I am new to home inspecting and had a real estate agent who buys homes in my town he is 2 hrs away from me ask what i would charge to just check on small jobs in homes he owns to sell, for instance one home had walls painted and carpet installed he just wants me to be his eyes to say yes they did this and its either good or not good. He doesn’t want a report just a text message? What would be a good price to do this and is this a good idea?
Welcome Michelle!
Just make sure that you have an agreement specifying what they are looking for, even if it’s just photos.
Place a price on your time and effort. You could either do a flat or hourly fee. Make sure you have this in the agreement prior to.
Hope this helps!
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Only you can decide what your time is worth, and I wouldn’t expect most of us would agree on a fee structure for anything frankly.
That’s a horse of a different color.
What happens if it “isn’t good”? Does he expect you to tell him why? Or send photos? Or do some other unknown task that wasn’t baked into the fee you agreed to earlier?
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Beware of the, “I’m big time and do lots of houses and will send you lots of work” people. I’ve heard that routine more times than I can count and honestly don’t remember a single one resulting is anything more than an inspection or two. The people that actually do volume don’t talk about it and don’t care if you know.
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With these opportunities you will quickly discover what they value your time is worth is significantly less than what you do.
And there is ALWAYS the promise for tons of future work. Followed by the help me on this one and I’ll take care of you on the next one.
Don’t fall for the lies.
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I recommend you arrange a $1500 non-refundable retainer paid in advance from which you will deduct $150 for each job, rating it at $100 per hour with a minimum of ninety minutes including drive time. You will always get your price, and you will not be waiting to be paid.
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According to the realtor I’m his eyes here locally so i suppose i say it’s not done well, take photos then he has them if the work?
So I suppose….isn’t an agreement.
A clear understanding in advance is best.
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In writing!
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This has nothing to do with inspecting. Careful, you will become his do-boy with unfulfilled promises or he might be a good person who values you.
Awesome.
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It is never that easy.
Yes you are, and you have yet to realize the whole picture of being a HI.
This is not a home inspection, so you do not have all the tools that protect you and all the assets of your family on the line!
HI SOP’s are set up to protect you as much as possible from liability. Then your insurance provider covers you when you get sued anyway, even when you follow the rules.
Do you know what your taxes will be next April 15th? How much time it takes to do accounting and wait to get paid? Are you not going to require a work order, contract, then just report by word of mouth? Does your Insurance cover you anymore? If it does, how much more is that Ins Bill? My HI insurance was $2,236 yr. When I retired my HI License, it went to $259 yr inspecting problem buildings with IR and HVAC engineering diagnostics. I charge $900 to get in my truck and $1,165 once I get there to start. 
Why is that? Insurance is way up there because of HI Track Records, with huge liability associated with them (especially when the HI goes off the beaten path like this).
Most accidents happen within 3 mi of your house. You could be killed trying to provide for your family with a cheapskate deal.
If this Realtor wants you to be his eyes, you should be doing a modified inspection with all the requirements and fees associated. This is not a Home Business gig you found out about at 2am watching TV. Business is not a race to the bottom of the barrel. But that is how most HI’s operate. This is not Walmart Marketing, it is a Service Industry. You can return merchandise if you don’t like it. Your client can’t return the house they just bought. Nick has a buyback program, but it is a negotiation where most buyers won’t get all their investment and move in expenses back, and may elect to sue you just for cause.
This is not an “Interesting proposal”.
It may be if you follow Mr, Bushart’s recommendation.
Focus your energy on the big jobs, with high rewards.
Angies List etc., is another, who can do the most, for less.
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NO it is not a good idea. Without a written agreement, you are setting yourself up for liability issues.
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