Starting out when you don’t have a lot of clients, is it better to lower your prices 15 to 40 percent lower than your competitors?
If someone charging 400 or 500 dollars only gets 4 or 5 inspections per week, that’s decent.
If someone charging 350 per inspection gets 10 or more, that’s good.
Every 6 months I can raise the inspection fee by 50 dollars or so.
What do you guys think?
Oh yeah, we LOVE low ballers! Good for the industry, good for your reputation. Go for it!
You can tell your client your prices are low because you don’t have to pay for pesky things such as a ladder or a decent inspection vehicle.
I’ve decided I will be getting an actual ladder and some type of truck/suv/crossover. Haven’t decided which one yet.
I’m only talking about being cheaper for the first 6 months to a year, then raising prices.
I think it is very honest and transparent for you to share with those who might consider hiring you that your services are not worth as much as those who are more experienced and qualified. Whether that is good for business or not, time will tell … but when you decide to increase your fees to equal those of REAL home inspectors, expect to be asked what it is that suddenly makes you worth more money in February than you were the month before.
There are absolute truths, and one of them is this: Every home inspector is paid exactly and only what he is worth - without exception and 100% of the time.
Being honest with the public about one’s inferiority and charging a low fee is hardly strategic and “markets” an image that most would hardly ever want to sell, but while they are going to bed hungry, it might help them sleep better at night.
It’s never worked for anyone that’s tried it. Be patient and expect to wait for a nominal work flow, offering cut-rate prices will not set you up for success.
So, in a nutshell, determine what your expenses are or will be (don’t assume the price you’re imagining will cover those expenses). There are more expenses than most realize.
And then add your payroll/paycheck (you want to get paid, right?) And then see what the equation looks like.
Good points. Conversely, is it a bad idea to price slightly higher than the average competitor price?
If you are just starting the certification process, you have a while before you have to worry about pricing. During this time join a bunch of the inspector Facebook groups. There are weekly (almost daily) discussions about pricing. Also don’t hesitate to spy on your competition. To keep it simple, you could just match their prices out of the gate.
Here are the latest average prices from Spectora users.
Crazy if you ask me. Must be a lot of inspectors/competition I guess?
Before I saw this chart, I would have assumed regulated states would be higher. However, licencing does not seem to make a difference. Thanks for the info.
You bet! This is just Spectora users so the ability of the data to reflect overall inspection prices is skewed somewhat by the number of Spectora users in any given state, relative to all inspectors.
Jacob that is one strategy. See the trouble is, referrals will want the same fee.
1: Maybe provide a monthly promotion so you do not box yourself in! If inspectors are charging 400.00 offer a 25 dollar gas card.
Remember, selling yourself is subtle.
Don’t oversell.
Always smile and be happy when greeting clients on the phone.
Give a money back guarantee.
Provide a better product.
Spend more time on reports.
Don’t worry about the old timers crowing. The sun shines on everyone.
Thanks Robert
You know why that is, right?
Because most every inspector, especially inexperienced newbies, base their fee’s off of what other inspectors charge, thus they all charge roughly the same!
So true. We are like gas stations.
My inspection fee is $474.989
