In Pennsylvania, you need a state license to be a barber, a cosmetologist or an auctioneer, but you do not need a license to be a home inspector.

If you're a home-buyer and you have a problem with an inspector, your only choice is to go to court.

The following report by Team 4 investigator Paul Van Osdol first aired May 18, 2004, on Channel 4 Action News at 6 p.m.

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John Suhrie is a structural engineer and a home inspector. Because he's an engineer, he says he finds problems that other inspectors miss.

Suhrie: "Once in a while, there's details there that they're not paying attention to that are important."

Kathleen Flavin bought her house in Bethel Park after an inspection by Structural Dimensions of Dormont gave it a clean bill of health.

Flavin: "This is the biggest purchase of your life and, excuse me, but I got screwed."

Only weeks after moving in, she found water leaking from a bathroom and rotten wood on the doorframes. She spent months arguing with the inspection company, then filed a lawsuit. She won a $5,700 judgment against Structural Dimensions.

Ken English: "We just had ice buildup all the way across."

English hired Structural Dimensions when he bought a house in South Fayette. The inspection report found no problems with his roof, but it started leaking shortly after he moved in. Follow-up inspections by two roofers -- including one hired by Structural Dimensions -- found the roof had been improperly installed, and that caused the leaks. English sued Structural Dimensions and won a $6,700 judgment.

English: "This outfit was able to give me a clear bill of health on a house that was not up to par."

Court records show 31 lawsuits against Structural Dimensions in the past decade -- seven of them resulting in judgments against the company. Eleven cases were settled. The rest are either pending or were dismissed. That's more lawsuits and judgments than any other home inspector in Allegheny County.

Structural Dimensions is also the only local home inspection firm with a negative rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Fred Goehringer, owner: "I can tell you, we legitimately miss stuff. There's no question about it."

Goehringer says he always offers to fix the problems he misses. He says he made that offer to Flavin and English. If the homeowner finds someone else to fix it, he refuses to pay. He says some homeowners have ulterior motives.

Goehringer: "This is their cousin or their mother's sister's boyfriend and they're not going to do any of these extra things. They just want the extra money. That's exactly what goes through my mind."

Flavin and English say that was not the case with them. They just wanted the repairs done right.

English: "I bought the house on the basis of the inspection report."

Pennsylvania law requires only that home inspectors be members of a national association, and Goehringer is. The problem is there's no enforcement of the law.

There are three national associations for home inspectors. One of them is headed by a former radon inspector from Pittsburgh. He says his group offers consumers plenty of protection.

Former Pittsburgher Nick Gromicko is executive director of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

Van Osdol: "It's more effective protection for consumers than an independent licensing board?"

Gromicko: "Oh, absolutely. It doesn't protect the consumer like NACHI does."

But Team 4 has learned Gromicko got in trouble for failing to protect consumers in western Pennsylvania.

In 1998, the state Department of Environmental Protection denied Gromicko and his company certification to do radon testing after inspections found they improperly installed radon detectors. The DEP found 50 violations in 30 homes and fined Gromicko $14,000.

Van Osdol: "What message does that send, if someone in your position has that type of record with that many violations in something that involves home inspections?"

Gromicko: "I'm not a home inspector."

Van Osdol: "But you used to be a home inspector, is that correct?"

Gromicko: "Yes."

There's more to the case against Gromicko.

Van Osdol: "You never paid the $14,000 fine, right?"

Gromicko: "That's right."

Van Osdol: "Why not?"

Gromicko: "I did not have to."

The DEP says that's not true. A spokesman says the fine is still "on the books uncollected" because the DEP has been unable to locate Gromicko.

Flavin needs a state license. She's a dental hygienist. She says licensing should certainly be a requirement for home inspectors.

Flavin: "As consumers, we're really at their mercy."

There is a proposal in Harrisburg to create a licensing board for home inspectors. For now, here are some tips on choosing an inspector:

1. Make sure the inspector will let you follow him as he checks the house.

2. Make sure the inspector has insurance.

3. Consumer Reports recommends hiring an engineer or architect.

4. Make sure your inspector belongs to a national association. That is the law in Pennsylvania. Links to these groups are available in the box on the above right of this page.