merchant program.
Low rates for auto and homeowner insurance programs with Prudential Insurance and affiliates.
Discounts for the largest annual conference and exposition in the profession -InspectionWorld.
Subscription to the ASHI Reporter, a monthly magazine with technical articles and ASHI news about the home inspection profession.
Education opportunities, technical support and information about local legislative issues through ASHI’s 80 local chapters.
Great deals on marketing publications, technical information and forms you’ ll need in your home inspection business.
Discounted subscription for the Journal of Light Construction magazine.

Training/Licensing/Certification:

ASHI currently offers three endorsed training and educational opportunities:

1. InspectionWorld - held every January in a different city each year, InspectionWorld is the industry's largest gathering of home inspection professionals with several days of education, networking and exhibit hall.
2. ASHI@School Program - ASHI has endorsed the Inspection Training Associates (ITA) as it's official provider of quality education and training for home inspection in a classroom setting.
3. ASHI@Home - for the inspector looking for educational opportunities from the comfort of their own homes, ASHI is pleased to offer ASHI@Home, a system of 10 modules that examine the important aspects of a particular home system.

Verification Criteria:

Before hiring a home inspector, the consumer should ask for the inspector's ASHI Membership Number, which may be verified by calling ASHI HQ or checking the inspector's membership on the ASHI Web site

In 29 states, there is regulation/legislation of home inspection. The consumer should ask the inspector to show proof of license or ask the inspector to verify that they meet state standards. The states with regulation/legislation (as of 2/1/05) are:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin

Additional Information:

In 2004, ASHI launched The ASHI Experience. The ASHI Experience is our membership's promise to the marketplace; a promise to deliver the most technically superior inspections that money can buy, delivered in a manner that is educational, service-oriented and focused on our customer’s having an experience that they will rave about.

Participation in the ASHI Experience begins with an ASHI Inspector's commitment to delivering home inspections for their customers that continually exceed their expectations. This commitment is matched by ASHI in providing each ASHI Inspector with training in enhanced service delivery, sales, marketing and public relations practices, and marketing materials that continually announce to the marketplace that ASHI Home Inspectors are the best in the business.