Easiest solution is to get the clients name, email address and the address of the property the first time she contacts you. Then you can communicate directly with the buyer and not hear her ******** until you get on site. Send them a link to sign the inspection agreement digitally through nachi.
my name is Noelle 
Yes, I will start using the word contract. I like that, great idea! You are all right, I’m just a pushover and will start asserting our policies firmly and if she doesn’t like it, then she can call her other inspectors who are booked a month out.
If she calls me, I will ask for all the information including email upfront so I don’t have to deal with her attitude. I have yet to get paid up front. I just got a check today for an inspection we did Thursday and who knows when I’ll get the check from today’s inspection.
The fee is owed to you by the Client.You require Client info so you can contact the Client,Go over expectations with the Client,explain your philosophy and procedure to the Client ,request Client concerns from the Client over the property,Give details to Client of your report turn around , and getting to the point here knowing who is paying you that has the power to ruin you with bad reviews ,Sue you,and destroy or build your business .None of the fore mentioned apply to any any Agent.Nice to meet you Noelle.
Suggestions:
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You really need to rethink the statement highlighted in red! Either clarify it to read that mailed payments must be received no later than the day prior to the inspection, or, remove it entirely and never speak of it again!
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Who is “we”? If it really is “just you”, say so. If it really is “we”, tell ‘their story’ on your website also.
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“Noelle” is a much better name to use for your business. People like names that they can pronounce (no offense) and avoid those that they can’t. Save Gueorqui for friends and family (keep it personal).
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Your prices. I understand why you have what you do, BUT… it screams newbie and it will either draw the lowlife scumbag realtors in like flies hoping to control you, or repel the good realtors away as you are deemed inexperienced. Might I suggest a starting fee at about $300 for your local service area, higher for distance. Still low imo, but a respectable fee.
Noelle,
There is lots of good advice here.
Read every response and reread.
This is your business and not the realtors’ you mentioned above.
Keep moving and set systems in place that keep clear communication in place with the person you’re inspecting for.
While being respectful to the realtors role, get the information you need from the buyer and lock in the details.
If you would like any information about the initial phone call procedure to the finished report, message just about anyone here anyone here and we’ll do all we can to help.
I just tell them my certification requires a signed agreement (which NACHI does).
Just got done with a house about 8:00 last night. A local A$HI inspector inspected it. No drainage of the Dryit. Water saturated walls causing mold. The whole family is sick with a crap load of doctor bills to pay. This inspector had no agreement signed. This is about the sixth house he missed major defects on, but an inspection agreement signed before and saved his butt each time. If this clown does not have insurance, this will put him out of business.
It appears she has sized you up early on. Newbies sometimes act or speak in a way that causes the other party to easily take control. You cannot benefit if the other party has too much control of you and your inspection(s). If she (the REA) thinks she is in control, she may start telling you what to write and what to omit. That will puts you at risk.
I know you cannot follow all the advises you have given, but I would say be polite and FIRM simultaneously. If you do a good job consistently, she will not drop you.
Well the name of the company is Southern Idaho Home Inspections. My husband is the inspector, Gueorqui (George), and I answer the phones and do all that kind of stuff. I will get rid of the mailing payment option off our website since that doesn’t benefit us at all.
You all wouldn’t believe how she (realtor) spoke to me this morning on the phone and guess what?! I stood up to her and wasn’t a pushover this time. If I never hear from this rude lady again, I will be so happy. I let her know that I need an agreement signed and she yelled at me because her client doesn’t have an email so I said I’d be happy to provide a hard copy.
About our prices, unfortunately $250 is the starting price of homes around here even for established companies. In order to be competitive, this is what I have to price at.
I need to get better advertising or something because I’m not generating a lot of calls.
You guys are all so helpful! Thanks a bunch
Nice to meet you.
