Hi teeland !
welcome to the forum, with a bang at that!
you've picked one of my favorite issues to crab about!
The average Joe & Jane homeowner has no conception of the possible definition(s) of
[INSPECTOR], and most do not ask for credentials.
My state does not require any certification to carry this title,and i see these sorts called in by realtors to validate sales quite often.
Since my state requires no licensed work for single family dwellings, there are usually a multitude of no-no's that are obvious to even non-tradesem. But these hired guns will usually walk right by the big no-no's and focus on some small item to validate their existence. That's were i get called in.
Adding to this, is the fact that my state requires no certification to wear the GC hat, so the building boom has created quite a few yahoo's with a (un)skilled saw. The end result being homes wired, plumbed ,and built to sub-standards without so much as inspector gadget stopping by.
Futhering the tangeled web, the banks are being sued, or mortgages are involved in litigation due to homeowners realizing they are living in substandard construction.
Licensed trades are being solicited to view substandard work and testify, or statement their findings, banks are sending their own hired inspectors ( god knows what) to view construction stages.
It's quite the circus here!
Due to my outspoken nature , i have recently been solicited to be interviewed via ph by a consumer advocates group's writer. Man, did i blow chunks at her!
, i do believe she'll be editing some of it....
The issue becomes political in that the powers that be cannot tout safety in any shape or form while having no unbiased and certified entity available to hold the trades to a standard.
There is also the 'dumming down' of the trades, evident without proper AHJ.
Moral of the story;
make noise, write your rep's....