Home Inspectors vs Home Inspectors

Went to a realtors convention today and had a great time, great marketing time for us. The only problem I find with Home Inspection businesses is, we should all stop looking at our competitors (other H.I.'s) and saying things that we think will give ourselves more business, when what we are doing is giving more of a reason why realitors don’t like H.Inspectors. My thoughts are that if we stick together in promoting the industry, there is plenty of business out there that this industry could grow so much more, but with the gossip and trash talking of another Home Inspector and his qualifications it only hurts everyone related to this industry. It disturbs me to see articles in like the newspapers about an inspection gone wrong and another inspection company looks for recognition by stating what’s wrong with other inspectors or their qualifications.
Don’t get me wrong, an person that has little or no experience or training, and is not contantly training and jumps into the industry is not good for business either. I’m talking about qualified companies that are just looking to discredit another competitor.
I know it’s a dog eat dog world out there, I’m not going to help market my competitors ( that would be stupid) but I won’t drag someone’s name through the mud to gain more business. (I would not want anyone to do this to me, so why would I do this to another. And it just gives another reason why not to get a home inspection)

Good Luck fellow Inspectors and may God enrich your business through your integrity.

I am now off my soap box. Thank you

Brian, did you get PHIC’d, today?

Brian,

I totally agree with you. Maintain high standards with proctored psychometrically validated “real” certifications. Eliminate the in fighting among inspectors. If we maintain high levels of professionalism, everyone wins. We can raise our fees. We will gave the respect of our real estate peers.

I never bad mouth another inspector. Thats lowering myself to that level. Its also negativity and life is to short to play that game. My standard comment is " I wasn’t there to see what your/the inspector was seeing so its difficult to say whether it was right or wrong"

Home Inspectors will always be a target of criticism. That will never change because there will always be a party who ends up on the short end of the stick. Be it the seller, the sellers realtor or the buyer. In a way we are like a judge or referee. We make a call and someone will be unhappy. All we can do is call it like it is and report it fairly,

//Rick

Excellent post.

All true.

But the fact remains that there are bad inspectors out there, too. The guy that did my home was HORRIBLE (and also happens to be recommended by many local realtors - cheap, fast and very few comments).

So, sometimes it is inevitable to have to take on the competition to show that all HIs are not created equally bad.

Still, it is preferable to make your business based on good hard work. If you focus on improving yourself and your business, you will succeed. If others also succeed, it should not matter.

I think when people hear a professional trash talking another in their profession they are extremely turned off and offended. Personally if I heard someone trashing their competition like that it would ensure 100% that I wouldn’t use that person.

Usually, I don’t talk about other home inspectors to realtors. The only thing I tell any realtor about selecting a home inspector is to make sure that the guy carries general and E&O insurance. I tell them not to take a verbal “yes” to the question, but to request to see a copy of the insurance carriers documentation.

Yes, I know that some people say that this is allowing home inspectors to become a target for realtors if something goes wrong. We are always the 1st guy to get blamed anyhow. My opinion is that if a home inspector who don’t carries E&O gets into trouble and can’t pay for the damages, then the bad publicity that one bad apple generates affects the rest of us trying to operate a professional business.

I know this affects the newer home inspectors more than the established ones. IMHO, having general and E&O insurance is part of the cost of doing business.

And having E&O makes one a better inspector? I’m still scratching my head!!

I knew a guy who selected his health care professionals the same way. “Make sure, above everything else, that they carry good malpractice insurance.”

Yep…that was his motto. He died, recently, at the hands of one of the most highly insured surgeons ever to remove a liver thinking it was a gallstone.

Pretty good advice, indeed.:wink:

So strange how you seldom if ever see the established Inspector telling any one about E&O insurance .
It is usually those who are reasonably new at the industry who now know more the inspector who has been doing inspections for some time .
I guess they will be ones who do not want to listen to the older inspector.
Time has shown that about 90% of home inspectors are out of business in around three years.
The 10% could be learning from those who offer knowledgeable advice.

Roy Cooke… Royshomeinspection.com… RHI.CHI…CMI

When you point your finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you!

As my mother always told me if you don’t have something good to say about someone, shut up!

When someone brings to light any improper practice of another inspector I find it best to just advise the standards of practice which I use and operate by. This should be sufficient. You might be surprised to learn that the information you are told is misinterpretation by the speaker.