I can’t speak for your neck of the woods, however, here is South Florida you can’t swing a stick without hitting a Realtor. I learned a long time ago that it is just not worth the stress and aggravation dealing with troublesome Realtors. There are sooooo many other Realtors out there that are truly professional. If I were you, I would get very serious about marketing. If money is the issue, than perhaps, market on a shoestring, grassroots style. Dedicate some time every single day to visit Real Estate offices, ALWAYS have a stack of business cards with you EVERYWHERE you go, and get a few professional shirts made that have your information on the front and back. There are tons of very inexpensive ways to market your business. The trick is to treat marketing like a part-time job which you dedicate a certain amount of hours to EVERY SINGLE DAY. Don’t feel like you have to be bullied by annoying Realtors. I actually feel that many (not all) Realtors are the most under-educated, least professional, and most useless part of the entire Real Estate transaction. In addition, I have always felt that a female HI could really do well by attending various professional Woman’s organization meetings, attending open houses, joining your local Real Estate board as an affiliate member (if that’s an option in your area), and attending board of realtor luncheons, classes, etc.
Good Luck and please keep us posted.
In 35 years … there is always a way to get the client a CONTRACT.
I’ve got clients in Italy, Switzerland, the wilds of New Mehico, Canadia, even in that place called New York, etc.
Email; Fax; Overnight Express, ETC. Including faxing to a Office Depot, hotel, Kinkos, etc, etc. OR go to a public library OR Kinko’s AND get it emailed to them for them to print…
If there is NOT a way to get YOUR contract HOW is the client gonna get the report to determine WHAT is not acceptable to them. HOW will they sign loan papers, title papers, insurance forms, etc.
RECOGNIZE bull $ hit when its thrown at you AND put it back in their court.
Email to client that’s sent every time before inspection (state requires
signed contract just like INachi COE).
**You’ll be receiving email from the International Assoc of Certified Home Inspectors.
There will be a link that will take you to the state required inspection agreement for you to sign.
It must be signed for me to proceed, please let me know if you have any questions.
I have never ever once heard that it was not received/went to a spam folder.
It’s not just smart business and helping your buyers understand what they are buying / paying for… it’s required for InterNACHI members.
However, in my area… I’ve been told a number of inspectors don’t require people people to sign, they either do or ask nothing at all or place terms/contract in report and state that customers agrees to the terms by using the report. That’s not a good idea IMO. So, I’m not sure what area you’re in, but the agent may be telling the truth about their previous experiences in regards to agreements.
I read this to my Wife. She said to tell you that you DO HAVE BALLS…their called TITS. She says to stand up for yourself and don’t worry about what the REA says.
I second that and as a newer HI myself, I’m rooting for ya! 
Good luck.
find better realtors
Or NOT. Let them find you!
I have never marketed DIRECTLY TO realtors, and I have zero intention of ever doing so. Do I work with realtors? Heck yes, but on my terms, when they come to me, which is usually by referrals from prior clients and other realtors (more specifically their Brokers that have used me).
Have your Mom call their Mom and tell them to stop.
I concur
I’m fairly new to the business as well, and a female, oh, and I do the inspections. You can grow a set, maybe not physically, but figurativly for sure.
I have NO issues with realtors as of yet that you are describing. It took about 6 months for me to really start seeing business pick up, and I live VERY rural, with only 9 homes on the market in the last 6 months in my home town. Good news is I have done the inspections on the 5 that have sold, and one didn’t sell after the inspection… guess what, still have that realtor recommending me.
I’m firm, I report what I see, and I try not to make mountains out of molehills, or molehills out of mountains.
I also don’t let ANYBODY tell me what to do. I had a new to me realtor the other day try to talk to me during the whole inspection, hoping I’d miss some stuff, he called me the next day asking about a part of the report, and I told him I reported what I saw, I’m not ammending the report to make him happy, and I’d be glad to go deeper into it with the client, but not him. He told me he understood, and no, there was no need to talk to the client, he was just hoping I’d ease the report a bit, but after we talked about how he was asking me to put my integrety into question, and how would he like it if I asked him to do the same in his profession, he seemed to understand and closed the conversation with, well he had a new respect for me and I’d be his first recommendation. To tell you the truth, don’t really care if I am or not, not a realtor I’d like to work with much… LOL!
SO, moral of the story, it takes time, get out there and hit the pavement. I was once told that if you want to succeed, you need to wear out a pair of shoes from pounding the pavement every other month, until you are wearing out a pair a month with jobs. And don’t take anything from anybody.