10/17/2025
I took this photo on an inspection yesterday, one day after the nation’s first home inspection law went into effect here in Mass. It’s a floor joist hanging by a thread and “supported” by the work of Mickey Mouse. This scene was repeated along a span more than enough to present an imminent risk of the first floor collapsing into the basement and I can’t help but think how this may have ended should my clients had felt the pressure to waive their inspection; should they have done what the majority of buyers had been doing for some time now. But just a few years ago, a relatively tiny group of home inspectors had enough and united together to do something about it. They gathered their limited resources, did their homework, promoted and funded an effort rejected by the real estate lobbying Goliath and, as is often the case in these matters, were blessed by remarkable timing. Few thought they’d win but some fights in life have to be waged no matter the odds or the opponent. On a larger scale, I’m reminded again to never, ever underestimate a group of folks with nothing left to lose. 🙏
