Pricing using Nachi calculator form

Just a general question for those that use the InterNACHI pricing calculator. When putting in the Square Footage of the house, do you use the footage listed for the living area only or do you add additional footage if the basement is finished into a living area, kitchen, etc.? Just curious to what others do.

I don’t use it but if I did, I would consider all spaces finished or unfinished.

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Ditto.
If I inspect it, I charge for it.
All my quotes are for TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE, not habitable space!
Time is money!
To those that balk at this policy… do you charge for crawlspaces?
No difference!!

how do you guys price a inspection out. I am new to this in Oklahoma and one of my real estate friends asked about my pricing. She had told me about 300 average and 350 with termite is normal for our area. Do you guys charge less for 1k less sqft house or a flat rate and add more for large houses? Sorry im new help a guy out!

The price is what the market will bear no matter what size the home. I would use Google and my phone to research other companies. Ignore the bottom feeders and come up with a reasonable rate that matches your business budget. If you can’t make money…don’t do it. Keep your day job.

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EVERY home has the basics… Kitchen, Bathroom, Living space, Utilities, Mechanicals, etc., therefore a 1K SF home IS NOT easier or faster to inspect than a 1.5K or 2K SF home. In fact, often they are more difficult as things such as the water heater is crammed into a small closet, or even behind an enclosure door requiring removal for access to inspect.

IMO… No inspector should have a BASE FEE for smaller than a 1,800 SF home, ie.
My fee is: STARTING AT $400 for up to 2,000 SF homes.

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thank you for the info. Like i said I’m new to all of this i live in Oklahoma around smaller lower income kind of towns. I assume the average rate here will be a lot less than those in bigger city’s and higher cost of living states. So i will just set it as the average I got from local real estate of 300 for up to a 2,000 SF home. I also will offer military and first responder discounts as a lot of my family served and that is how I was raised. Thank you for taking the time to help a new guy out!

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It might be a good price to be competitive or it could be the bottom feeder price of the multi-inspector firms the realtor likes to use. Due your due diligence and fully understand the market with your own research. This should also include how many sales are actually happening in your area, current home inventory and other trends. I think most inspectors would agree…you are entering challenging market conditions at this time.

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Although the following thread originated a couple of years ago, it still gets updated to keep fairly current. Even so, most of the info it shares is as relevant today as it was years ago. IMO, it would behoove you to closely read and evaluate your practices moving forward. Good luck!

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This is what I did, I called around to some of the known inspection companies in my area. I got a baseline for their pricing structure and then started quoting inspections. I constantly evaluate my pricing based upon what jobs I am getting and how I am getting them. IMO you can never just set it and forget it.

This is a bad business move because the real estate agent may be quoting prices they heard about 20 years ago. But to each there own.

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I agree… and in today’s current market situation, NOBODY should have a Base Fee of lower than $350 regardless of where you are located in the USA!

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What exactly are you referring to Jeffrey?

Determining how to calculate and determine an inspectors Base Fee.
Using SF alone is a huge mistake, and drives many newbie inspectors out of business every year.
I felt the thread you started shared a lot of useful info to help inspectors think about what all is involved to “come up with a proper fee” for whatever area one operates in.

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Basically payment is based on an expected hourly wage, regardless of the tasks to be performed + expenses. Check any method of pricing against that. Use the one that fits you best across the board.

When you new, you are slow. Lower hourly rate. When you get fast, raise you hourly rate.

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Here’s a thought. Add up all of your business expenses to figure out your break even point. Add on your profit margin for estimated gross revenue and divide out by how many Inspections you think that you’ll do. This is just a starting point but can send you in the right direction. Doing 100 Inspections a year at $350 less your costs isn’t a lot of money. Increase your revenue by adding on ancillary items such as septic Inspections, woodburning Inspections and others that may come to mind. Good luck.

Agree ^^^^^^^^^
.
Disagree vvvvvvvv An inspector needs to be making a profit BEFORE considering adding ancillary work!!

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For my Oregon company we don’t charge extra for crawl spaces since roughly 75% of houses have them. I guess we just get lucky when they don’t. A lot of this is in the wording and how it’s sold. I don’t tell people we charge additional for older houses. I say we charge less for newer ones. Of course it’s the same thing but consumers hate additional charges after given an initial number.

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Let me rephrase the question…

Whether you disclose to the client or not… and regardless of how you break it down… in any manner…
Do you get compensated for inspecting crawlspaces?

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