Possibly, but it depends on the circumstance. I certainly don’t make a habit of it, but sometimes youneed to recognize that there are bad inspectors so that you dont seem like a shill.

When Realtor A says to me in casual conversation that she has had terrible experiences with home inspectors, I feel the need to find out who they used (for info on competition) and what the bad circumstances were.

If it is the one hack I know of from personal experience, I commiserate.

If it is anyone else, I tell them that there are good and bad folks in all professions and ours is no different. I give them a few tips to spot poor inspectors and avoid them. And then refer them to my website or offer to send them a sample report and then discuss what they want in an inspector.

I should also mention that most of the realtors I speak with (for the most part) are genuinely concerned with making sure their buyers get a thorough inspection and are made aware of all issues.

I tend to avoid those realtors i encounter that talk in code (“I want an inspector who knows how not to scare the clients…while, of course, doing a good job”).

When you sit and have coffee with a real estate salesperson and begin to discuss a crooked agent…one who seeks the soft inspection report…what do they say to you, in response?

So strange how you seldom if ever see the established Inspector telling any one about E&O insurance .>>>

Having E&O and General Liability doesn’t make anyone a better Inspector, but seeing as many of us spend thousands of dalloars each year on Insurance why shouldn’t we use it as part of our Marketing against those who don’t carry Insurance. Tow Equally qualified Inspectors, one with E&O and General Liability and one without, who would you Hire. Many of us have E&O Insurance with a rider that protects the REferring Agent from any Liability for any thing we do or fail to do, are we supposed to keep that a secret? Or Market It?

Many State require Bonding or Insurance, many Inspectors ignore that requirement, should we ignore that and not tell the Agents or Potential Clients to make sure that the Inspector they chose meets all those requirements…I spend way too much on insurance that I hope I never have to use, I should get something out of my investment

I would imagine you have not gone back into the arkhives to get a look at all the information there.
I wonder will you to be one of the 90% .
I HOPE NOT BUT WILL NOT BE SURPRISED IF YOU ARE .
Advertise Insurance and put a bulls eye on your back that says sue me I have insurance .

"So strange how you seldom if ever see the established Inspector telling any one about E&O insurance .
It is usually those who are reasonably new at the industry who now know more the inspector who has been doing inspections for some time .
I guess they will be ones who do not want to listen to the older inspector.
Time has shown that about 90% of home inspectors are out of business in around three years.
The 10% could be learning from those who offer knowledgeable advice.

One of the old guys who has learned a little about this industry.

Roy Cooke … RHI…CMI…CHI CAHPI-ON

Advertise Insurance and put a bulls eye on your back that says sue me I have insurance .>>>

Roy,

Things are a little different down here, whenever you go into business, especially one like Home Inspection, the lawyers already have you in their sights. If they look and you have no insurance and nothing of worth that they think they can get, they’ll usually disappear, but whenter or not you advertise or inform your clients or agents that you have E&O, the lawyers will look to see if you do…

There are good arguments, as I have read over the past couple of years, for NOT HAVING ANY INSURANCE, and there are good arguments for having it, either way it doesn’t matter, if the lawyers want to come after you they will, keeping the fact that you do have Insurance a secret won’t stop them, they’ll find out the very first thing, even before they begin investigating your Net Worth.

You’re right, 90% of new Inspectors don’t last 3 years, but most of those who don’t thought they were going to get rich in the first 6 months, I don’t know what I’ll be doing in another year or two, right now I’m making more money doing things other than Home Inspection, and I could be doing more Home Ispections if I weren’t doing Other Things, but I never planned on getting rich or even making any decent money in the first two or three years, we have a weird tax system here, losing money in my Home Inspection Business lets me pay less taxes in my other things.

I am VERY new to the HI business and was told to NOT discuss the fact that my comapny has insurance. I was told it brings out the people just looking to sue. OR, as mentioned here, should we “market” that aspect of our company?
Does it show my professionalism in having the insurance or does it put that target on my back?

You were told correctly.

Take your sick child to a hospital ER…and pass the child on to be cared for by Dr. Smith who looks at you and says…“Nothing to worry about, Ms. Byrd. I am fully insured.” Is that professional and does it comfort you, at all?

Good point! Thanks.
I feel good knowing we DO have the insurance for our business though. just in case.

James

The answers are NO and NO…what do I win?

James I agree 100%