First payed home inspections!

Scheduling my first paid home inspection!
Couple questions
Client asked for water test. Has anyone ever done water test?
They want Radon test. I don’t do radon, so I subbed it out and tacked $50 to price. Your thoughts?
Originally it was done by texting only with First name only. Little skeptical. I asked for more information and he gave me his full name and email address and wanted to know my address to send the check to proceed with the inspection.
He gave me the address to the property, so I drove by it and it is for sale and vacant.
Oh, one more thing my company is in process with state of california still. :grimacing:

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Sounds like a scam.

I would contact the LA as my next step to verify there’s a contract on the property.

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^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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If it seems suspicious, it probably is. Go with your gut feeling.

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[quote=“paul maldonado, post:1, topic:224661, username:pmaldonado2”]
I asked for more information and he gave me his full name and email address and wanted to know my address to send the check to proceed with the inspection.[/quote]

Morning, Paul.
Hope to find you well.
No cheques. In God we trust. All others pay cash. Explain, you can give me a cheque when I meet you at the property. First let’s get you booked. No charge.

Tips:
1: Always smile. Be pleasant.
2: Take your time inspecting.
3: Don’t talk to much. Be busy… Take notes on a small note pad if necessary.
4: Takes lots of images. You will need them to recreate the reported items and install in your report.
My first report took 4 plus hours to create. It get easier over time but do not think it can be done quickly at the start.
5: Most important Stick to SoP!!! KISS. Keep It Simple Student!!!

I just retaining a duplex inspection via text. I mentioned I was not in my office. After that, emails were exchanged. Once in my office, we started exchanging information by email. That might take hours. They want to contact the agent to confirm a booking date. Not to worry.

Here is how I deal with all my bookings, no matter how they are retained. Be it text, family member inquiry, banks, third party inquiry… and so on.
Once we traded email addresses I send them a to-do list and Company Greeting.
Company greeting. A PDF list of your credentials, awards and affiliations.

Email starts…
Great talking with you earlier.
Fee $650.00, plus applicable taxes. 2.5 story home.
I attached a company greeting. Credentials, Awards, Etc.

To-do list:
1: Clients full name, and any other names you wish to add to the property inspection agreement. IE: Company or Number company.
2: Clients current civic address.
3: The inspection addresses.
4: Phone number/s.
5: Buyers agents name if applicable.

This way I have everything in one email. I work from my Window Pro 6 computer, not a cell phone.
Once I have the above, I will return a “Property Inspection Agreement.” A property inspection work order form.
Please. Read the PIA, Property Inspection Agreement.
It will be delivered from my personal email address which is, [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] under Carson Dunlop Horizon.
Further questions, please call; xxx xxx-xxxx.

Best regards.
Robert Young

Feel free to Copy and Paste to a word doc if you want to use as a template.
Hope that helps.
Regards.
Robert

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He says he’s the seller. How do I check for contract?

One indicator of a scam is if the client wants to pay you more than your inspection fee. They will then want you to forward the excess on to a different contractor, such as their flooring guy or pest guy, etc. The reason everyone jumped on saying this might be a scam is because your contact was over text and a check is involved. Those are common indicators of a scam going around that has been hitting a lot of home inspectors.

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Yes indeed.

No one in the real world operates this way.

(did you notice he said he was the seller? They are getting smarter, but not smart enough)

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Yes, that is an interesting twist if this is a scam. I haven’t heard of the scammers claiming to be the seller before. OP should tread carefully!

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So he wants a pre-sale inspection?

Is the reason he can’t be there to let you in and pay you in person because he lives out of state?

I can understand if he wants a pre-sale inspection, but why would he he want a water test and Radon test performed if he’s the seller. to me it just doesn’t make sense.

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:sweat_smile:So I called the selling agent and she said it’s not in escrow and she does not have any pre listing ispections. Scammer!!:joy::joy:
I was all excited to book my first inspection😅
Love this site!

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Look at the bright side. You got a chance to make contact with an agent and you did her a favor by letting her know the listing is being used for a scam attempt. Take the wins when you can get them!

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I’m in process of starting my business, so it did motivate me to finish back office part of business.
Using Tapinspect as report writing software which has all that included. So yeah it got me moving😅

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I have. Funny thing is, they say that and request the inspection after the house is listed. HUGE RED FLAG.

Get into the habit of doing this before scheduling anything if any signs of a scam present themselves before scheduling something like this. It’s a good habit to start and can help you make good contacts.

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Double edged sword. This site may be where they got their info on you, and decided to target YOU!!
I posted on these scammers learning and refining their tricks from interacting with inspectors that like to “play” with them!! (It’s likely in one of the threads that Ryan posted a link to).
Forget how hungry you may be for work. If ANYTHING feels not quite right, just delete them and move on.

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Interesting. All public information and easier than googling HI websites.

Looks like the scammer has made it to the “M’s” :smile:

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This scam must be working with all the threads about this crap weekly. Still, these scammers are small fry. Come to think of it, I haven’t received a call regarding my car’s extended warranty for a while now. I wonder what they are doing now :thinking:

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Not sure if anyone would confess, but has anyone fallen for this scam?

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I didn’t but my dog did

image

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