Where We Are
With the successful completion of the CFSIC-sponsored home inspector/engineer certification course conducted on June 25, CFSIC now has 47 more sources for foundation evaluation available to homeowners.
What this means is that the wait time for evaluation should be either now greatly reduced or non-existent, not only with respect to applying to CFSIC, but also with regard to the requirement that after February 1, 2019 real estate transactions be supported by either a core test or a visual examination as part of the buyer/seller transaction.
We have no immediate plans to conduct any further training courses, although we may, in 2021, require a continuing education module to be in place for those already certified.
For a complete list of CFSIC-certified home inspectors and engineers, click here.
To view CFSIC’s ethical and business guidelines, click here.
As a reminder, the CFSIC certification program is not connected in any way with the foundation evaluation reimbursement program managed by CRCOG and funded by the CT Department of Housing. Homeowners using CFSIC-certified home inspectors will not be eligible to have the cost of visual examination reimbursed through CRCOG.
What follows are some “Q&A” covering the CFSIC certification program.
Question: What does it mean to be “certified” by CFSIC?
Answer: Before this, in order to file a Type 1 claim with CFSIC, the only option open to homeowners was to have a foundation evaluation performed by a CT-licensed professional engineer, resulting in a written report. Effective June 12, 2019, a visual examination and written report rendered by a CFSIC-certified home inspector will be accepted by CFSIC as part of the application process, provided that the home inspector (or engineer) in question assigns a CFSIC severity class code to the foundation.
Question: Does this make CFSIC responsible for the home inspector’s or engineer’s written evaluation?
Answer: It does not. CFSIC assumes no responsibility for any report rendered by a home inspector or engineer, whether CFSIC-certified or not. The licensed professional rendering the evaluation is totally responsible, in every respect, for the work product provided under that person’s license. CFSIC’s education and certificate program is aimed at making the claim process easier and more fluid. It is not aimed at anything but that goal.
Question: What were the requirements CFSIC imposed on enrollment in the course?
Answer: The course was open to CT-licensed engineers (who wish to become certified by CFSIC) and to CT-licensed home inspectors with a minimum of three years of professional experience.
Question: Where do I find the list of CFSIC-certificated foundation professionals and how do I contact them?
Answer: You can find the list of CFSIC-certificated foundation professionals here.
Question: Are there rules in place for the conduct of certified home inspectors and engineers?
Answer: There are, and you can find the rules here.
Question: Are evaluations done by home inspectors reimbursable under the CRCOG program?
Answer: No.
Question: If CRCOG is not going to reimburse part of the evaluation done by a home inspector, why would I even do it?
Answer: Good question…you might not. We’re giving homeowners 25 more certified professionals they can turn to, which means faster delivery of evaluation services. The choice is yours: a long line involving CRCOG reimbursement…or a shorter one (with home inspectors).
Question: Is there a fixed price for home foundation evaluations done by a CFSIC-certified professional?
Answer: No. It is a free and open market.
Question: There has been a lot of talk about what constitutes a severity class code 1. Has the severity code changed?
Answer: No. Go here to see the description of all three Type 1 severity class codes. The course work went into great detail about these standards, and included numerous examples. Examination questions dealt with the differences.
Question: Are home inspectors required to severity code a foundation they evaluate…even if it is a severity class 1?
Answer: If they are certified by CFSIC, the answer is “yes.” Any CFSIC-certified professional refusing to provide a severity class code, including class code 1, at the fixed point in time of evaluation, will be terminated from the program immediately.
Question: But if I’m assigned a severity class 1, and a year from now I get another evaluation indicating I’m a severity class 2, what happens?
Answer: First, it depends on whether or not you have filed a claim with CFSIC. If you filed a claim with CFSIC as a severity class code 1, and a subsequent evaluation done by a professional engineer or CFSIC-certified home inspector indicates that the status of your foundation has deteriorated, you can notify ESIS of the change, submit the subsequent evaluation, and have the status of your claim change. Remember that no core sample is ever needed for a severity class code 2 or 3. Also remember… you can file a claim as a severity class code 1, but you will remain inactive with CFSIC until you also file a positive core sample test result.
Question: So what is the value of getting a CFSIC severity class code 1 to begin with?
Answer: First, it is a fixed point in time evaluation of your foundation. We emphasize the term “fixed point in time.” Secondly, to the extent you make a claim with CFSIC at any point, it places you in line for possible assistance at some point in the future when the severity coded 3 and 2 foundations have been addressed (with the understanding that if you remain a severity class code 1, the only way that your claim can become active is through the second step of submitting a positive core test result… as CFSIC is not in the business of replacing foundations with no impairment on the basis of a severity class code 1 evaluation where no pyrrhotite in any amount is known to exist).
Question: So why hasn’t CFSIC established standards for the amount of pyrrhotite in the aggregate that must exist in order to qualify for coverage?
Answer: Because no standards exist. There are no existing definitive standards stating exactly what percentage of pyrrhotite in the course aggregate automatically, definitively, and 100% of the time causes a crumbling foundation to happen. We could have established an artificial standard at the inception of the CFSIC program. If we had done so, two things would have happened: the first is that we would have been delayed by months (possibly years) with the start of the program; the second is that we would have automatically eliminated a minimum of 50% of persons currently getting assistance from the program. The good news is that CFSIC would have survived longer, because we would have paid fewer claims. The bad news is that CFSIC would have become another program focused on the crumbling foundations crisis, which would have promised much and delivered little. It is for this reason that no core sample is required at all for a foundation evaluated as a severity class code 3 or 2; and for a severity class 1 active claim to exist, pyrrhotite must exist in the aggregate in any amount…even in the most minute trace. CFSIC is more focused on inclusion than on exclusion.
Contractor Change
As of June 19 at 5:00 PM, proposals prepared by the contractor Mr. Dean Soucy for Type 1 (foundation replacement) services will not be accepted for payment by the CFSIC program. This includes any Type 1 proposal made on or after June 19, 2019, and also includes any Type 1 proposal made prior to June 19. Mr. Soucy will continue to be able to provide Type 2 (partial or full foundation reimbursement) services to eligible claimants under the CFSIC program, subject at all times to the maximum number of full Type 2 reimbursements mandated by CFSIC’s board, as well as assistance to “Legacy Claimants” for whom work was done in the past. This change with respect to Mr. Soucy affects CFSIC only. CFSIC does not maintain, neither does it have responsibility for, the contractor vendor list maintained by CRCOG.
This decision does not affect the firm known as “Soucy’s Concrete Service” located in Stafford Springs.
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If you have any questions about the operation of the program, ESIS is your best source of information on your claim, and their phone number and email are shown below.
Phone: 844-763-1207
Email: cfsic@esis.com
As you work through the information and application process, here’s how you can get help:
– Call ESIS (the claim adjuster) at: 844-763-1207
– Email ESIS at: cfsic@esis.com
– Email CFSIC at: info@crumblingfoundations.org
To view a video of how to complete an electronic application, go here.
To apply for a Type 1 claim, go here.
To apply for a Type 2 claim, go here.
To learn more about the program, if you are a homeowner, including application help, go here.
To learn more about the program, if you are a contractor, go here.
Michael Maglaras, Principal
Michael Maglaras & Company
Superintendent, CFSIC