Offering drone inspections and/or infrared to other home inspectors

What made you decide to take the time and spend money on something that you had a pretty good idea that you wouldn’t fully pursue, getting your CPI, WDI, Radon, drone, thermal etc?

Right, but if they find out you are also pursuing inspections is what I meant - are you licensed with your state as an inspector? Website mentions inspections? Hang out in I-Nachi and see your questions? :wink:

Just keep in mind how paranoid inspectors can be about someone stealing their clients.

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Honestly, IMO, those are the inspectors that need to retire or just leave the business! They bring more harm than good to the industry.

If I had any paranoia about others, it is from NON-qualified persons trying to scam the established industry standards to make some “quick/easy bucks” without putting in the effort to become a legitimate service provider! These yahoos potentially harm OUR clients, and bring even more harm to OUR industry!

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The confidence you seek comes from preparation and training. IMO, your fears have kept you from jumping into the deep end. And one thing clients can smell a mile away is lack of confidence. In fact, the body of work you have presented this MB is beginning to paint a picture.

I do believe @ruecker provided some sound advice. You must get out into the field and develop some of the basic skill sets needed in this industry, no matter what services you provide. You must go rub elbows with the pros.

Let me give you an analogy. You’re current approach is similar to the desire to become a professional football wide receiver; asking about what helmet or cleats to buy. But the first question is, can you catch? Well, you have never stepped foot on the field.

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I use drones sometimes, and use thermal on every inspection, This is included, not an extra fee, as its just another tool, I also have a crawlspace crawler I dont charge extra for the use of it, its just a tool

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Jacob,

You may want to reach out to the agents in your neck of the woods. There may be interest in getting drone pictures for listings. I have done this and also taken pics of land parcels for agents, builders and property owners/investors.

I do think that outsourcing for drone money shots is going to less frequent, as they are becoming a more common tool within certain industries.

I can’t speak for everyone in the forum, but in my area, just about every inspector has a drone. I can’t think of a situation where an inspector would reach out to another inspector for an ancillary service. I would compare it to not having a ladder, and calling a buddy (competitor) and asking to borrow his lol. Probably not a good look for him.

Best of luck!

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Yes inquiring minds want to know. :rofl:

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Hey I’m new to the forum, but reading your comment kinda answered the question that was on my mind. I was in GA previously, but mainly did inspections for private investors/flippers so I didn’t market. I just moved to a small town in TN that only has 2 other CPIs in the whole county (on InterNACHI list anyway). Do I introduce myself and be a peer in the business? Are they gonna see me as just a threat?

No way to tell until you introduce yourself…if that’s what you decide to do.

Many different types of people out there…just do the best inspections you can and word will get around. :+1:

Oh, and welcome to the forum, Kimberly!

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Welcome to the MB Kimberly.
In my experience I have found that some newer, inexperienced inspectors will likely see you as a threat whereas the more confident and experienced inspectors won’t.

IMO it never is a bad thing to introduce yourself, you may find that other inspectors are willing to share information and experiences with you that you could find helpful.

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Thanks! According to the info I see both have been around a while. I’m going to try making the rounds of real estate agents here (not many of those either!!), so I may include a visit to these guys as well.

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Inspectors are also a decent referral source. If I am not available, I prefer to recommend a competent inspector vs sending the customer back to Google. At the very least, I direct them to NACHI to find a CPI.

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