In this episode, the team talks about home inspection ethics. This was brought up because Bill got a call from somebody in the company who had a question about doing business with a real estate agent who was hoping that we would support their business with monthly financial contributions. And that raised the question, “Is that ethical?”

The show starts with Reuben saying that inspectors should avoid conflicts of interests or activities that compromise or appear to compromise professional independence, objectivity, or inspection integrity. He also shared his thoughts when somebody says, “we’d like to pay to play.” Then the team talks about the codes of ethics as an ASHI member and answers some questions:

Does getting referrals from an office or a real estate agent because of supporting them on a monthly basis compromise professional independence?

What can you say about inspectors building relationships with real estate agents by bringing some food, doughnuts, or providing lunch for them?

Is there an ethical question when we recommend to a client to do another test or service that also benefits our business, and we’re referring them to use us?

Is it ethical to self-refer your company’s services?

Who looks out for the customer when they’re unknowledgeable to the inner workings of a service that they are purchasing?