I must be the red-headed stepchild in the NACHI home inspector directory. I’m located in one of the hottest housing markets in the Southeast. And NACHI’s board says that I have gotten an average of 12 visitors per month to my NACHI listing since 2019. That tailed off to nothing about the end of last year according to the chart. And I have only gotten 10 visits since February 2021.
“Hottest Market” infers homes sold, and does NOT equate to homes inspected. You need to spend more time on the MB and read all the threads discussing about exact scenario.
And YES, it varies my region.
I do read them, jjonas. And I also hear from my customers that other inspectors are “booked up”. So I take the time to explain what that is all about: being on a real estate broker’s “preferred list” of inspectors. And I also explain the pitfalls of that cozy arrangement.
I’ve never received an inspection through InterNACHI’s leads. If the market is super hot and you are not getting work it’s because people don’t know you are out there. You need to change your marketing techniques or up your marketing so people can find you. There are tons of resources available.
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^^^^Everything Tony said is accurate!^^^^
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Spoken like guys who get most of their work through real estate agents.
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Are you looking for more work? or “visits”?
Most private inspections are in the real-estate market right? So yeah, that is where you will get the bulk of your work. You could also look into new home construction as that is one of the most overlooked areas for private inspectors until a final CO. More and more areas have succumbed to private companies taking over jurisdiction and since I was with a AHJ now private I can speak from experience. Once these companies take over an inspection becomes near a drive-by inspection verses what it once was. That area is a lot harder to get into without spending on advertising, web page, medias etc. But to me? It is where we should be.
My humble opinion for what it’s worth!
Best of luck to you!
No thanks, mblocker. I enjoy the personal challenge of real inspections. I also gain the personal gratification of helping buyers (and sellers) overcome the difficult process of negotiations, with an inspection that more closely reveals the true nature and value of the property.
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I get about 10% of my work through agents. It’s all about marketing and selling yourself
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I’ve already been through this. I was a state-certified residential, commercial, and land appraiser 30 years ago. I found that I had to prostitute myself for the mortgage brokers if I wanted to keep a steady income. Today, I see the same thing in the inspection profession, only the real estate brokers are in charge.
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David, you’ll have to do something to get your name out there. A real estate agent that appreciates the work that you do, and therefore refers you to their clients, is an ally, not an adversary. I had an attitude about real estate agents when I got in, and there are some real pieces of work out there for sure, but I’ve grown much faster due to referrals from agents than all of my other marketing efforts. I’ve tried A LOT of stuff. Over $25,000 worth of marketing efforts in my first year, and who knows how much time.
I am humbled to acknowledge I grew the most from agent referrals. Now I embrace it. I’ve never compromised on my product. The agents that refer me are my fan club. They believe in my vision, and I like working with people that know my worth. There are plenty of agents that never took me seriously, or said I was too thorough, or my new tricks are overstepping, or said too much, or whatever justification they had for being offended that I wasn’t their pet. They just aren’t your target agents. Let them go and focus on the ones that get it.
Have you tried Home Advisor? I don’t like them, but they did give me a nice boost in the beginning. Might be worth dancing with the devil for a few months to shake some hands.
I’ve also had a good ROI on direct mail marketing for new construction warranty inspections, but there aren’t enough out there in my market to fill my calendar.
Investing in a quality website and building up your SEO is worthwhile too, but won’t put food on the table today or even tomorrow. Organic web search is now my third highest referral source, below word of mouth, and then agent referrals at the top.
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David it sounds like rather than listen to the advice on this forum you decided it’s better to cry and feel sorry for yourself. I prefer to listen to people who have been successful and what have they done. Time might be better spent promoting your business?
At the end of the day David you are 100% responsible for your failure or your achievements.
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So, we started with one telling me that I should take more time to read what others are saying on this platform; and now the latest entry demeaning me and telling me that I am spending too much time here. Get lost, if you don’t want to address my original concern of dropping to 0 referrals from NACHI at the end of last year and a 50% overall decline this year. And yes, I’ll always be willing to discuss the problem of inspector servitude to the real estate brokers.
Yes. I know the equation well. It is common knowledge that most of the real estate agents and brokers are telling their buyers not to get a home inspection, and to offer the seller tens of thousands of dollars over their asking price.
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Feelings get frustrated when misaligned with reality, especially when seeking a more metaphysical experience which may or may not exist within the home inspection profession.
The reality is people working in all aspects of real estate are seeking to have specific needs met by the home inspector for which they are willing to spend money on. Personally, I suggest becoming more polarized on meeting those expressed client/realtor needs while focusing less on how you personally feel about the whole process.
In other words find an acceptable take away which allows you to feel as if your own needs are being met through the process, for me it all hinged around free time to do the things I wanted to do without having to work for someone else… Needless to say my needs were met by the home profession for which I am grateful, hopefully yours will be too.
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Go back to your nap.
Are you related to the drip kid?
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Are you related to the willies?
Back to your original question. I get a few leads a year from NACHI, I do not think one has ever panned out.
My business is approximately 1/3 realtor, 1/3 referral and 1/3 website traffic.
I love realtors because they are collecting potential customers. I am kind to them, I respond their needs and I appreciate their referrals. I do not produce soft inspection for them and I do not send them gifts. My product is the same regardless of the referral source.
So, if I were in your shoes I would evaluate the following;
- My website SEO.
- My marketing to include realtors, past customers etc.
- My product (report).
I think you would do these things in any business.
Best of luck David.
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1-800-DRIP KID: Disconnected
The main uses for slang has been as messaging opportunities for insider trading and sabotage.