Florida Inspection Cost

Do you charge for a home inspection based on square footage and the age of the home ? . The square footage can be calculated by the heated square footage or the under roof square footage. There sometimes is a huge difference ( twice as much on more expensive homes) 2000 sf heated and 3875 under roof. My Friday home.

using 2000 sf 325.00
using 3875 sf 425.00

need all you inputs thks

My client said the other two bids were around 300.00 and I was high. But I was highly recommended so they selected me.

I charge double that but rarely get it :slight_smile:

We go by total sq ft. The bigger the more expensive

Yep.

Under roof!

I’ll bet those other bids also included insurance inspections. Did you ever find out who your competition was?

Approx. 50% of homes I inspect have *unfinished *basements. I spend about 35% of my inspection time in unfinished basements. You’re damned right I charge for that time!!!

In NJ $325 is my base for a condo. There are cheaper people, but I do inspect the outside and the roof because the condition of the outside effects
what they own inside.

If its under the roof it’s getting inspected. We use under roof sq ft. and add $ for anything over 40 years, for crawl spaces and pools/spas

Wouldent it be amazing if we all decided to raise out prices by 400% or so then we might get close to what it is worth. How the heck Realtors make more than us is ridiculous.

Sad thin is Every One will NEVER go along with it. In my opinion we are the most important part of buying a building and normally get nowhere what we deserve for the work and liability we take on.

Mike, that will never happen for two reasons. First the market is being flooded with inexperieneced inspectors. Our numberes are now well over 8000. And second, the realtors, insurnce agents, and mortgage brokers are controlling the inspection industry business, and there is always someone willing to go along wiht it. Ask anyone in that group I just mentiioned what the cost of thei inspection should be and they will tell you anywhere from $200.00 to $300.00. That is what we were charging 15 years ago when I first got into this business. And becuase all new inspectors are realtor dependent, guess what there pricing point will be. Dont believe me, just clcik on anyones name on this board and then check out their web site. I do however want to thank a lot of them. My prices are much higher, mainl becuase I do not depend on that group for businesss.

Yeah that is BS. Sorry there are over 114,000 realtors in Florida according to NAR membership numbers for July 2015. Last time I checked they haven’t lowered their commission percentage due to how many realtors there are. No, the issue is, like Michael said, we all can’t agree to stick to a higher rate schedule. New guys start doing business and they feel only way to attract business is to low ball. Ultimately realtors I deal with, that refer me, don’t care what I charge. It is the client that does. See buyer’s don’t pay the realtor’s commission the seller does. Not a problem handing over that multi-thousand dollar deposit check, but inspector fee is a different story. It is a lack of knowledge of the importance of the property inspection by the potential client. It is our job to educate and inform. I charge this because of my experience, skill, training, in-depth reporting, on and on. The, “I charge higher because I don’t depend on realtor referrals.” Yep more BS. WE depend on realtor referrals for our life blood. Good luck to all you inspectors that fly by each day with your head in the I don’t depend on realtors cloud. Because we get and use realtor referrals does not mean we cater to them. Many realtors never refer me twice after a thorough inspection for their client. Oh well. But, with that said, the ones that do refer me know I am looking out for their client which is now my client.

I sadly agree with you completely :frowning: That is why I am not Realtor dependent and offer other services besides written inspections.

Harry, your prices are lower than the original poster. Those are about the same prices we were charging back in 2001, when I started inspecting. As for the realtor BS statement. I have yet to solicit an realtor or put my cards in any office in the last 14 years. If my cards ar there it is because they have asked for them. If you do not have a referral based business after 3-5 years in this business you are doing something wrong, and that it why prices are so low. You wind up competing with all the newbies that lower their prices to try and steal your business.

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

I have been in this for 14 years and worked full time for a manufacturer for 30. im retiring and moving to Naples. fl. I got in to this just to do at retirement. I have never committed my self to a realter. Unless they ask for me. im not in this to get rich or get bigger. Im just making a good living i hope. And do what i like for a change. I just past the exam for fl. And want to ask what software is the best to use for writing reports. By the way i have never low ball any job and i go by sq. feet under roof. I always used paper to do my reports. Would like to meet a few inspectors in the naple area to give me a few tips there. if they dont feel intemmidated doing so. thank you

Check out Report Host and Home Inspector Pro. I like the ease of Report Host and no up front cost. In fact I think that Nachi members get their first 15 reports free.

HIP is very good and has the best customer service in the biz. Dom will do anything to help you out and get you up and going. I have not tried the newest version but hear good things. A lot of guys also use Home Gauge but I not nothing about it.

Good Luck. Screw working during retirement go fishing :slight_smile: Some of the best Snook fishing in the world over that way :slight_smile: