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If you have been following our blog for any time now you know that we have been railing against the practice that is roiling the inspection industry where unethical inspection companies are using Engineers or Architects to robo sign reports that they have written after they have done the inspection. Sb326 clearly requires a licensed architect or engineer to perform the inspection however some companies are trying to deliberately circumvent that requirement and are using contracted labor to do the inspection instead of an architect or engineer.
We made up this form that you should ask your inspection company to fill out and certify/attest that their inspections follow the letter of the law and that a architect or engineer shall be performing the inspection.
The SB326 inspection certification form will give your HOA some legal protection (inquire with your attorney as to what limits there might be) from liability if a company tries to slip one by you. An example is a report that we saw from empire works where the report was clearly written by empire works and there was a letter attached to the report by the architect saying that empire works perform the inspection and that that architect concurred with their findings. Our discussions with attorneys has determined that the report does not meet the requirements of 326.
Download it here for free! The first doc is in word form. For the PDF version click the second that says Inspection Certificate PDF
Fiduciary duty is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as a “duty obligating a fiduciary as an agent or trustee to act with loyalty and honesty in a manner consistent with the best interest of the beneficiary of the fiduciary relationship as a principal or trust beneficiary.”
CAI’ magazine “Common Ground” has a very good article in their March April issue on fiduciary duty. Quoting from the article Bob Diamond, senior council at Reed Smith in McLean Virginia says”the essence of fiduciary duty is to act in the best interests of those who you serve. A director must put aside personal considerations when making decisions on behalf of the owners.”
When it comes to SB326 and fiduciary duty the duty of the board is to carry out the inspections as required by law regardless of cost or a lack of money in the associations accounts to pay for it. A lack of knowledge or understanding about SB326 will not be a legal defense or at least won’t be a strong defense to not carrying out an inspection of the common area Exterior Elevated Elements.
A director for a homeowners association must act within the scope of their given authority, acting good faith use ordinary care Act in the best interest of the association and act reasonably when making business decisions.
The reason SB326 exists is because of the tragic collapse of a balcony in Berkeley that resulted in the deaths of seven people and leaving six with lifelong injuries. Warning signs were evident and the property management company failed to investigate the reported deck problem thoroughly. That is one of the reasons that a multi-million dollar settlement was made before the case went to trial.
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants can help Boards meet their fiduciary duties with our thorough and comprehensive inspections of your decks, stairs and walkways. By hiring an experienced waterproofing inspector like Bill Leys, who guarantees that a structural or civil engineer will be performing the structural inspection, helps protect the Association from financial liability. Our inspection team has 20+ years of experience in structural and waterproofing experience.
By hiring an experienced firm with the required credentials, your association will be secure in the knowledge that your EEEs are safe for residents, guests and service personnel to use. We’ve seen competitors of advertising that they are “the cheapest inspection company”. From our perspective, that isn’t comforting at all, especially when you find out that the cheapest company is hiring “handymen” as contract labor to perform the inspection.
Reach out today for a quote on your SB 326 inspection needs. We give you a fast free quote that exceeds the requirements of SB326 by inspecting 100% of the EEEs, utilizing moisture meters, thermal imaging cameras and as needed, borescope cameras.
Don’t leave your Association legally exposed to lawsuits by ignoring your fiduciary duties. Call Bill Leys directly at 805-801-2380 to start your inspection. William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC has been setting the bar in performing SB326 inspections since 2022.
Is humor the best way to market our SB326 inspection services? Viral memes seem to resonate with people these days so it’s worth a shot.
If you need a SB326 inspection you need to vet your inspector thoroughly. Are they independent and free of conflicts of interest? Any inspection company that owns a waterproofing or contracting company is not free of conflicts of interest.
We’ve seen multiple clients coming to us with SB326 reports in hand that were written by contractors, signed off on by an engineer who didn’t actually inspect the EEEs and the report is written to favor the contractor who now uses that report to extort HOAs reserve funds.
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee in writing that we have no conflicts of interest. We don’t own a waterproofing or contracting company, we hire a structural engineer who writes the report and we write a supplemental waterproofing report that is appended to the engineers report.
Call today, time is running out for getting your inspection done before the deadline. 805-801-2380 ask for Bill.
Watch this video where Bill Leys discusses some if the problems SB326 has and how Associations can protect themselves from the loopholes in the bill.
One of the first things to do when qualifying your balcony inspector is to ask if they own or are employed by any contractor, Waterproofing or general contractor… And if they answer yes… Well Bill has some advice for you and you’ll just have to watch to see what to do.
