I am now a student taking classes to become a licensed inspector in Florida. My question is this. If I am on an inspection and I run into an issue that requires that a certified contractor or engineer be employed to provide the client with expert opinion of information. Can the inspector subcontract those experts?
Also, if the inspector does so can he or she charge a surcharge for that service?
Since you are a student, please read the CODE OF ETHICS and come back here and let us know what YOU think.
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Why would you want to take on the responsibility of another persons work by sub-contracting them? Why would you want to take responsibility for their health and safety in the event something happens to them on site? Why would you want the tax reporting requirements for them as well? Adding a surcharge only cements your responsibility for them.
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You know Larry, I just had an idea. If I were to find a bunch of problems and offer the solutions, I could make more money but since that wouldn’t be ethical, I’ll install some buffers. You know. Buffas, like the family.
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Sure, you can “sub” contract out any service and apply a fee to it. We do it in my company for termite/WDO inspections. We are charged $50 and mark it up to $89 for this service! We do the same for a pool inspection we have a fee we are charged and then add on an additional fee that we charge the client. We look at it as more of a scheduling/service fee to cover our time in setting up this additional service for the client.
In our company we do not try to be the “One Stop Shop” but we are able to schedule some additional specialty services as needed… We only do this with services that are ordered when the home inspection is ordered and never as the result of what we find on an inspection.
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You can for free, but if you’re charging your client for those services after the fact, you would be violating the COE, or if you’re in a licensed state like I am, you’d be breaking the law.
The reason for this is because it can lead to those that are not honest, finding problems that don’t exist and then making extra $$ off contractors to come in behind them.
As Inspectors it is our duty to our clients to discover defects and report them, not to discover defects and offer to hire contractors to repair or analyze them.
On another note, I do sub out Radon tests and lateral sewer scopes, and I then report the results of those findings to my client. But any ancillary services provided are all agreed to upfront before the inspection.
- The InterNACHI® member shall not perform or offer to perform, for an additional fee, any repairs or associated services to the structure for which the member or member’s company has prepared a home inspection report for a period of 12 months. This provision shall not include services to components and/or systems that are not included in the InterNACHI® Home Inspection Standards of Practice.
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Yes, that works for “inspection services”, however, the OP is asking about making money on the repair work.
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That’s not what I’m reading…
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Strictly to answer your question, and not to endorse the idea:
Only if your a licensed contractor, in Florida.
Referring a vendor (different action altogether) is not the same as being paid to “subcontract” a service.
The key verbiage here is… (in BOLD below)…
Most issues we find require someone else to come in and repair. Your only job is to identify and report these issues. That is the whole point of being an inspector. You do not ng after that. You publish your report with all defects and recommend the correct contractor type for repairs.
That’s it, nothing more. It’s not your house, or the buyers house, you have no authority to do anything.
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