NJ ALPHI

June Seminar Coming Up Fast.

Wayne Ratti — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:53:32 +0000

Seminar is June 4th. Go to:

http://njalphi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/june2013seminarapplication.pdf

NJ-Alphi June 4th Seminar

andrewjtalcott — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:52:38 +0000

Join us at L’Affaire on June 4th at 9am for our Summer Seminar.

Link to Seminar Application (pdf)

Topics will include:

Hidden Structural Damages Associated with Termites, Mold and EIFS

Presented by Dennis Schoenrock of Top Notch

and

Plumbing Issues

Presented by Rob Heyrich, Master Plumber

Please click on the link for an application.

COA Atlantic City Conference, April 22-24

Wayne Ratti — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:41:46 +0000

Go to:

http://www.inspectionconference.com/2013-Atlantic-City-Inspection-Training/

for all the info on this important East Coast home inspector’s conference. Alphi will be there, will you?

Offer From BPG

Wayne Ratti — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:39:00 +0000

I’m sure we’ve all gotten a recent email offering employment with full benefits. Due your due diligence before signing anything.

This is the company that bought out the bankrupt Landamerica, which had a similar offering.

Feel free to contact me for more info:

w.ratti@verizon.net

New furnace rules likely to be dropped in deal with industry

Wayne Ratti — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:45:26 +0000

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

BY JAMES M. O’NEILL

STAFF WRITER

THE RECORD

New energy efficiency rules for natural gas furnaces that could have cost homeowners thousands of dollars will be abandoned if a deal between the gas industry and the federal government receives court approval.

The new rules required that furnaces installed after May 1 be at least 90 percent efficient, compared with the current 78 percent efficiency criteria. But unlike older furnaces, which can be easily vented through a chimney, the new furnaces would have to be vented directly to an outside wall. That could have raised installation costs by hundreds or even thousands of dollars, home heating contractors have said.

The American Public Gas Association had filed suit against the U.S. Energy Department over the rules, saying the government did not provide adequate time for the public to comment. The gas industry group also said the rules would actually reduce efficiency, since homeowners might try to avoid the extra cost of the new furnaces by switching to electric heat, which is far less efficient.

The settlement between the gas industry and Energy Department vacating much of the rule was filed Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and announced Monday. The court has 30 days to approve the settlement.

“We think this is a victory for overall efficiency,” Dave Schryver, the gas association’s executive vice president, said Monday.

“Even though over their lifecycle the more efficient furnaces might pay for themselves, people don’t think in term of lifecycles — they look at what they have to pay now,” he said.

Milton Baum, general manager of Keil Heating and Cooling in Riverdale, said the agreement “works out great for everyone.” He did not see the loss in extra efficiency to be a big issue, saying that the ductwork in most homes is so poorly designed that added efficiency from the new furnaces would have been lost anyway.

But some North Jersey home heating experts were skeptical of the gas association’s contention that the rule would cause homeowners to switch to electric heat.

“That’s like saying that because the price of gas is up to $4 a gallon I’m going to switch to riding a horse,” said Richard Fertel, president and owner of Bornstein Sons, a home heating contractor that serves Bergen and Passaic. The cost of electric heat is so much higher than heating with a gas furnace that homeowners would never switch over, he said.

“The public wants more efficiency,” Fertel said. The gas association’s opposition, he said, “is the same sort of nonsense we heard from Detroit when they increased the mileage requirement for cars. … The mere fact that the gas association is fighting it means it’s a good idea.”

Energy Department analysis concluded that between 2013 and 2045 higher-efficiency furnaces, air conditioning systems and heat pumps would save one-fifth of the amount of total energy used annually by the U.S. residential sector. The drop in energy use would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

If the court approves the deal, the Energy Department would generate a new preliminary rule within a year and provide for a 90-day public comment period. A final rule would be issued within a second year.

Source: The Record, Hackensack, NJ

Princeton man faces 3 years for performing lead inspections without certification

Wayne Ratti — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:26:01 +0000

PRINCETON TOWNSHIP – A township man faces three years in prison after he pleaded guilty today to illegally performing lead inspections on residences in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Ira Eisenstein, who owned a home inspection business in Princeton Township, admitted in Federal Court in Newark the he performed the inspections knowing he did not have the proper certification from the state or federal government to do so legally, according to an announcement from the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Eisenstein, 63, was charged with three counts of violating the Toxic Substances Control Act, a law aimed at protecting unreasonable risks to human health and the environment by regulating harmful chemicals – including lead. The law says that the inspectors have to go through a lead inspector certification program, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but conducted on the state level.

Eisenstein admitted to performing lead inspections on residential properties without obtaining the certification three times between March 2007 and Sept. 2009.

Eisenstein faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of $300,000 when he is sentenced. His sentencing is scheduled for April 9.