Yes it’s true, we have a YouTube channel that we will be bringing educational content too.
Our first video discusses who can inspect EEEs under SB326, what warning signs to watch for when considering inspectors and why William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC is a great choice for your inspections.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel and comments are always welcome!
My email to CAI-CLAC asking them to modify SB 326 to ban inspectors from bidding on repairs.
If you’ve experienced high pressure tactics, feel taken advantage of, that unnecessary work was done it you are being told needs to be done, let CLAC know by emailing them at lsrc@caiclac.com
Please see below
Good afternoon,
Here’s some documents from EMPIREWORKS, a vendor member of CAI who isliterally using SB 326 to steal from HOAs. They are considered among the the worst of the worst by my fellow inspectors and I who do not bid on repairs.
We’re being asked for second opinions by HOAs who are being told all their decks need to be replaced ( they don’t) at hugely inflated costs. These companies use pressure tactics, to threatening to report the HOA and that there’s huge penalties if they don’t comply.
Please call some of the inspection companies listed at Davis Stirling. These companies will tell you the same thing I’m telling you.
Please read some of the contracts; are they a company that you as counsel to an HOA client would advise the contract is ok to sign? Seeing these egregious clauses , which I’ve been told are unethical at best and illegal and unenforceable at worst, would you even advise a client to continue negotiating with or would you advise them to run?
This is what’s out here and what we’re dealing with on a near daily basis.
I’m sick to death of the people who will literally walk through the blood on that sidewalk in Berkeley to steal a dollar. The anniversary of Berkeley is coming up in June, and those victims must be remembered and their deaths not be in vain. That is why I am so vocal. Appreciate you listening.
Thank you,
Bill Leys President
William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC
Follow me on Twitter BlueSky Threads Insta and Tik Tok, search @deckinspector
Call or text me anytime at 805-801-2380 for fastest service.
Celebrate this!
All the contractors preying on HOAs by pretending to be Deck Inspectors have voluntarily agreed to stop offering repairs to HOAs they inspected.
They also agreed to stop using out of state architects and civil engineers to robo sign their reports that they wrote that benefit themselves.
Further more, they voluntarily agreed to have transparency, ethics and honesty in their dealings with their clients.
This of course is an April Fools day joke, unethical contractors who prey on HOAs and take advantage of them by exploiting the loophole CAI-CLAC left in SB326 will continue to F over clients every chance they get!
Sign the petition demanding CLAC to insert language in the bill to ban inspectors from bidding on repairs to HOAs they inspect!
CAI-Orange County CAI BAYCEN CAI GRIE CAI-Greater Los Angeles Chapter CAI BayCen
At William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC we guarantee in writing that we have no conflicts of interest!
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected by a large HOA in Santa Ana to perform their balcony inspections under SB326 requirements.
With over 100 EEEs to inspect the visual instruction will take apx 3 days of time to do, with 50+ 2nd & 3rd floor decks, numerous walkways and stair cases, the association knew it needed to select an independent unbiased inspector with the qualifications they required- no contractors allowed to bid, years of experience and a guaranteed structural engineer who actually is on site doing the structural inspections.
We are transparent and open to being questioned about our means and methods, our experience performing inspections and our ethics. We don’t bid on repairs that an HOA needs, we assist HOAs in getting specifications written and three bids from independent contractors who don’t do balcony inspections.
Contact us today for your free EEE evaluation and proposal for balcony inspections. Call 805-801-2380 ask for Bill.
A high wind event that hit Grover Beach in San Luis Obispo county on Wednesday shows us why inspections of decks are so important.
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The apartment building on Grand Ave has a walkway on the second floor, and at some point someone added large panes of acrylic sheets or glass in wood frames to help block the near constant wind that comes through.
The high winds exposed the significant dry-rot that was present in the framing and posts, along with exposing the weak connections. Unfortunately due to the structural damage several residents are not able to access their homes and are living in a motel temporarily.
Landlords and HOAs can avoid the liability and potential injuries to residents and guests by having their EEEs inspected by the experts at William Leys Waterproofing Consultants LLC.
We can do your SB721 and SB326 balcony inspections for you and get you into compliance. Do not expose yourself to unnecessary liability by failing to get inspected.
Reach out today for a free EEE evaluation and proposal.
SB 326 Deck Inspection Specialists * Building Waterproofing Consultants * Construction Defect Investigations By Bill Leys The Deck Expert 