Question to all the New Home Inspectors: How many inspections do you perform a month?

When I retired a couple years back, my $ for a small condo was $475. It really depends on the area one is inspecting in and around. Call around and see what your competition is charging and get in the middle if you are just starting out. Just a thought…

Also…Welcome John! It’s good to have new people sharing. :smile:

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I can admit that I was not the expensive guy when I started. Then I looked around and saw what the competition was offering and for what cost. I have quickly raised the pricing and decided on a yearly increase as well. this year I did 20 more inspections than last year but at around $60 more per inspection. I picked up Thousands more with no extra work. I do small Condos for $325, I wish I could get $475 like Larry but that isn’t going to happen in my market. When I started to raise my prices I also had to make a slight mental shift. I always thought “yay, business lets book this”, now I talk with them and know pretty quick if I want to book it. Occasionally when I quote a price I can tell even before I state it that I am going to be ushering them to the door. I have found a point where I am happy to send them off to the shitty cheap guy and give them my best wishes. I hope you find this point in your business because it is sure a stress reducer. I say reducer because there is always going to be that client that has more money than brains and boy can they be the worst.

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Thank you Larry for the input. I need all the info I can get.

Welcome John. :smile:

Good info, Michael. I came to have the same experience early on in my career. :smile:

When I get certified, it will be my 1st goal to do 5 inspections a week, and if that means working different days or extra hours during the week to achieve my goal I will do just what it takes, I appreciate this thread, I was OMGing for most of it and so glad I continued reading. Alan was testing us…so many of us took his word for what he posted, until one person actually researched his business. A lesson learned today.

Alan, so I am also a new inspector and this is my first reply to a post. So I am on on Guam, we have no ASHI inspectors and 5 InterNACHI Inspectors, there are roughly 800 individual family homes sold each year on the island. I have been up and running for about 4 months. I have one or two inspections a week. It takes me about 4-5 hours per home and about twice that long to complete the report. I’m very slow, take my time during inspections, and take a lot of time working on my reports, researching to make sure my comments are correct and worded right.

I spent two years in the local market as an agent, and worked with a couple great inspectors that inspired me to switch fields. Of course I am no longer an agent. There are 493 Realtors on Guam and I have all their emails, so I do solicit to them. I use down time to visit loan officers, title companies, and other stakeholders in the real estate market. There is lots of old school marketing involved and my goal is to get to buyers and sellers directly. Some Real Estate Agents understand what we do and why it’s in their clients interest to be thorough, other Agents only care about the transaction and getting to the closing table. It’s easy to tell the difference.

Inspection fees
Single Family Homes and Town Homes:
1500 sq/ft and below = $400
1501 sq/ft - 2500 sq/ft = $500
2501 sq/ft - 3500 sq/ft = $600
3501 sq/ft and larger = Call for Quote

Condominium:
1500 sq/ft and below = $300
1501 sq/ft and larger = $400
Commercial and Multifamily:
Call for Quote

Infrared / Thermal Imaging Services
$150 per hour. 1 hr minimum service call.

Best of luck!

Hi Larry, it’s John. Do you have time to explain what a cricket is, regarding roofs and chimneys. And why they are needed? Thank you Sir.

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Starting your own business is a different kind of stress…but for me it’s a good kind. Definitely going to take time to build business, as you aren’t going to be a restaurant charging $15 for a meal. People often want to shop around due to the money they will spend on an inspection.

I started out this year after working as a mechanical engineer for some years. The credentials of being a PE helps for marketability. Since I was building a business and had time on my hands, I also became a Realtor and do that on the side, which helps with networking.

You can take the route of PPC and lead buying, though it can be frustrating. I always take the route of caution and have multiple streams of income to help as I build business.

Try this:

Hi, John.
A cricket:

According to the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI), a chimney cricket is a small peaked roof which is installed on the back side of your chimney to deflect water and debris from your chimney.

image https://www.owenschimneysystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/chimney_cricket_owens_chimney_systems_charlotte_nc.jpg

Read about them here (We used to call them "Hog’s Backs, back in the day. :smile: ) :smile:

And, here:

Picture courtesy of:

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Thanks Larry. I’m an old carpenter from the eighties and we used to call them saddles.

Thanks for the pictures too :sunglasses:

I am learning more on the forum than the course content.

Welcome and we called 'em saddles, too. :smile:

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Good, that is what we try for on this forum…to learn and share. :smile:

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@lkage is that roofing tar all over your cricket’s flashing? weaved arch. shingles? hmm :face_with_monocle:

Yeah, it looks like a re-roof but it answered the question posed: LOL!

That’s a great way to put it sir.

Are you sure Chris, check your wording, might be typo there