NJ Court Holds the Discovery Rule Applies to Claims Against Home Inspectors

Wayne Ratti — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:51:16 +0000

In Lorman, et al. v. Weiss, et. al, Docket No. ESX-L-2980-12, an Essex County Superior Court Judge recently held that the “discovery rule” applies to claims against home inspectors in NJ. Plaintiffs had the home inspector perform a routine inspection on June 9, 2006. Plaintiffs closed on the subject property on July 11, 2006. Thereafter, Plaintiffs alleged that the inspector missed multiple material defects involving water penetration into the home. Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the home inspector and others involved with the sale on April 23, 2012, nearly six (6) years after the home inspection. The defense for the home inspector filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that it was filed outside of the four (4) year statute of limitations for home inspection claims provided by the Home Inspection Professional Licensing Act (HIPLA), N.J.S.A. 45:8-61, et. seq. The court held that the “discovery rule” applied, thereby alleviating the Plaintiffs from filing suit until four (4) years after they “discovered” the material defects that form the basis of their lawsuit.

The “discovery rule” is a judicially created mechanism for applying equity to the application of statutes of limitation by giving the injured party sufficient time to determine they suffered an actionable wrong. The “discovery rule” tolls the application of the statute of limitations “until the injured party discovers, or by exercise of reasonable diligence and intelligence should have discovered, that he may have a basis for an actionable claim.” Lopez v. Sawyer, 62 N.J. 267, 272 (1973). The court further suggested that if the Legislature had not intended the “discovery rule” to apply to home inspection claims it would have written the HIPLA so as to specifically preclude any claims brought after four (4) years from the date of the home inspection.

Despite this determination on the application of the “discovery rule” to the statute of limitations under HIPLA, the Lorman Court did agree with a prior decision obtained by me (Joe D.) that held that a licensed home inspector is not subject to the NJ Consumer Fraud Act in performing the services of a home inspection, absent any proof of actual fraud. Further, the Lorman Court held that the only viable actions against home inspectors are in the form of breach of contract suits rather than professional negligence. This, along with the CFA violation ruling, does offer a ray of hope that these consumer fraud claims against home inspectors will soon be gone, but the illogical extension of the statute of limitations under HIPLA creates a very bad situation, as no inspector can truly know that a home inspection done five, six or even seven years before today will be the subject of a lawsuit in the future. This ambiguity drives insurance rates up, makes it difficult to defend the claims due to the effect of the passage of time on a structure, and creates havoc for the rational and reasonable litigation of meritorious claims.

Join NJ-Alphi Group at Linkedin

Wayne Ratti — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:06:27 +0000

ALPHI’s General Counsel, Joe Denneler, created a group on Linked In exclusively for NJ ALPHI members. You will be admitted to the group upon verification of your ALPHI membership. Anyone who is a member to the group can post to the group on networking, inspection issues, legal issues, products and tools, and anything related to NJ ALPHI or the home inspection profession. If you are already using Linked In, just search in Groups for NJ-ALPHI and request admission. If you don’t have a Linked In account, go to www.linkedin.com, follow the instructions to set up your account (it’s free), and search in Groups for NJ-ALPHI and request admission to the group.

New Federal Regulations re: Furnace Installation

Wayne Ratti — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:26:59 +0000

Check this link for info re: Replacing Furnaces, Efficiency and Venting

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/New_federal_law_may_make_replacing_your_furnace_much_costlier.html?page=all

Partial Inspections Related to Hurricane Sandy and the Relationship to HIAC Regulations

Wayne Ratti — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:55:15 +0000

Dear Members of NJ-ALPHI:

The Board was recently made aware of members being approached to conduct limited inspections of properties impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Specifically, members want to know if these inspections constitute “home inspections” under the HIAC regulations. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.2, a “home inspection” is:

a visual, functional, non-invasive inspection conducted for a fee or any other consideration and performed without moving personal property, furniture, equipment, plants, soil, snow, ice, or debris, using the mandatory equipment and including the preparation of a home inspection report of the readily-accessible elements of the following components of a residential building: structural components, exterior components, roofing system, plumbing system, electrical system, heating system, cooling system, interior components, insulation components and ventilation system, fireplaces and solid fuel burning appliances, or any other related residential housing component as determined by the Board, in consultation with the Committee, by rule, but excluding recreational facilities and outbuildings other than garages or carports.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.16(a), home inspectors, “shall comply with the standards of practice contained in this section when conducting a home inspection.” N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.16(a). “The scope of home inspection services performed in compliance with the requirements set forth in this section shall provide the client with objective information regarding the condition of the systems and components of the home as determined at the time of the home inspection.” N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.16(a) (emphasis added).

The “home inspector” is a licensed professional who performs his inspections of the condition of the residential buildings on behalf of a client for which the client is charged a fee. See N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.2 (emphasis added). The client is defined as “any current or prospective homeowner who engages, or seeks to engage, the services of a home inspector for the purpose of obtaining an inspection of and written report regarding the condition of a residential building.” N.J.A.C. 13:40-15.2.

Given the above definitions it appears that even partial, storm-necessitated inspections fit within the definition of a home inspection. Accordingly, the Members should comply with all of the HIAC regulations when performing partial inspections, and be cognizant that even partial inspections can produce claims.